I once had a job that required a two-hour commute each way. Two trains and a bus, in fact, just like Othea Loggan. It wasn't an experience I'd ever like to repeat, though it gave me the...
I once had a job that required a two-hour commute each way. Two trains and a bus, in fact, just like Othea Loggan. It wasn't an experience I'd ever like to repeat, though it gave me the opportunity to do a lot of reading! There isn't much else you can do on the subway.
It's a relatively minor part of the story, but it sheds some light on an aspect of poverty that is frequently left out of the conversation, at least in the US. If you aren't wealthy enough to afford a car, you have to rely on public transit systems, and in sprawled-out American cities, a commute by transit can take a long time. You might spend 8 hours a day at your job and another 4 hours a day simply getting to and from that job. That means you have less time to sleep, less time to take care of duties that aren't related to your job (shopping, cooking, cleaning), and less time to spend with your friends and family. If you work more than one job, as many poor people do, the difficulties of transportation are compounded. In this way (and others), people with low incomes are effectively penalized simply for being poor.
You've got to train yourself to accept things like that, otherwise you're going to end up hanging yourself given the circumstances, I'd imagine. People were definitely prone to sticking with one...
Otherwise, an interesting piece. I must say I expected some more … despair?
Being stuck in the same, minimum-wage job for what seems to be a near lifetime. But all the workers interviewed seemed pretty content with it in the circumstances.
You've got to train yourself to accept things like that, otherwise you're going to end up hanging yourself given the circumstances, I'd imagine.
Perhaps someone from the States can offer some more insight on the past. Also, how is this nowadays?
People were definitely prone to sticking with one job/company for their lifetime if wanted; albeit usually in higher-up positions than that. Nowadays it's very much a culture of "As many pay raises as you can get as quickly as possible with no care for staying in the same company."
When I was in college a couple of guys job hopped so often I didn't understand how they kept getting hired. I mean their resume showed numerous jobs in a short span. One guy was a good guy, and...
People were definitely prone to sticking with one job/company for their lifetime if wanted; albeit usually in higher-up positions than that. Nowadays it's very much a culture of "As many pay raises as you can get as quickly as possible with no care for staying in the same company."
When I was in college a couple of guys job hopped so often I didn't understand how they kept getting hired. I mean their resume showed numerous jobs in a short span.
One guy was a good guy, and part of his probably had to do with the jobs he got. He didn't know a lot he just had a dad give him a foot in the door. Then he leveraged that position for another somewhere else. He was landing good gigs, never being there long enough to learn anything, and moved on.
He landed great jobs. He had a security analyst gig making great money.
He just hopped around so much and the jobs were so different and he never jad any real field knowledge.
I think a lot of people are entitled more so now too. They act like they shoukd stary at the top and scoff at experience being worth something. They won't take a job because of pay, but the experience and title would let them write their own ticket in 2-3 years.
A lot of people I have known only look at money. They don't look at actual responsibilities, title, day to day experience, project possibilities, benefits, etc. They just look at the pay.
When I took my job classmates thiught I was nuts because I had a lot of in field knowledge and I took my job with a small salary. But none of them factored in company environment and how you're treated. So I took this job where they treat me well and give me a raise every year. The state changed the law on overtime so my company bumped my salary up by quite a bit because they value employees like me. I got a 6% raise my first year.
I once had a job that required a two-hour commute each way. Two trains and a bus, in fact, just like Othea Loggan. It wasn't an experience I'd ever like to repeat, though it gave me the opportunity to do a lot of reading! There isn't much else you can do on the subway.
It's a relatively minor part of the story, but it sheds some light on an aspect of poverty that is frequently left out of the conversation, at least in the US. If you aren't wealthy enough to afford a car, you have to rely on public transit systems, and in sprawled-out American cities, a commute by transit can take a long time. You might spend 8 hours a day at your job and another 4 hours a day simply getting to and from that job. That means you have less time to sleep, less time to take care of duties that aren't related to your job (shopping, cooking, cleaning), and less time to spend with your friends and family. If you work more than one job, as many poor people do, the difficulties of transportation are compounded. In this way (and others), people with low incomes are effectively penalized simply for being poor.
You've got to train yourself to accept things like that, otherwise you're going to end up hanging yourself given the circumstances, I'd imagine.
People were definitely prone to sticking with one job/company for their lifetime if wanted; albeit usually in higher-up positions than that. Nowadays it's very much a culture of "As many pay raises as you can get as quickly as possible with no care for staying in the same company."
When I was in college a couple of guys job hopped so often I didn't understand how they kept getting hired. I mean their resume showed numerous jobs in a short span.
One guy was a good guy, and part of his probably had to do with the jobs he got. He didn't know a lot he just had a dad give him a foot in the door. Then he leveraged that position for another somewhere else. He was landing good gigs, never being there long enough to learn anything, and moved on.
He landed great jobs. He had a security analyst gig making great money.
He just hopped around so much and the jobs were so different and he never jad any real field knowledge.
I think a lot of people are entitled more so now too. They act like they shoukd stary at the top and scoff at experience being worth something. They won't take a job because of pay, but the experience and title would let them write their own ticket in 2-3 years.
A lot of people I have known only look at money. They don't look at actual responsibilities, title, day to day experience, project possibilities, benefits, etc. They just look at the pay.
When I took my job classmates thiught I was nuts because I had a lot of in field knowledge and I took my job with a small salary. But none of them factored in company environment and how you're treated. So I took this job where they treat me well and give me a raise every year. The state changed the law on overtime so my company bumped my salary up by quite a bit because they value employees like me. I got a 6% raise my first year.
People need to open their eyes.
Been with the same company for ten years and worked my way up. Doubled my original salary. 5 weeks vacation. Can’t beat it.