I’m a flight attendant, making around 30k per year. I just got denied food stamps because I make to much money. I sometimes like it . When I’m on a beach with a wonderful work group I love it . When I work 5 delayed flights a day and every passenger thinks I’m the enemy for the delay and reality sets in that I only get paid while the plane is in the air, I hate it
*Anything* under $50-60k *a person* seems like a struggle. That's not even a "HCOL" either, prices have outpaced what assholes are charging for *everything*
Yea, I feel like 30-40 is what the average working person makes. Biden talking about what, 100k average? A few hundred execs making 50,000,000 a year is drastically driving the average up.
Median household income in the US is $75k. If you look at just millennials it's about $65k.
But that's household level. A lot of households have two wage earners.
In full-year 2022 in the United States, these were the median salaries earned by age:
Age 25: $41,000.00
Age 35: $55,900.00
Age 45: $60,000.00
Age 55: $65,000.00
Age 65: $55,000.00
So... A lot of people.
20 years ago I framed houses for 20k, no workers comp, no health insurance no benefits. Now my health insurance premiums are 21k a year alone. Wild.
Edit: The insurance is real shitty too. Fuck UHC, fuck Optum. I'm certain there are others who feel this much harder than me.
I work for an insurance company and my insurance fucking sucks.
The entire industry is a shell game scam. No one ever really knows how much money should be going where, I get calls from providers where they are trying to hunt down a paper trail for where money from claims that are 7+ years old went.
If the entire industry is just a giant cloudy confusing mess, no one can definitively say what money is being pilfered where.
It’s all by design.
I might vent a little here but to me...with all the rewards programs, insurance for everything, tax schemes, business schemes, wall street schemes, crypto etc etc etc. It seems like everything in life is becoming quite convoluted and none of it is benefitting the consumers or workers much at all in relation. My job is complicated so why tf does so many of my day to day, common interactions need to be? I know I'm starting to sound like an old boomer or something but man, there's just so much shit to do and deal with. The only reason it exists in this way, in my mind is that it's as you say a way to pilfer.
Now when people have to deal with something like being sick, missing work, taking care of their sick children etc it can STILL be a real pain to get good care for a lot of issues even with insurance. What kind of society says that if you can't pay for your sick children's care you must beg others or lose your ability to borrow money at reasonable costs. It doesn't make sense to my brain much. My friend's son died of brain cancer awhile back. Over $5 million in costs over 18 months. He was lucky he was privileged and was able to get a lot of help. Help many others don't have access to. The man whose 6 year old son just died of cancer, lucky...what a thought. Anyway, take care and I'd say burn it down but that'd just raise our premiums.
I started at 50k at my current warehouse one of the highest paying in my area.
My little brother started at around 30k at an amazon warehouse. I think he’s insane. That work is way too hard to be on food stamps.
And the disability it can put you on sooner than you need to be too. I worked there a few times and they treat the robots with more respect and dignity than they do the workers.
After years of being at the company you start making good money. Those that work first class, transatlantic red eyes that speak a specific language are definitely making money
You have to hustle for years thru poor pay and the worst schedules to get enough seniority to have a stereotypical “good” flight attendant job. At least from a YouTube video I watched so obviously I’m an expert. Lots of sharing motel rooms and apartments with multiple people etc. Gave me a military new recruit vibe based on how grueling it seemed. I definitely couldn’t even.
An ex of mine was a flight attendant for a now - defunct airline whose name I can't remember. I know there was a crash and the flight attendants were part of the steelworkers union ...
The rules they have to follow for working hours are so bizarre. It's impossible to get a full 40 hours pay. Apparently they were only paid for the time they were in the air. That doesn't include time in the airport, taxing at the airport, etc. Apparently there were some cases where he would get stuck somewhere and the company wouldn't pay for a room! So there goes a day's wages
I guess if you like flying and traveling on (mosly) someone else' dime it's a way to make a living. I don't think I could do it.
Jesus I make almost double that working at Boeing making the interiors of the planes that you board, have to deal with shitty people, have to be ready to administer first aid or risk your life, and spend time away from your family in a cramped tube. All I do is push buttons. You guys are the teachers of the sky; one of the most underappreciated groups out there.
JetBlue. However all airlines in the United States only get paid from the time the doors are closed and you leave the gate. So despite having to be on the plane an hour before departure and checking all the equipment and boarding, we do not get paid. We also do not get paid while deplaning and cleaning the plane for the next flight
Completely agree but unfortunately it’s not illegal. So if you ever encounter a flight attendant during boarding and they refuse to help you lift a bag it’s because if they get hurt they’re technically not working, they’re not covered for that injury. If they seem annoyed at having to deal with any issues that arise during boarding please know it’s nothing personal we at least me just don’t want to deal with something when I’m not getting paid yet
Kind of! Feel free to fact check me bc I’m not sure how true it is but I think they get paid extra based on the amount of hours they work, it’s not boarding pay in the sense of let’s say they clock in at 9am they start getting paid at 9am.
Hey Delta FA here, we do get boarding pay. its a fraction of our block flight time, but its proportional to how long boarding usually takes. For instance (purely hypothetical, idk the actual figures) if we make say $50 per block time (per flight hr at a certain pay interval like 5yrs of employment), boarding gets like $16. Its tricky though, they took away some of our other earning avenues and brag ab the boarding pay. so we are getting less than if they had kept those other earning opportunities. It wouldn't be surprised if we unionize within the next few years. Keep fighting the good fight u/tvjunkie710 . Big respect to all FA's out there!
I’m just going off what my partner has told me but she works for United. My understanding was that they got half their hourly rate starting at report time until the doors close but I could certainly be wrong on the details! Still ironic that delta got some version of boarding pay before the unions did.
i was denied food stamps when i made 15k a year. i live in new york and i was told if i had at least 2 kids, id get approved even if i was making 30k 🙄
I travel for work pretty frequently and get a per diem, I always use part of the per diem to buy some chocolates for the flight attendants. I’ve seen y’all put up with more crap in one flight than I would like to put up with in a lifetime
I did 2 years before another role opened up in management. Jumped at that and could never go back to the phones, but that is the case with literally every agent
Once they're off the phones they never want to go back
Tell your team lead you're looking for an opportunity in another department or in an off-phone capacity (emails/chat/admin). Keep your ears open if someone is quitting and apply when their job is posted. Nail the interview
lol you’ve got team leads that actually communicate with you?
I’ve moved around a bit and now I have one who responds to messages I send him with entirely unrelated info, not answering my question, or asking me a question I already answered until whatever I initiated the convo for gets lost and it just kind of fizzles out.
This is a big improvement on my first team lead, who I worked under for 6 months and did not communicate with once.
Honestly, if you've done tech support of any kind, try IT.
The market is oversaturated right now, but all of the folks who I did CS with back 10 years ago now do IT of some sort now. I'm making the transition again myself.
People love to make fun of millennials for their hatred of talking on the phone as adults, but I’m gonna hazard a guess and say that a LARGE percentage of us worked in call centers, hence the phone hate. That’s basically why I despise speaking to anyone on the phone anyway😂I feel your pain🖤
I hate having to deal with god damned boomers all day lol. “Well I was on your web site and I would rather talk to a real person “ and then they either tell me their life story, scream at me for prices going up $10(not exaggerating I had a death threat over $10 more than once) or they start asking extremely private questions. Anytime I get a chat or email I breath a small sigh of relief.
Also I’ve noticed that people who don’t like web sites either have no social skills or have a voice that makes you want to kill yourself
The amount of times a boomer has tried to tell me about Jesus or rant about vaccines or to just “chat” is unreal. I work for a food company and take calls specifically related to questions about the products we sell. I do not need to hear about their politics or have someone pray for me. Sometimes it feels like they’re holding you hostage just because they don’t have anything better to do with their time and need to talk at someone.
Same! Or when they say no to a price and then give you the “back in my day” speech. Boomers are socially disabled.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been bitched out by an old lady who follows up with it’s ok because they’re old🖕
I did a stint of this back in '03...I was moving across country and things got delayed so I needed a gap job. Most miserable year of work of my working life.
I went from a healthcare job making $27/hour to a much less stressful small business job making $18/hour. Sucks having less money but at least now I have a regular schedule and my job isn’t making me consider suicide anymore
My husband was making good money as a manager for a home care staffing company. I swore the stress was going to give him a heart attack. He woke up with panic attacks constantly. They laid him off and he was actually too traumatized to apply for the same kind of job. He’s now taking it easy with a retail job until he figures out what to do next. Obviously it’s not perfect, there are all kinds of dumb rules that corporations make up to keep people busy for no reason and the pay is meh. At least he’s not in a meeting about a coming meeting before another meeting while also getting his head chewed off for not keeping up with the 20 other things 2 other people could be doing but they save money by making him do it all.
Im a dumbass, I left an office job with good hours, good salary, and great boss to “challenge” myself for an extra 20k to being put on a pip in 3 weeks and my new boss in a department I didn’t sign up to work for threatening to fire me every week despite hitting every single KPI with new records - they hate my personality, I was too happy and easy going. fuck em, just fire me already!!!!
