11 ms·

It's just a starter job, people shouldn't rely on them as a career, it's their fault, bootstraps, etc. etc.

by gech 10y ago

mtrn 10y ago
> people shouldn't rely on them as a career Nobody thinks of that as a career, but 4.5 million people seem to rely on it for income nonetheless.
mabbo 10y ago
For the large percentage of Americans who don't have a degree or maybe not even a high school diploma, there is no such thing as a 'starter job'- there's just 'a job'. Heck, for a growing proportion of the population the degree doesn't even help. We in the tech industry would be wise to remember that we live in an incredibly privileged bubble where careers are real things, where it's easy to find new opportunities.
- protomyth 10y ago
  Actually, there are starter jobs for folks without degrees or even a high school diploma. People gain experience and there are plenty of companies that don't hire via a HR checklist. Plenty of people work their way up from cashier to management. The big danger is external factors that remove those first rungs of work that allow people to climb up.
- tjr 10y ago
  During college, I worked for about 6 or 7 months in a local supermarket. Seventeen years later, some of my former coworkers are still there.
discordianfish 10y ago
How do people think it matters who's fault it is? You can call them lazy or stupid but they still exist and a lot of them won't get a new job (again, doesn't matter if they can't or just don't want to find one).
deelowe 10y ago
This isn't a solution. It doesn't matter who's "fault" it is. If 4.5M people lose their jobs very quickly, we're going to have a big freaking problem on our hands. Retail, fast food, stock pickers, truck drivers, etc.. etc.. Sure you could say "don't make menial jobs your career" all you want, but this is still going to be a huge freaking issue sooner than later. This is from just last week: https://www.ft.com/content/dec677c0-b7e6-11e6-ba85-95d1533d9a62 https://www.ft.com/content/dec677c0-b7e6-11e6-ba85-95d1533d9...
- Skunkleton 10y ago
  We should go bravely into the future, and solve problems as they arise. Maybe this is the catalyst for basic income?
- preordained 10y ago
  Exactly. All-in-the-game economics can get flipped around really quick I think. 1. Let's automate everything right now, we have the technology. 2. Millions of workers displaced. 3. Social upheaval? I think the mistaken comparison people make, is that when farmers and such lost jobs in the industrial revolution, new opportunities that didn't require total re-education were popping up as fast as old ones disappeared...this is not the case today. The shrinking range of opportunities are to be found in increasingly exclusive, high-skill white collar positions. People are being left behind, and the fuck-you-I-got-my-STEM degree crowd, their attitude isn't making anything better.
fullshark 10y ago
"This won't eliminate retail clerks, it will just make their lives easier so they can focus on other tasks"
harmegido 10y ago
don't attempt sarcasm on this site. people take things literally.

It's just a starter job, people shouldn't rely on them as a career, it's their fault, bootstraps, etc. etc.

by gech 10y ago

It's just a starter job, people shouldn't rely on them as a career, it's their fault, bootstraps, etc. etc.

mtrn 10y ago

> people shouldn't rely on them as a career Nobody thinks of that as a career, but 4.5 million people seem to rely on it for income nonetheless.

mabbo 10y ago

For the large percentage of Americans who don't have a degree or maybe not even a high school diploma, there is no such thing as a 'starter job'- there's just 'a job'. Heck, for a growing proportion of the population the degree doesn't even help. We in the tech industry would be wise to remember that we live in an incredibly privileged bubble where careers are real things, where it's easy to find new opportunities.

protomyth 10y ago
Actually, there are starter jobs for folks without degrees or even a high school diploma. People gain experience and there are plenty of companies that don't hire via a HR checklist. Plenty of people work their way up from cashier to management. The big danger is external factors that remove those first rungs of work that allow people to climb up.
tjr 10y ago
During college, I worked for about 6 or 7 months in a local supermarket. Seventeen years later, some of my former coworkers are still there.

discordianfish 10y ago

How do people think it matters who's fault it is? You can call them lazy or stupid but they still exist and a lot of them won't get a new job (again, doesn't matter if they can't or just don't want to find one).

deelowe 10y ago

This isn't a solution. It doesn't matter who's "fault" it is. If 4.5M people lose their jobs very quickly, we're going to have a big freaking problem on our hands. Retail, fast food, stock pickers, truck drivers, etc.. etc.. Sure you could say "don't make menial jobs your career" all you want, but this is still going to be a huge freaking issue sooner than later. This is from just last week: https://www.ft.com/content/dec677c0-b7e6-11e6-ba85-95d1533d9a62 https://www.ft.com/content/dec677c0-b7e6-11e6-ba85-95d1533d9...

Skunkleton 10y ago
We should go bravely into the future, and solve problems as they arise. Maybe this is the catalyst for basic income?
preordained 10y ago
Exactly. All-in-the-game economics can get flipped around really quick I think. 1. Let's automate everything right now, we have the technology. 2. Millions of workers displaced. 3. Social upheaval? I think the mistaken comparison people make, is that when farmers and such lost jobs in the industrial revolution, new opportunities that didn't require total re-education were popping up as fast as old ones disappeared...this is not the case today. The shrinking range of opportunities are to be found in increasingly exclusive, high-skill white collar positions. People are being left behind, and the fuck-you-I-got-my-STEM degree crowd, their attitude isn't making anything better.

fullshark 10y ago

"This won't eliminate retail clerks, it will just make their lives easier so they can focus on other tasks"

harmegido 10y ago

don't attempt sarcasm on this site. people take things literally.