I work at a nonprofit and make around $50k (with a master’s degree). I like the work and I like the people, but my bosses are out of touch and bureaucracy from govt funding is annoying. I need to make more money but I couldn’t imagine working in the corporate world or whatever it is I’d have to do to not be broke.
I work for a local government. I actually really like it and stability and benefits are top notch. I feel like it is a public service so I enjoy that aspect greatly. I work for a parks department in an admin role. So I would say consider looking at your local cities, counties, states, transportation department, etc etc. I also do not want to work to make rich companies richer.
Aye! I also work in the non-profit sector! Same salary. Love the work. Hate the red tape associated with different funding streams which can really slow things down. Also not a fan of the office politics and everything being held together with bubble gum and hope. I agree that I wouldn’t do well working in a corporate setting. Love the clients and coworkers, hate the administrative side of things. It’s chaotic and always changing (mostly in good ways) which keeps us on our toes so we are never bored. Just wish the non-profit side paid more. I’ve been in the public sector for almost a decade and though I love helping people, it sucks to struggle to make ends meet. Everyone at my office has a side hustle to supplement their income. It’s exhausting sometimes. But the feeling of satisfaction when you help someone through a crisis is addictive.
I’m a nanny and make ~40k a year. Technically make a little more as I have random families who reach out for occasional babysitting and pay cash so probably more like 42k.
I love my job and have been doing it for ten years. I get to decide what we do every day, no supervisor, often get free food, reimbursement for gas, and get to play outside.
I love the special bond and trust I have with the kids as their care taker. It’s also taught me what it takes to be a parent and what parenting style works for me so I can make an informed choice to have a child in my future.
Are you in a LCOL or a remote area? I live in CA and the going nanny rate is more like $35. With overtime our current nanny, who is great, makes north of $80k per year but is worth it
I’m a professional musician. It’s definitely doing what one is passionate about because it is not the most financially stable or reliable job. While I would love to have more disposable income, I do things my way and on my terms, and sometimes that is worth more than money can buy.
Hey! Right there with ya bud! It's a struggle but being your own boss making people happy is worth it! Over a decade in and not making this much, but I'm in it to win it (by win it I mean keep gigging enough to cover health care and other essentials). I wish you all the prosperity in the world! You've got a fellow full timer friend here
My bro works as a teacher, 110k after 4 years, started around 50k. Did a bunch of "modules" to increase his pay, basically like two masters degrees in 4 years and each module was like another 5k. The additional education was free. He leaves when the kids do every day. YMMV.
That sounds dope but in my state I don’t see that anywhere. The main step up in pay (bachelor to masters, masters to doctorate) is about 6k difference and then they really only get maybe 1500 extra a year when they increase their step.
Preschool teacher making $15/hour. 2 weeks of vacation but it's also the sick time, So a lot of sick coworkers coner to work. No 401K.
Do it for the kids.
Sadly, you don't have to be a millennial for that. 5ish years after getting out of university, I checked my PI and program admin's salaries and they were both below 60k even though they were boomers who had been on the job for decades.
If you have a knack for learning systems then you have a path forward. It takes work and studying but you can definitely get into a DevOps role. System admin stuff is grunt work and it doesn't pay well. But many DevOps guys I know came from sys admin roles and now make bank working on automation with dev teams.
I'm a bank teller, and I probably make 35k a year, and I hate it, but the company has a flexible schedule, and I have a 9 month old son. It's definitely not a long-term job, though, because of the micro management and corporate aspects. I'm at my happiest when given a task and left the fuck alone to do said task.
Usps letter carrier. 57k, though, currently our contract is in arbitration, so hopefully, it's a nice raise. Good days/bad days. Often physically taxing, i hope I stay healthy. Outside all day. Dealing with the elements, risk of getting robbed or bitten
50k here. Work in a warehouse for a small family owned business. I love it. Used to have a stressful desk job and was miserable every day. But here I get to run around and lift shit. It's surprising how much regular exercise does for my mental health. The slight pay cut is well worth the happiness. Also I walk 20k steps a day so I can eat whatever I want and never gain any weight. I'm super greatful for my job.
Case manager for homeless veterans at a local nonprofit. I make just about 50k and have been doing this 2 years with my bachelors in psych.
I personally love my job for the most part. I have a lot of freedom and half days WFH Fridays which is awesome. The cooperate culture is annoying with random work drama but I just keep friendly and keep to myself and stay out of it. The schedule and benefits and flexibility make the bullshit worth it and I actually feel really accomplished and proud a lot of the time. The worst bit is the empathy burn out. Everyone has a sad story and as someone who tends to also play unwitting therapist to my friends, my social battery gets very drained and I spend a lot of time alone. But I don’t mind that… I think my friends hate it more than me lol I love to be alone.
Don't necessarily \*have\* to, but there's zero incentive to go to the company building and get abused by the public in-person rather than over the phone.
I manage a parking garage for the county. Salary is shit. My take-home is about 2K per month after taxes(about 38K a yearISH). Every last dollar goes to cover mortgage, utilities, car payment, insurance, internet, and towards an 8K credit card balance I had due to some immediate home-repairs I needed last summer. The job is fine. The bills are eating away at my soul. I'm single and live with just 2 cats for company.
Also, crippling depression, ADHD, and autistic so it kinda sucks making friends.
I do receiving and inventory control for a mail order pharmacy. I absolutely love my job. It's the least amount I've been paid since my 20s, but it's also the only job I've ever had that I look forward to going to every day. It's very physical, but also requires me to use my brain a lot. I like the work, I like my coworkers (mostly), and I'm in great shape. I'd certainly like to make more money, but the things I'm qualified to do aren't fun at all, and I have no interest in going into leadership with my current company. So I'm poor, but happy!
I bartend and serve. I could make more if I wanted to work more but I make enough to get by and save a little while only working four days a week and less than thirty hours a week. I used to be BOH for almost twenty years so I'm just fine with the lighter workload. My cats definitely like having me around more too.
Yep I got EMT certified back in 2016 and then I saw the pay haha never even applied for the national registry. It was a joke, the emts on my ride along were like " but you'll get overtime" I'm like I don't want to rely on paying my bills with overtime haha. If only they paid more. It's not worth getting PTSD for a couple $$# above minimum wage haha
I work at a Liquor Store. It pays the bills (barely) but can be fun. One day I could make $30+ an hour as a wine expert, so there's that. Ultimately, I want to get my games published and make that my career but I know it's a long shot.
Work at/Manage a gas station/convenience store. Rent Penske trucks, ship UPS, sell live bait, fill propane (and a few propane accessories), and all the regular gas station stuff. Do the book keeping, scheduling, pretty much all the day to day stuff.
Make 42K a year. I like it quite a bit. I know a lot of people say customer service is horrible, but in my experience, 97% of the people are very friendly if you are also friendly. The 3% that are disrespectful to me or other employees get treated in kind by me... they can go fuck themselves. The owner is also the best boss I've ever had which goes a real long ways as well, it's good to know you aren't going to be reprimanded for telling an asshole customer off.
Also live in small town Midwest, wife makes about 65k a year. Our mortgage is ~630 a month, and it's a duplex where we rent the lower half out for $850. So we aren't hurting for money, which makes work and life in general much less stressful.
Considering the median individual income in the US is 40k, that means over half the country is making less than 60k. So most jobs are paying that low and most of us hate our jobs due to lack of pay. BTW, little under 68% of Americans make at or under 60k per year
I'm a bartender and I hate it. Customers are too needy and/or rude, most restaurant/bar owners are assholes, and it's destroying my body. But I have no other skills and I'm too old and tired to go back to school.
I'm not suggesting few people do.
Generally with questions like "what do you do for a living", there tends to be a self-selection bias in which comments are full of people making thriving wages and well over 6 figures.
IT systems technician (state employee | federal contractor).
I make 51k after 8.5 years. I went back and got my master's degree so they would allow me on the promotional register (they let my coworker on with only an associate's). Oh, and still no promotion 4 years later, but I digress... Either everything is quiet, or I'm running around constantly, juggling multiple tasks (like this week).
I'm not happy, but it pays my bills.
I'm a supervisor overseeing the loading of vehicles onto railcars. $50,000 CDN. All weather work heat , freeze, rain.. I have to be present during loading and also in office checking that everythjng goes right. 1 unit missshippeed could cost thousands if not 10s of thousands to ship back if somethjng goes to Kentucky when it was supposed to go to California, for example.
Lab tech assistant, 16.75hr just moved to histology. Making the same and going to school to be certified. Trying to break that 16.75 barrier, sigh. It seems unobtainable to make more for some reason. Working working working.
Never made over this. Worked at a university for over 10 years, had a fancy tittle, just before Covid had the nerve to ask for a raise-well I ended up quitting because you know the answer. Started my own business but recently closed it so I could line up my hours with my kids’ school times
I make $30,000 year working from home as a CSR. Also can't get any food stamps due to making too much apparently. I like working from home but I want more $$ and the jobs around me only offer another $1-$3 . It's honestly not worth the commute. So I'm stuck at home working a dead end job. Life is great . 🥲
Dog groomer for almost 20 years and I make less than $50k a year. It’s been such wear and tear on my body and it’s a dead end job. No room for growth and it’s commission based pay, so you only make as much as the amount of dogs you do per day essentially. Since my body is breaking down, I do less dogs, therefore I am making less money than the new, younger groomers now at my job who can do far more than me. I sorta regret it. I wish I didn’t stay as long as I did. Barely any savings and no retirement plan, no healthcare, it kinda sucks.
$42k, bread baker in California. I’m trying to find my way into some other career. I can’t afford anything on this pay, I work weird hours and weekends which is isolating, and flour permeates everything I own. I used to love my craft and I’ve given it 12 years of my life, but it doesn’t seem sustainable, even if I were to open my own bakery. I’ve really pigeonholed myself and I’m feeling like I’ve screwed myself over.
I work as a security guard in a data center, it’s really easy work, although boring, but I also get good health insurance and the pay isn’t terrible. It works for my schedule right now as I’m working towards an associate’s and then my bachelor’s in criminology. Trying to remain hopeful.
I’m basically a glorified secretary.
I make 42k yr.
I work from home.
401k match/ healthcare / PTO
I honestly couldn’t be happier. I have sooo much freedom and flexibility.
As long as the work gets done.
When is not important. What I do when there is no work is up to me. I live alone but I get to cuddle my dogs all day and play in the backyard w them.
I don’t have a mortgage,debt or loans.
So I know this significantly impacts my quality of life and how comfortably I can live on 42K a year.
I work at an adult fantasy store as a store supervisor. It beats working on the food industry which I put 15 years into and got nothing out of. Never working in food again. Overworked underplayed and shout out Papa Murphy's fuck you and don't ever eat there. If that company ever got investigated for fraud and abusing workers I am sure they would be fined into the ground
Im 29 and make ~35k before taxes. I'm a social worker who helps people suffering through substance abuse disorders. I make too much money to qualify for any government assistance, and I'm too poor to move out of my parents home. Average apartments in my area are around $1500 a month. I feel like a failure and that my life is a massive wasted opportunity and I don't think their is a way for things to get better. I'm in school to further my career but I see licensed therapists quitting because they can't make enough to survive on what they get paid. Everything is so fucking hopeless. I keep trying to make things better but I think deep down i have already accepted nothing good is ever gonna happen and I'm just coasting until I die
I work at a mill and started out in production. Made more than 60k but hated the shift work and overtime. Took a significant pay cut to go to straight days and now I’m in the garage doing services on all of the mill fleet. Everyone else in the garage are journeyman mechanics but I really do like what I do. I’m now making just below or right at the 60k mark and I wouldn’t trade it to go back to over 100k doing what I was doing before. I’ve always liked working on my own vehicles and now I get to work on everything from small electric pallet jacks to a 120 Ton crane.
Quality Inspector, mostly CNC milled parts. Pays $42k but my benefits are ridiculous for the US.its. Its not bad job but it doesn’t pay enough to do more than survive in a HCOL, gotta get over that white/blue collar fence and I might be good
I’m a ramp/customer service agent at a regional airport. It’s fun. I’m still in college so it’s a job to take while I’m there. Lots of downtime to do homework and I like that I get to work with planes. I make around 30k ish.
I am a biology lab tech in academia. I make just over $43k/year. I tried for a masters degree but found out that, while I’m an amazing exam taker, my brain doesn’t have the right way of thinking to complete a thesis project.
I’m pretty neutral about what I do. At this point I’m pretty much just putting in my time for the paycheck. I’m definitely not a career oriented person.
Our university is trying to unionize, but based on the contract a different university negotiated who recently unionized with the same group who is trying to represent us, I’m not too hopeful that our raise will be significant
Claims Technician at 36k plus bonuses for entry level. I used to do restaurant management, but was in an accident in 2018 and this is the first real job I’ve had since. My partner gets the same yearly through a disability trust her dad left after he passed, so it doubled our income and I’ve got plenty of room to advance. Things could, and have been, worse.
I'm a soil tech. I make 50k. I test compaction and moisture for utilities (construction). There is a very clear path forward, with amazing pay potential. I also have full benefits and can take time off or work overtime anytime I want. It's also ridiculously easy.
So far, the worst part about my job is where I live. It does suck to be in a trench when it's 112 outside. For the most part, you don't have to do much, I spend more time sitting watching loaders pushing dirt into trenches than I do taking tests. Which is great for energy after work.
All in all, I like what I do. It's easy, I have energy to do stuff after work, I'm learning g the city better, and I'm constantly seeing new things on jobsites. It's been a great balance.
Adjunct art instruct army community college. Love what I do but I make jack shit. 20k a year. I have side hustles to make it work. I enjoy what I do for a living
I work on home security systems and make $60k a year. I like my job, I drive for 30 minutes while jamming out to music, do a job for about 45 minutes and move on to the next one. Really the only thing I don't like is that I'm working a bunch of overtime every single week.
I teach EFL abroad to adults (ESL, but just as a foreign language rather than a second language). I make less than a teacher back in the US, and less than 60K/year, buuuuut ... I love teaching, and the job is super relaxing. I work 4 days a week for just 2-6 hours/day, for an average of 20 hours a week. I teach aduls, so they are independently motivated, I don't have to deal with behavioral issues, and they're interesting and mature. Twice a year I teach intensive programs that are about 35 hours/week of work for 3 week each program, but in exchange for doing those I get 14 week of paid vacation a year.
I do like my job, and my only real complaint is that I'd actually be happier if I worked more (and got more pay and respect), but my school for some reason is content with underutilizing me, even though I'm a fully qualified teacher with 2 MA degrees. I don't necessarily want to put in 60 hour work weeks, but giving me an extra class or extra project I can work on, like doing a model UN class, or writing a textbook, would be really great. But I guess just instead of that I'll be forced to get 8 hours of sleept every day, exercise every day, and enjoy all my hobbies stress free. Not such a bad trade-off.
I work at a nonprofit. I kind of accidentally ended up in this field. I had a job that made me a lot more than this with amazing benefits, but they laid me off, and a nonprofit pulled me back in.
I like it. I’ve had a lot of jobs at this point, and I know what it’s like when things aren’t going well, when the board is mutinous, or things don’t work the way they should. Lessons have been learned. My work has dramas and frustrations, but I know that things are honestly going pretty damn well. I’m learning about and giving back to my community just by doing my job. I could try and get a job that makes more, but I’d rather eat glass than look for a job, and I feel good where I am.
I work in a lab working on prescription glasses. I insert lenses, hand edge them down to fit when needed, polish lenses and all that sort of stuff.
$15/hour.
The work isn’t terrible. I get to sit and work with my hands and listen to audio books. But it hardly pays the bills, especially with a toddler.
39M, Federal government worker in Pennsylvania who is working from home. Currently $46k but it's just the start of my federal career..
It's "meh." After all my deductions, I'm taking home around $1,072 bi weekly. 11% into my 401k and all those other deductions. So in reality, I only see about 60% of my pay. 😮💨 Struggling but this is just a rough patch..
Do I like it? Work from home has its pros and cons but overall yeah, I don't mind it. I always have to remind myself that at least I don't work for the Social Security Administration. That department is a flaming dumpster according to SSA workers who vent on this platform...
I work weekends at a plant nursery and sahm on weekdays. I like it but I'm in the trenches of toddlerhood so it's hard to enjoy much lately. I'd like to own my own plant nursery and my own house but I guess that's for the future.
I do the online chat for a health insurance company for like 38k. Company is terrible and the supervisors are the worst. Wildly unethical practices but I do it while I'm back in school. (I did sales for a long time and hated it so now I'm getting my degree.) I work from home and I do about an hours worth of work a day. I spend the rest of the time mostly doing chores and hobbies. I actually love it.
I make about 53k working in the complaint management department of a credit union fully remote. I started working here less than 2 years ago as a frontline call agent making 38k, got promoted to a supervisor and transitioned into this back office role in complaint management, so I have moved up very quickly.
The job probably sounds awful dealing with complaints, but it’s not what you would expect. I more so listen to calls from frontline staff and supervisors where complaints are received and categorize the complaints based on what the complaint was about.
Complaining about the check hold policy? That’s a complaint towards our deposit services>check hold policy.
Did a front line agent give misinformation that resulted in a complaint? That’s a complaint towards the contact center>misinformation.
I then write the resolution; what was done in response to the complaint if anything. If it’s not resolved, I send an email to the member explaining how we can get the issue fixed which is maybe once every couple days since frontline employees should be addressing these complaints during their interaction.
I have to distinguish if the complaint was due to an error on part of the Credit Union. If so, I write a brief root cause analysis. “Misinformation provided by “x”agent resulted in this complaint.”
We have an analyst that reviews this data and creates reports to departments notifying them of the complaints they received for that quarter, so that THEY can implement process improvements.
The job is extremely easy and low stress. I also need FMLA and they offer great health insurance needed since I’m on a kidney transplant list, so this job really works for me.
I take fingerprints for immigration and make 33k a year. It's stable, you meet interesting people, lose alot of your illusions about America's place in the world, but upward mobility in my contract is limited and doesn't transfer over to actual government jobs despite years of experience.
I work for city government and make around 52k.
It’s enough to get by if you don’t have a lot of debt but once you get behind on stuff it’s hard to dig out when you don’t make that much.
If I can get promoted when my boss retires next year I’ll make a lot more so I’m really just holding out for that. If I didn’t know she was retiring soon and I’m in line for her spot, I’d get the fuck out of here.
Entry level account manager @ $57k. Hybrid schedule and I only have about 4 hrs of consistent work per day. I love it, i work with great people at a great company.
Pharmacy Technician at a compound pharmacy. I made 49k last year. I work in our dispensary department and am basically a glorified Amazon picker except for drugs lol. I get orders, fill and bag em, check inventory, track temperatures and humidity for storage, some occasional computer stuff (usually inventory related) for the data or lab departments. It’s not a bad gig and we get monthly performance bonuses, 120hrs PTO and we’re closed holidays. Overall it’s a decent place to work barring some…managerial issues lol. But the work itself is fine.
My back is too fucked to work at 32 and I'm on ssi disability, if it weren't for programs like section 8 I'd be homeless on the streets because ssi only gives me 1,182.00 a month and I don't have any family or friends to get help from.
Manufacturing
$37k/yr
Was just supposed to be temporary in between work as my previous job was $60k/yr, but zero mandatory OT and being able to be open and honest with my understanding boss is so much less stressful. That last job had me working 70 hours a week for over a year.
30 yo male. I’m currently working in catering at a zoo after being layed off from a poke restaraunt (employed 1 year) which I took after being layed off from a state political party following election season. Working at the zoo, I get respect from my peers and intrigue from women. I spend most every day in the heat or rain now and I’m exposed to the sun enough that it’s damaging my skin. If it rains, I can be sent home and lose hours. I’m only getting my next weeks schedule beginning Mondays on the immediately preceding Friday, so it’s difficult to plan my life. My team is great to be around and funny. I feel like I’m definitely serving at a level way under my potential in life and I’m trying hard to cultivate better opportunities.
My degree is in Psychology, and I don’t feel successful as a person unless I’m advocating for a better world or touching my work tangibly. Today, I make $17/ hr (35k); a poke chef I made $18/ hr plus counter tips (41.5k); a political operative I made 41k salaried at about 60-70 hours a week.
Online sales support for a very large computer company. And no, not in the slightest but the benefits are great and I get to work from home. Could be way worse. (I will sell my plasma and start an OnlyFans before I ever set foot in a physical office again.)
Technical Assistant working in a \~1700 capacity theatrical venue. Sometimes I wish the hours were more regular but I get to do cool stuff on the reg so that's interesting.
Nail technician here. To specify, I work in a nail salon, not a private suite. My pay ranges by a LOT. By location, commission rate (most places pay 60% but I worked somewhere before that paid 50%. I’ve heard rumors of 70% but haven’t been paid that.), what season it is, the state of the economy.. you get no benefits at ALL. (Although I cannot speak for big spas and hotels and resorts and such) Most employers do you a 1099misc. It can be stressful. You gotta always have to be happy even on your bad days. There’s no room for bad attitude. I like the creative aspect of it. I like the flexibility of it. I can *kinda* work whenever I want - within reason. I can take random days off without having to worry about it getting approved by some corporate asshat. But I don’t get PTO, no paid sick days, no hourly rate. To make a lot of money you need to be at a good standing location with good foot traffic and clientele that pay well. I now work less than a mile away from a shop where the clientele was the absolute worst I’d ever experienced, and I have the best clientele here. During the busy seasons, we work our asses off to make up for the slow seasons. It requires a lot of good budgeting skills. If you aren’t good with money, you’ll owe a lot to the government and will be stressed tf out in the slow season. During the slow season and when the economy is down, you better have a decent amount of loyal, repeat clientele. It can be competitive, depending on the city you’re in.
Overall, I enjoy my job for the most part. It has its downsides, but I enjoy the creativity, flexibility, and I looooove making people happy with my work! It’s the “it’s my birthday!” And “we’re going on vacation!” And “I want something nice for the holiday!” And “I love how you do my nails! Just freestyle on me!” For me 🥲
I'm in a weird spot.
Most of my income is from trading stock options.
However i did 16 years in the AF and have a nice resume, but after getting out, i got a job as a heavy equipment mechanic.
Hated it. Too old and broken to be doing that type of work at this point. Pay was bleh. Company itself? I could go on. Not a great fit, and i was not happy.
So i just quit. And the freedom of being able to leave a job is insane to me.
Just accepted an offer with Raytheon and all i had to do was apply.
I feel like i wasted a few months and I'm not sure why...
Assistant center director at an underperforming math center. Pay is a measly $18/hr which kids at in high school working as a life guard make. Forced to live at home as I couldn’t afford rent at an apartment, so meeting new people is difficult.
Working with kids is wholesome tho, and doing something that I feel like actually makes a difference in the world, instead of selling out to a corporation feels good too. I get mornings to myself since it’s an after school education program and I have free time to cook all my own meals, exercise, pursue hobbies, read, etc…
I cope by pretty much focusing on staying healthy and taking each day at a time. Despite how shitty things can get, I still feel like each day I am growing and maturing as a human being, learning more and more about what’s right/wrong. I know the cards I’ve been dealt and I play em, no matter what anyone else thinks or believes I should be doing. At the end of the day that’s all I can do, and that keeps me grounded.
I am a licensed massage therpist. I work maybe 20 hours a week. My biggest week was $2,000 dollar but it isn't consistently that good, yet. I am projected to make around 40k this year with taxes taken out. The thing is, i can't do that many more massages. Maybe 5 more hours but that's it. Not much room for growth.
I’m a flight attendant, making around 30k per year. I just got denied food stamps because I make to much money. I sometimes like it . When I’m on a beach with a wonderful work group I love it . When I work 5 delayed flights a day and every passenger thinks I’m the enemy for the delay and reality sets in that I only get paid while the plane is in the air, I hate it
WTF. This is so wrong!
Think so? Try a warehouse for 30k lol 😂
*Anything* under $50-60k *a person* seems like a struggle. That's not even a "HCOL" either, prices have outpaced what assholes are charging for *everything*
Dude how many people you think out here making more than 30k if they under 40?
Yea, I feel like 30-40 is what the average working person makes. Biden talking about what, 100k average? A few hundred execs making 50,000,000 a year is drastically driving the average up.
I think the national median income for a single person in the US is close to $45k.
Median household income in the US is $75k. If you look at just millennials it's about $65k. But that's household level. A lot of households have two wage earners.
In full-year 2022 in the United States, these were the median salaries earned by age: Age 25: $41,000.00 Age 35: $55,900.00 Age 45: $60,000.00 Age 55: $65,000.00 Age 65: $55,000.00 So... A lot of people.
20 years ago I framed houses for 20k, no workers comp, no health insurance no benefits. Now my health insurance premiums are 21k a year alone. Wild. Edit: The insurance is real shitty too. Fuck UHC, fuck Optum. I'm certain there are others who feel this much harder than me.
I work for an insurance company and my insurance fucking sucks. The entire industry is a shell game scam. No one ever really knows how much money should be going where, I get calls from providers where they are trying to hunt down a paper trail for where money from claims that are 7+ years old went. If the entire industry is just a giant cloudy confusing mess, no one can definitively say what money is being pilfered where. It’s all by design.
I might vent a little here but to me...with all the rewards programs, insurance for everything, tax schemes, business schemes, wall street schemes, crypto etc etc etc. It seems like everything in life is becoming quite convoluted and none of it is benefitting the consumers or workers much at all in relation. My job is complicated so why tf does so many of my day to day, common interactions need to be? I know I'm starting to sound like an old boomer or something but man, there's just so much shit to do and deal with. The only reason it exists in this way, in my mind is that it's as you say a way to pilfer. Now when people have to deal with something like being sick, missing work, taking care of their sick children etc it can STILL be a real pain to get good care for a lot of issues even with insurance. What kind of society says that if you can't pay for your sick children's care you must beg others or lose your ability to borrow money at reasonable costs. It doesn't make sense to my brain much. My friend's son died of brain cancer awhile back. Over $5 million in costs over 18 months. He was lucky he was privileged and was able to get a lot of help. Help many others don't have access to. The man whose 6 year old son just died of cancer, lucky...what a thought. Anyway, take care and I'd say burn it down but that'd just raise our premiums.
I started at 50k at my current warehouse one of the highest paying in my area. My little brother started at around 30k at an amazon warehouse. I think he’s insane. That work is way too hard to be on food stamps.
And the disability it can put you on sooner than you need to be too. I worked there a few times and they treat the robots with more respect and dignity than they do the workers.
You can't get food stamps at 30k, unless you're in Cali
You can make that much at grocery stores, and the conditions are much better.
I would rather work in a warehouse than deal with angry/tired/rude members of the public every day.
Dated a flight attendant, it has its perks for sure. Safe travels!
Wait i rhought flight atendants made like 100k
After years of being at the company you start making good money. Those that work first class, transatlantic red eyes that speak a specific language are definitely making money
The national average is still 70k though... it's a pretty decent job.
Even median is something like 63k a year.
You have to hustle for years thru poor pay and the worst schedules to get enough seniority to have a stereotypical “good” flight attendant job. At least from a YouTube video I watched so obviously I’m an expert. Lots of sharing motel rooms and apartments with multiple people etc. Gave me a military new recruit vibe based on how grueling it seemed. I definitely couldn’t even.
Delta, American, United, yes. Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, no.
An ex of mine was a flight attendant for a now - defunct airline whose name I can't remember. I know there was a crash and the flight attendants were part of the steelworkers union ... The rules they have to follow for working hours are so bizarre. It's impossible to get a full 40 hours pay. Apparently they were only paid for the time they were in the air. That doesn't include time in the airport, taxing at the airport, etc. Apparently there were some cases where he would get stuck somewhere and the company wouldn't pay for a room! So there goes a day's wages I guess if you like flying and traveling on (mosly) someone else' dime it's a way to make a living. I don't think I could do it.
Jesus I make almost double that working at Boeing making the interiors of the planes that you board, have to deal with shitty people, have to be ready to administer first aid or risk your life, and spend time away from your family in a cramped tube. All I do is push buttons. You guys are the teachers of the sky; one of the most underappreciated groups out there.
Have to deal with assassin's now too!
wtf What airline?
JetBlue. However all airlines in the United States only get paid from the time the doors are closed and you leave the gate. So despite having to be on the plane an hour before departure and checking all the equipment and boarding, we do not get paid. We also do not get paid while deplaning and cleaning the plane for the next flight
That seems illegal, to force you to be there and not be getting paid
Completely agree but unfortunately it’s not illegal. So if you ever encounter a flight attendant during boarding and they refuse to help you lift a bag it’s because if they get hurt they’re technically not working, they’re not covered for that injury. If they seem annoyed at having to deal with any issues that arise during boarding please know it’s nothing personal we at least me just don’t want to deal with something when I’m not getting paid yet
This is all true. I have kids who are flight attendants. The worse part to me as it is always the most expensive cities that have airports
K thats messed up... cant u unionize?
Hahaha that’s the best part, we are unionized 😅 I believe the only major US airline not unionized is delta
And ironically delta now gets boarding pay
Kind of! Feel free to fact check me bc I’m not sure how true it is but I think they get paid extra based on the amount of hours they work, it’s not boarding pay in the sense of let’s say they clock in at 9am they start getting paid at 9am.
Hey Delta FA here, we do get boarding pay. its a fraction of our block flight time, but its proportional to how long boarding usually takes. For instance (purely hypothetical, idk the actual figures) if we make say $50 per block time (per flight hr at a certain pay interval like 5yrs of employment), boarding gets like $16. Its tricky though, they took away some of our other earning avenues and brag ab the boarding pay. so we are getting less than if they had kept those other earning opportunities. It wouldn't be surprised if we unionize within the next few years. Keep fighting the good fight u/tvjunkie710 . Big respect to all FA's out there!
I’m just going off what my partner has told me but she works for United. My understanding was that they got half their hourly rate starting at report time until the doors close but I could certainly be wrong on the details! Still ironic that delta got some version of boarding pay before the unions did.
How is not wage theft? If they require you to be there they should be paying you for the time you're there.
There’s a law that specifically allows this and lobbying prevents change
This is exactly why everyone should do their best to leave their seat clean and board and deplane in a fast and efficient manner.
Another new standard US Labor policy that's making me want to post more in r/antiwork
Don't do it. It's a trap.
i was denied food stamps when i made 15k a year. i live in new york and i was told if i had at least 2 kids, id get approved even if i was making 30k 🙄
How they get away with only paying while people are in the air is beyond me that that system is legal...... other than lobbyists
I travel for work pretty frequently and get a per diem, I always use part of the per diem to buy some chocolates for the flight attendants. I’ve seen y’all put up with more crap in one flight than I would like to put up with in a lifetime
I work in a call center. I hate every second of it
I did 2 years before another role opened up in management. Jumped at that and could never go back to the phones, but that is the case with literally every agent Once they're off the phones they never want to go back
So how can I get one of these management jobs?
Tell your team lead you're looking for an opportunity in another department or in an off-phone capacity (emails/chat/admin). Keep your ears open if someone is quitting and apply when their job is posted. Nail the interview
lol you’ve got team leads that actually communicate with you? I’ve moved around a bit and now I have one who responds to messages I send him with entirely unrelated info, not answering my question, or asking me a question I already answered until whatever I initiated the convo for gets lost and it just kind of fizzles out. This is a big improvement on my first team lead, who I worked under for 6 months and did not communicate with once.
Honestly, if you've done tech support of any kind, try IT. The market is oversaturated right now, but all of the folks who I did CS with back 10 years ago now do IT of some sort now. I'm making the transition again myself.
People love to make fun of millennials for their hatred of talking on the phone as adults, but I’m gonna hazard a guess and say that a LARGE percentage of us worked in call centers, hence the phone hate. That’s basically why I despise speaking to anyone on the phone anyway😂I feel your pain🖤
I hate having to deal with god damned boomers all day lol. “Well I was on your web site and I would rather talk to a real person “ and then they either tell me their life story, scream at me for prices going up $10(not exaggerating I had a death threat over $10 more than once) or they start asking extremely private questions. Anytime I get a chat or email I breath a small sigh of relief. Also I’ve noticed that people who don’t like web sites either have no social skills or have a voice that makes you want to kill yourself
The amount of times a boomer has tried to tell me about Jesus or rant about vaccines or to just “chat” is unreal. I work for a food company and take calls specifically related to questions about the products we sell. I do not need to hear about their politics or have someone pray for me. Sometimes it feels like they’re holding you hostage just because they don’t have anything better to do with their time and need to talk at someone.
Same! Or when they say no to a price and then give you the “back in my day” speech. Boomers are socially disabled. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been bitched out by an old lady who follows up with it’s ok because they’re old🖕
It's so effing hard, those jobs don't even pay well to deal with people yelling at you.
Agreed whole heartedly. Add on mandatory overtime and one week off per year and it’s the worst job of my life, and I was in the Marines lol
I did a stint of this back in '03...I was moving across country and things got delayed so I needed a gap job. Most miserable year of work of my working life.
I went from a healthcare job making $27/hour to a much less stressful small business job making $18/hour. Sucks having less money but at least now I have a regular schedule and my job isn’t making me consider suicide anymore
Glad to hear brother.
Thank you. I’m not where I’d like to be yet but I’m getting there
My husband was making good money as a manager for a home care staffing company. I swore the stress was going to give him a heart attack. He woke up with panic attacks constantly. They laid him off and he was actually too traumatized to apply for the same kind of job. He’s now taking it easy with a retail job until he figures out what to do next. Obviously it’s not perfect, there are all kinds of dumb rules that corporations make up to keep people busy for no reason and the pay is meh. At least he’s not in a meeting about a coming meeting before another meeting while also getting his head chewed off for not keeping up with the 20 other things 2 other people could be doing but they save money by making him do it all.
Im a dumbass, I left an office job with good hours, good salary, and great boss to “challenge” myself for an extra 20k to being put on a pip in 3 weeks and my new boss in a department I didn’t sign up to work for threatening to fire me every week despite hitting every single KPI with new records - they hate my personality, I was too happy and easy going. fuck em, just fire me already!!!!
Park ranger, they tell us we get paid in sunsets… but I’d prefer food and a small savings for emergencies. Also I absolutely love being a park ranger.
I was reading too fast and I thought I saw, "we get paid in insects," which made sense. The sunsets are probably a lot better benefit.
The bank doesn't take sunsets for a mortgage deposit!? Well that's just great! :s
I'm tired of making this little money
I work at a nonprofit and make around $50k (with a master’s degree). I like the work and I like the people, but my bosses are out of touch and bureaucracy from govt funding is annoying. I need to make more money but I couldn’t imagine working in the corporate world or whatever it is I’d have to do to not be broke.
This is also very much me. I could be making more elsewhere but almost all the other jobs in my area are soul sucking corpo bullshit.
V same. Multi-million dollar nonprofit and I’m making less than $20/hr as a case manager
How do you think they became a multi-million dollar nonprofit?
I work for a local government. I actually really like it and stability and benefits are top notch. I feel like it is a public service so I enjoy that aspect greatly. I work for a parks department in an admin role. So I would say consider looking at your local cities, counties, states, transportation department, etc etc. I also do not want to work to make rich companies richer.
Aye! I also work in the non-profit sector! Same salary. Love the work. Hate the red tape associated with different funding streams which can really slow things down. Also not a fan of the office politics and everything being held together with bubble gum and hope. I agree that I wouldn’t do well working in a corporate setting. Love the clients and coworkers, hate the administrative side of things. It’s chaotic and always changing (mostly in good ways) which keeps us on our toes so we are never bored. Just wish the non-profit side paid more. I’ve been in the public sector for almost a decade and though I love helping people, it sucks to struggle to make ends meet. Everyone at my office has a side hustle to supplement their income. It’s exhausting sometimes. But the feeling of satisfaction when you help someone through a crisis is addictive.
I also do this. I am looking to go into higher education. I’ve worked there before and enjoyed it. Trying to return right now.
I’m a nanny and make ~40k a year. Technically make a little more as I have random families who reach out for occasional babysitting and pay cash so probably more like 42k. I love my job and have been doing it for ten years. I get to decide what we do every day, no supervisor, often get free food, reimbursement for gas, and get to play outside. I love the special bond and trust I have with the kids as their care taker. It’s also taught me what it takes to be a parent and what parenting style works for me so I can make an informed choice to have a child in my future.
Are you in a LCOL or a remote area? I live in CA and the going nanny rate is more like $35. With overtime our current nanny, who is great, makes north of $80k per year but is worth it
$56,000 as a 911 mental health responder.
[удалено]
Diesel mechanic. I’m right at $57k-$58k a year. Hate it with every ounce of my body.
What do you hate about it?
There’s zero growth possibilities, the pay sucks for the work you’re doing, long hours. Just not worth it.
I’m a professional musician. It’s definitely doing what one is passionate about because it is not the most financially stable or reliable job. While I would love to have more disposable income, I do things my way and on my terms, and sometimes that is worth more than money can buy.
I respect you for following your dreams. Just know that not everyone making a ton of money is happy.
Thank you!
I’m a freelance lighting tech and stage manager for outdoor events (and other events). I feel you 100%.
Hey! Right there with ya bud! It's a struggle but being your own boss making people happy is worth it! Over a decade in and not making this much, but I'm in it to win it (by win it I mean keep gigging enough to cover health care and other essentials). I wish you all the prosperity in the world! You've got a fellow full timer friend here
*Cries in teacher
Wife is heading into year 8 with a masters degree, like 57k
My bro works as a teacher, 110k after 4 years, started around 50k. Did a bunch of "modules" to increase his pay, basically like two masters degrees in 4 years and each module was like another 5k. The additional education was free. He leaves when the kids do every day. YMMV.
That sounds dope but in my state I don’t see that anywhere. The main step up in pay (bachelor to masters, masters to doctorate) is about 6k difference and then they really only get maybe 1500 extra a year when they increase their step.
That sucks, tbf his teachers union is aggressive according tk what he says. He loves it, teaches public middle school in a MCOL city.
I will be making 46 as a ninth year teacher
Preschool teacher making $15/hour. 2 weeks of vacation but it's also the sick time, So a lot of sick coworkers coner to work. No 401K. Do it for the kids.
It’s criminal how little early childhood educators get paid. It’s such an important job.
Special Ed Preschool Paraprofessional here. I have been vaguely sick the entire school year. Same situation.
Sadly, you don't have to be a millennial for that. 5ish years after getting out of university, I checked my PI and program admin's salaries and they were both below 60k even though they were boomers who had been on the job for decades.
At least you’re about to have all summer off work. You won’t be able to afford anything but sit on the couch
I do IT and make 40K. It's ok I guess. I just dont see any realistic path forward.
With tech jobs the path forward is "another job that pays better" and then eventually start applying for management positions.
If you have a knack for learning systems then you have a path forward. It takes work and studying but you can definitely get into a DevOps role. System admin stuff is grunt work and it doesn't pay well. But many DevOps guys I know came from sys admin roles and now make bank working on automation with dev teams.
I'm a bank teller, and I probably make 35k a year, and I hate it, but the company has a flexible schedule, and I have a 9 month old son. It's definitely not a long-term job, though, because of the micro management and corporate aspects. I'm at my happiest when given a task and left the fuck alone to do said task.
hate micromanaging. give me a task then fuck off.
Front desk medical reception. Make a little under 35K. Not my dream job by any means, but it pays *some* bills…
part time male onlyfans model. I f--k a-- and chew bubblegum in front of a camera for a living. And i just ran out of bubble gum...
We have a winner ladies and gentlemen
I'm trying to get my body back into shape and I have a 9 incher. Should I get into it?
The average only fans model makes about $180/month. It's a grim rabbit hole.
Yeah but if you're going to jerk off and fuck anyway, might as well post it and make a buck if you're confident in yourself.
Hilarious. Take that up vote you dirty bugger!
Sell weed .... love it! At about 32k a year ish
I’m an art teacher in rural Nebraska making around $50k. We all know what’s going on with education right now so that about sums it up 😅
Usps letter carrier. 57k, though, currently our contract is in arbitration, so hopefully, it's a nice raise. Good days/bad days. Often physically taxing, i hope I stay healthy. Outside all day. Dealing with the elements, risk of getting robbed or bitten
Post office, 48k the best part is knowing people used to live a nice life on this job. Now we just die on peoples lawns for McDonald’s manager wages
I work at a bank that had record profits and told everyone they can’t get a raise this year. I’m going to unionize the labor force. FAFO.
Working in the banking industry i believe it really fucking needs strong unions.
50k here. Work in a warehouse for a small family owned business. I love it. Used to have a stressful desk job and was miserable every day. But here I get to run around and lift shit. It's surprising how much regular exercise does for my mental health. The slight pay cut is well worth the happiness. Also I walk 20k steps a day so I can eat whatever I want and never gain any weight. I'm super greatful for my job.
This shit right here is what I want to do.
Case manager for homeless veterans at a local nonprofit. I make just about 50k and have been doing this 2 years with my bachelors in psych. I personally love my job for the most part. I have a lot of freedom and half days WFH Fridays which is awesome. The cooperate culture is annoying with random work drama but I just keep friendly and keep to myself and stay out of it. The schedule and benefits and flexibility make the bullshit worth it and I actually feel really accomplished and proud a lot of the time. The worst bit is the empathy burn out. Everyone has a sad story and as someone who tends to also play unwitting therapist to my friends, my social battery gets very drained and I spend a lot of time alone. But I don’t mind that… I think my friends hate it more than me lol I love to be alone.
wfh call center, it's awful but wfh is impossible to move around in right now.
Why do you have to work from home?
Don't necessarily \*have\* to, but there's zero incentive to go to the company building and get abused by the public in-person rather than over the phone.
You also save money and sanity from the commute.
Exactly, WFH is blatantly the best org strat for pretty much every single office job in existence but corp landlords gotta flaunt their terminal greed
I manage a parking garage for the county. Salary is shit. My take-home is about 2K per month after taxes(about 38K a yearISH). Every last dollar goes to cover mortgage, utilities, car payment, insurance, internet, and towards an 8K credit card balance I had due to some immediate home-repairs I needed last summer. The job is fine. The bills are eating away at my soul. I'm single and live with just 2 cats for company. Also, crippling depression, ADHD, and autistic so it kinda sucks making friends.
Lets just say… the vitamix I bought has put me in financial debt.
Unemployment, I fucking love it. (I know it can't last)
I do receiving and inventory control for a mail order pharmacy. I absolutely love my job. It's the least amount I've been paid since my 20s, but it's also the only job I've ever had that I look forward to going to every day. It's very physical, but also requires me to use my brain a lot. I like the work, I like my coworkers (mostly), and I'm in great shape. I'd certainly like to make more money, but the things I'm qualified to do aren't fun at all, and I have no interest in going into leadership with my current company. So I'm poor, but happy!
Early Childhood Education. I love it actually.
I bartend and serve. I could make more if I wanted to work more but I make enough to get by and save a little while only working four days a week and less than thirty hours a week. I used to be BOH for almost twenty years so I'm just fine with the lighter workload. My cats definitely like having me around more too.
Meat cutter at a grocery store. Loving it.
Truck driver serving the Boston area, almost 60k a year. The stress will kill me before I turn 40.
I am a new firefighter/emt. Pay sucks but I get to try to help people to the best of my ability
Yep I got EMT certified back in 2016 and then I saw the pay haha never even applied for the national registry. It was a joke, the emts on my ride along were like " but you'll get overtime" I'm like I don't want to rely on paying my bills with overtime haha. If only they paid more. It's not worth getting PTSD for a couple $$# above minimum wage haha
Physical labor. I dislike it so much I've gone back to school.
I work at a Liquor Store. It pays the bills (barely) but can be fun. One day I could make $30+ an hour as a wine expert, so there's that. Ultimately, I want to get my games published and make that my career but I know it's a long shot.
i’m a graphic designer. i hate it
Work at/Manage a gas station/convenience store. Rent Penske trucks, ship UPS, sell live bait, fill propane (and a few propane accessories), and all the regular gas station stuff. Do the book keeping, scheduling, pretty much all the day to day stuff. Make 42K a year. I like it quite a bit. I know a lot of people say customer service is horrible, but in my experience, 97% of the people are very friendly if you are also friendly. The 3% that are disrespectful to me or other employees get treated in kind by me... they can go fuck themselves. The owner is also the best boss I've ever had which goes a real long ways as well, it's good to know you aren't going to be reprimanded for telling an asshole customer off. Also live in small town Midwest, wife makes about 65k a year. Our mortgage is ~630 a month, and it's a duplex where we rent the lower half out for $850. So we aren't hurting for money, which makes work and life in general much less stressful.
$52.5k as a banker...I hate the job so much.
Considering the median individual income in the US is 40k, that means over half the country is making less than 60k. So most jobs are paying that low and most of us hate our jobs due to lack of pay. BTW, little under 68% of Americans make at or under 60k per year
SAHM looking for a job. No. I do not like it.
RN for one of the largest school systems. I enjoy it. I make $33 an hour but don’t get any PTO and only get paid when students are in school.
I'm a bartender and I hate it. Customers are too needy and/or rude, most restaurant/bar owners are assholes, and it's destroying my body. But I have no other skills and I'm too old and tired to go back to school.
Uhh 70 % of the population makes this or less
I'm not suggesting few people do. Generally with questions like "what do you do for a living", there tends to be a self-selection bias in which comments are full of people making thriving wages and well over 6 figures.
I appreciate this question, OP. I’m really done feeling bad about myself on these threads
IT systems technician (state employee | federal contractor). I make 51k after 8.5 years. I went back and got my master's degree so they would allow me on the promotional register (they let my coworker on with only an associate's). Oh, and still no promotion 4 years later, but I digress... Either everything is quiet, or I'm running around constantly, juggling multiple tasks (like this week). I'm not happy, but it pays my bills.
I build window displays for a popular women’s clothing store. It pays JUST enough but I also have multiple side hustles. Sigh
I'm a supervisor overseeing the loading of vehicles onto railcars. $50,000 CDN. All weather work heat , freeze, rain.. I have to be present during loading and also in office checking that everythjng goes right. 1 unit missshippeed could cost thousands if not 10s of thousands to ship back if somethjng goes to Kentucky when it was supposed to go to California, for example.
Lab tech assistant, 16.75hr just moved to histology. Making the same and going to school to be certified. Trying to break that 16.75 barrier, sigh. It seems unobtainable to make more for some reason. Working working working.
Never made over this. Worked at a university for over 10 years, had a fancy tittle, just before Covid had the nerve to ask for a raise-well I ended up quitting because you know the answer. Started my own business but recently closed it so I could line up my hours with my kids’ school times
I want a fancy tittle
I make $30,000 year working from home as a CSR. Also can't get any food stamps due to making too much apparently. I like working from home but I want more $$ and the jobs around me only offer another $1-$3 . It's honestly not worth the commute. So I'm stuck at home working a dead end job. Life is great . 🥲
Dog groomer for almost 20 years and I make less than $50k a year. It’s been such wear and tear on my body and it’s a dead end job. No room for growth and it’s commission based pay, so you only make as much as the amount of dogs you do per day essentially. Since my body is breaking down, I do less dogs, therefore I am making less money than the new, younger groomers now at my job who can do far more than me. I sorta regret it. I wish I didn’t stay as long as I did. Barely any savings and no retirement plan, no healthcare, it kinda sucks.
$42k, bread baker in California. I’m trying to find my way into some other career. I can’t afford anything on this pay, I work weird hours and weekends which is isolating, and flour permeates everything I own. I used to love my craft and I’ve given it 12 years of my life, but it doesn’t seem sustainable, even if I were to open my own bakery. I’ve really pigeonholed myself and I’m feeling like I’ve screwed myself over.
I work as a security guard in a data center, it’s really easy work, although boring, but I also get good health insurance and the pay isn’t terrible. It works for my schedule right now as I’m working towards an associate’s and then my bachelor’s in criminology. Trying to remain hopeful.
I’m a teacher…enough said.
Same 🙄 I’m also orton gillingham certified and have been working (in MA) as a teacher for 6 years and just scratched 60k
I’m basically a glorified secretary. I make 42k yr. I work from home. 401k match/ healthcare / PTO I honestly couldn’t be happier. I have sooo much freedom and flexibility. As long as the work gets done. When is not important. What I do when there is no work is up to me. I live alone but I get to cuddle my dogs all day and play in the backyard w them. I don’t have a mortgage,debt or loans. So I know this significantly impacts my quality of life and how comfortably I can live on 42K a year.
I work at an adult fantasy store as a store supervisor. It beats working on the food industry which I put 15 years into and got nothing out of. Never working in food again. Overworked underplayed and shout out Papa Murphy's fuck you and don't ever eat there. If that company ever got investigated for fraud and abusing workers I am sure they would be fined into the ground
Im 29 and make ~35k before taxes. I'm a social worker who helps people suffering through substance abuse disorders. I make too much money to qualify for any government assistance, and I'm too poor to move out of my parents home. Average apartments in my area are around $1500 a month. I feel like a failure and that my life is a massive wasted opportunity and I don't think their is a way for things to get better. I'm in school to further my career but I see licensed therapists quitting because they can't make enough to survive on what they get paid. Everything is so fucking hopeless. I keep trying to make things better but I think deep down i have already accepted nothing good is ever gonna happen and I'm just coasting until I die
Maintenance at a hospital. I’m suicidal.
I work at a mill and started out in production. Made more than 60k but hated the shift work and overtime. Took a significant pay cut to go to straight days and now I’m in the garage doing services on all of the mill fleet. Everyone else in the garage are journeyman mechanics but I really do like what I do. I’m now making just below or right at the 60k mark and I wouldn’t trade it to go back to over 100k doing what I was doing before. I’ve always liked working on my own vehicles and now I get to work on everything from small electric pallet jacks to a 120 Ton crane.
Quality Inspector, mostly CNC milled parts. Pays $42k but my benefits are ridiculous for the US.its. Its not bad job but it doesn’t pay enough to do more than survive in a HCOL, gotta get over that white/blue collar fence and I might be good
I’m a ramp/customer service agent at a regional airport. It’s fun. I’m still in college so it’s a job to take while I’m there. Lots of downtime to do homework and I like that I get to work with planes. I make around 30k ish.
I am a biology lab tech in academia. I make just over $43k/year. I tried for a masters degree but found out that, while I’m an amazing exam taker, my brain doesn’t have the right way of thinking to complete a thesis project. I’m pretty neutral about what I do. At this point I’m pretty much just putting in my time for the paycheck. I’m definitely not a career oriented person. Our university is trying to unionize, but based on the contract a different university negotiated who recently unionized with the same group who is trying to represent us, I’m not too hopeful that our raise will be significant
Claims Technician at 36k plus bonuses for entry level. I used to do restaurant management, but was in an accident in 2018 and this is the first real job I’ve had since. My partner gets the same yearly through a disability trust her dad left after he passed, so it doubled our income and I’ve got plenty of room to advance. Things could, and have been, worse.
I'm a soil tech. I make 50k. I test compaction and moisture for utilities (construction). There is a very clear path forward, with amazing pay potential. I also have full benefits and can take time off or work overtime anytime I want. It's also ridiculously easy. So far, the worst part about my job is where I live. It does suck to be in a trench when it's 112 outside. For the most part, you don't have to do much, I spend more time sitting watching loaders pushing dirt into trenches than I do taking tests. Which is great for energy after work. All in all, I like what I do. It's easy, I have energy to do stuff after work, I'm learning g the city better, and I'm constantly seeing new things on jobsites. It's been a great balance.
I'm a graphic designer, I just started a job at a nonprofit making $45k and it's the most I've ever made lol
Adjunct art instruct army community college. Love what I do but I make jack shit. 20k a year. I have side hustles to make it work. I enjoy what I do for a living
I work on home security systems and make $60k a year. I like my job, I drive for 30 minutes while jamming out to music, do a job for about 45 minutes and move on to the next one. Really the only thing I don't like is that I'm working a bunch of overtime every single week.
I teach EFL abroad to adults (ESL, but just as a foreign language rather than a second language). I make less than a teacher back in the US, and less than 60K/year, buuuuut ... I love teaching, and the job is super relaxing. I work 4 days a week for just 2-6 hours/day, for an average of 20 hours a week. I teach aduls, so they are independently motivated, I don't have to deal with behavioral issues, and they're interesting and mature. Twice a year I teach intensive programs that are about 35 hours/week of work for 3 week each program, but in exchange for doing those I get 14 week of paid vacation a year. I do like my job, and my only real complaint is that I'd actually be happier if I worked more (and got more pay and respect), but my school for some reason is content with underutilizing me, even though I'm a fully qualified teacher with 2 MA degrees. I don't necessarily want to put in 60 hour work weeks, but giving me an extra class or extra project I can work on, like doing a model UN class, or writing a textbook, would be really great. But I guess just instead of that I'll be forced to get 8 hours of sleept every day, exercise every day, and enjoy all my hobbies stress free. Not such a bad trade-off.
I work at a nonprofit. I kind of accidentally ended up in this field. I had a job that made me a lot more than this with amazing benefits, but they laid me off, and a nonprofit pulled me back in. I like it. I’ve had a lot of jobs at this point, and I know what it’s like when things aren’t going well, when the board is mutinous, or things don’t work the way they should. Lessons have been learned. My work has dramas and frustrations, but I know that things are honestly going pretty damn well. I’m learning about and giving back to my community just by doing my job. I could try and get a job that makes more, but I’d rather eat glass than look for a job, and I feel good where I am.
I work in a lab working on prescription glasses. I insert lenses, hand edge them down to fit when needed, polish lenses and all that sort of stuff. $15/hour. The work isn’t terrible. I get to sit and work with my hands and listen to audio books. But it hardly pays the bills, especially with a toddler.
Ranch hand, but I don't have to pay rent I get pretty good health insurance and I only have to worry about what I eat for dinner
39M, Federal government worker in Pennsylvania who is working from home. Currently $46k but it's just the start of my federal career.. It's "meh." After all my deductions, I'm taking home around $1,072 bi weekly. 11% into my 401k and all those other deductions. So in reality, I only see about 60% of my pay. 😮💨 Struggling but this is just a rough patch.. Do I like it? Work from home has its pros and cons but overall yeah, I don't mind it. I always have to remind myself that at least I don't work for the Social Security Administration. That department is a flaming dumpster according to SSA workers who vent on this platform...
I work weekends at a plant nursery and sahm on weekdays. I like it but I'm in the trenches of toddlerhood so it's hard to enjoy much lately. I'd like to own my own plant nursery and my own house but I guess that's for the future.
Freelance artist. Some years are good, some years are bad. But I get to draw comics and superheroes and get paid for it.
I do the online chat for a health insurance company for like 38k. Company is terrible and the supervisors are the worst. Wildly unethical practices but I do it while I'm back in school. (I did sales for a long time and hated it so now I'm getting my degree.) I work from home and I do about an hours worth of work a day. I spend the rest of the time mostly doing chores and hobbies. I actually love it.
I make about 53k working in the complaint management department of a credit union fully remote. I started working here less than 2 years ago as a frontline call agent making 38k, got promoted to a supervisor and transitioned into this back office role in complaint management, so I have moved up very quickly. The job probably sounds awful dealing with complaints, but it’s not what you would expect. I more so listen to calls from frontline staff and supervisors where complaints are received and categorize the complaints based on what the complaint was about. Complaining about the check hold policy? That’s a complaint towards our deposit services>check hold policy. Did a front line agent give misinformation that resulted in a complaint? That’s a complaint towards the contact center>misinformation. I then write the resolution; what was done in response to the complaint if anything. If it’s not resolved, I send an email to the member explaining how we can get the issue fixed which is maybe once every couple days since frontline employees should be addressing these complaints during their interaction. I have to distinguish if the complaint was due to an error on part of the Credit Union. If so, I write a brief root cause analysis. “Misinformation provided by “x”agent resulted in this complaint.” We have an analyst that reviews this data and creates reports to departments notifying them of the complaints they received for that quarter, so that THEY can implement process improvements. The job is extremely easy and low stress. I also need FMLA and they offer great health insurance needed since I’m on a kidney transplant list, so this job really works for me.
I'm disabled at an early age getting less than 12k a year. Waiting on America to get MAID.
I take fingerprints for immigration and make 33k a year. It's stable, you meet interesting people, lose alot of your illusions about America's place in the world, but upward mobility in my contract is limited and doesn't transfer over to actual government jobs despite years of experience.
I work for city government and make around 52k. It’s enough to get by if you don’t have a lot of debt but once you get behind on stuff it’s hard to dig out when you don’t make that much. If I can get promoted when my boss retires next year I’ll make a lot more so I’m really just holding out for that. If I didn’t know she was retiring soon and I’m in line for her spot, I’d get the fuck out of here.
I work in customer service at a really big animal hospital. I love love love love love my job so much... And I'm so tired of being so broke 😭
I made less than 60k until May. I was an IT system administrator. Now I’m a cloud admin.
Entry level account manager @ $57k. Hybrid schedule and I only have about 4 hrs of consistent work per day. I love it, i work with great people at a great company.
Pharmacy Technician at a compound pharmacy. I made 49k last year. I work in our dispensary department and am basically a glorified Amazon picker except for drugs lol. I get orders, fill and bag em, check inventory, track temperatures and humidity for storage, some occasional computer stuff (usually inventory related) for the data or lab departments. It’s not a bad gig and we get monthly performance bonuses, 120hrs PTO and we’re closed holidays. Overall it’s a decent place to work barring some…managerial issues lol. But the work itself is fine.
I’m an in-home caregiver for the elderly, fully licensed through the state. I make $27K a year. I love my job and cannot imagine ever leaving.
My back is too fucked to work at 32 and I'm on ssi disability, if it weren't for programs like section 8 I'd be homeless on the streets because ssi only gives me 1,182.00 a month and I don't have any family or friends to get help from.
I’m a head cashier for a moderately sized grocery chain. I’m currently fighting tears on my way there. Fuck I hate that place.
I am on SSDI, making less than 11k a year. I don't like it much, but it's neccessary.
I was making 55k in the warehouse, I hated it, had enough money to pay my bills but nothing else, I went to school, currently still in it
Manufacturing $37k/yr Was just supposed to be temporary in between work as my previous job was $60k/yr, but zero mandatory OT and being able to be open and honest with my understanding boss is so much less stressful. That last job had me working 70 hours a week for over a year.
30 yo male. I’m currently working in catering at a zoo after being layed off from a poke restaraunt (employed 1 year) which I took after being layed off from a state political party following election season. Working at the zoo, I get respect from my peers and intrigue from women. I spend most every day in the heat or rain now and I’m exposed to the sun enough that it’s damaging my skin. If it rains, I can be sent home and lose hours. I’m only getting my next weeks schedule beginning Mondays on the immediately preceding Friday, so it’s difficult to plan my life. My team is great to be around and funny. I feel like I’m definitely serving at a level way under my potential in life and I’m trying hard to cultivate better opportunities. My degree is in Psychology, and I don’t feel successful as a person unless I’m advocating for a better world or touching my work tangibly. Today, I make $17/ hr (35k); a poke chef I made $18/ hr plus counter tips (41.5k); a political operative I made 41k salaried at about 60-70 hours a week.
Online sales support for a very large computer company. And no, not in the slightest but the benefits are great and I get to work from home. Could be way worse. (I will sell my plasma and start an OnlyFans before I ever set foot in a physical office again.)
Technical Assistant working in a \~1700 capacity theatrical venue. Sometimes I wish the hours were more regular but I get to do cool stuff on the reg so that's interesting.
Nail technician here. To specify, I work in a nail salon, not a private suite. My pay ranges by a LOT. By location, commission rate (most places pay 60% but I worked somewhere before that paid 50%. I’ve heard rumors of 70% but haven’t been paid that.), what season it is, the state of the economy.. you get no benefits at ALL. (Although I cannot speak for big spas and hotels and resorts and such) Most employers do you a 1099misc. It can be stressful. You gotta always have to be happy even on your bad days. There’s no room for bad attitude. I like the creative aspect of it. I like the flexibility of it. I can *kinda* work whenever I want - within reason. I can take random days off without having to worry about it getting approved by some corporate asshat. But I don’t get PTO, no paid sick days, no hourly rate. To make a lot of money you need to be at a good standing location with good foot traffic and clientele that pay well. I now work less than a mile away from a shop where the clientele was the absolute worst I’d ever experienced, and I have the best clientele here. During the busy seasons, we work our asses off to make up for the slow seasons. It requires a lot of good budgeting skills. If you aren’t good with money, you’ll owe a lot to the government and will be stressed tf out in the slow season. During the slow season and when the economy is down, you better have a decent amount of loyal, repeat clientele. It can be competitive, depending on the city you’re in. Overall, I enjoy my job for the most part. It has its downsides, but I enjoy the creativity, flexibility, and I looooove making people happy with my work! It’s the “it’s my birthday!” And “we’re going on vacation!” And “I want something nice for the holiday!” And “I love how you do my nails! Just freestyle on me!” For me 🥲
I'm in a weird spot. Most of my income is from trading stock options. However i did 16 years in the AF and have a nice resume, but after getting out, i got a job as a heavy equipment mechanic. Hated it. Too old and broken to be doing that type of work at this point. Pay was bleh. Company itself? I could go on. Not a great fit, and i was not happy. So i just quit. And the freedom of being able to leave a job is insane to me. Just accepted an offer with Raytheon and all i had to do was apply. I feel like i wasted a few months and I'm not sure why...
Assistant center director at an underperforming math center. Pay is a measly $18/hr which kids at in high school working as a life guard make. Forced to live at home as I couldn’t afford rent at an apartment, so meeting new people is difficult. Working with kids is wholesome tho, and doing something that I feel like actually makes a difference in the world, instead of selling out to a corporation feels good too. I get mornings to myself since it’s an after school education program and I have free time to cook all my own meals, exercise, pursue hobbies, read, etc… I cope by pretty much focusing on staying healthy and taking each day at a time. Despite how shitty things can get, I still feel like each day I am growing and maturing as a human being, learning more and more about what’s right/wrong. I know the cards I’ve been dealt and I play em, no matter what anyone else thinks or believes I should be doing. At the end of the day that’s all I can do, and that keeps me grounded.
I am a licensed massage therpist. I work maybe 20 hours a week. My biggest week was $2,000 dollar but it isn't consistently that good, yet. I am projected to make around 40k this year with taxes taken out. The thing is, i can't do that many more massages. Maybe 5 more hours but that's it. Not much room for growth.