4 ms·

In high school, I worked at a fast food joint to make a little extra money. There were no expectations to pay rent or other essentials. But you'll say that it's

In high school, I worked at a fast food joint to make a little extra money. There were no expectations to pay rent or other essentials. But you'll say that it's not kids working these jobs, so we need to provide a livable wage. What about getting these people skills for better jobs? I'd rather attack that problem than make Wendy's sandwich maker a viable career.

jackson1442 5y ago
What skills does a line cook at Wendy’s learn aside from “how a job works?” Also, who staffs Wendy’s from morning until schools let out during the day? I haven’t seen seasonal fast food restaurants anywhere near me.
- crooked-v 5y ago
  General multitasking, team coordination, cash handling, basic restaurant dishwashing, stock management, industrial cleaning, pacifying unhappy customers, dealing with druggies and harassers, and a whole bunch of other things I've probably forgotten from when I worked fast food as a teenager. The simplicity of each individual job means that nobody ever has just one job at a fast food place. Stick around for any amount of time and you'll get rotated through every available position.
  - chillwaves 5y ago
    Any of those skills can be picked up at basically any job, further they require no foundational skills to learn. That's why the pay is low, because the skill set is widely accessible. I'm not sure why people insist that these kind of jobs are teaching valuable skills. All that is happening is the basic process of working. They could learn it in any context, at any point in their lives. There is no justification to pay people starvation wages.
    - IG_Semmelweiss 5y ago
      They also reveal information. For someone that didnt go to college, seeing a 2yr stint on a resume as a fast food worker tells me more about that persons work ethic, reliability, and general sense of getting stuff done vs your avg grad. Its not only skills but its the information being conveyed
- pxeboot 5y ago
  There are definitely a lot of summer only burger joints, ice cream shops, etc., especially in places with cold winters.
AussieWog93 5y ago
>I'd rather attack that problem than make Wendy's sandwich maker a viable career. Why shouldn't Sandwich Maker be a viable career? They definitely contribute more to society than HR professionals or agile coaches.
- eggsmediumrare 5y ago
  Serving greasy heart attack patties might not be the most optimal example for an otherwise valid point.
  - AussieWog93 5y ago
    To be fair, both "sandwich" and "Wendy's" mean completely different things in Australian English! Sandwiches typically contain fresh ingredients (we'd call a gresy heart attack patty between two buns a burger), and Wendy's is a completely different chain that sells dairy products and hot dogs.
    - eggsmediumrare 5y ago
      TIL!
- meowkit 5y ago
  This is not a great hill to die on, but I’ll bite a bit. If I fundamentally disagree with fast food as objects of consumption than I might think every job in this field should not be viable. There are costs to society (“externalities”) that places like Wendy’s are not held responsible for (obesity epidemic). All said, Sandwich Maker is a viable career, to me, if its in a boutique/gourmet shop where the food is prepared from scratch and with precision care. The prices will be higher, extra skill is involved, and then the Maker can command a higher wage. The meme of whether or not fast food is a viable/respectful career is just a manifestation of more fundamental problems with growth optimized capitalism.
  - AussieWog93 5y ago
    >There are costs to society (“externalities”) that places like Wendy’s are not held responsible for (obesity epidemic). This is a valid point. Western society should be making an effort to ensure that there are cheap, convenient, healthier fast food options like what you see in Asia. My comment was more in response to the parent, who was drawing a distinction between "real jobs" and "entry level jobs". I believe we should treat people in low-skill jobs with more respect, as they actually produce things we need and want as a society. Many people in "real jobs", on the other hand, produce (or facilitate the production of) nothing.
samcal 5y ago
I agree (I think), we need either free college or a livable minimum wage or both to solve this problem. Disagree that we need to have any low-paying jobs at all, but I suppose your high school could run a fast food joint for the students, if we really need that sort of thing?
werber 5y ago
But that doesn’t solve the problem for the people in those situations. It’s just saying that those jobs are deserving of slave wages
monocasa 5y ago
Was the fast food joint closed while school was in session?

jackson1442 5y ago

What skills does a line cook at Wendy’s learn aside from “how a job works?” Also, who staffs Wendy’s from morning until schools let out during the day? I haven’t seen seasonal fast food restaurants anywhere near me.

crooked-v 5y ago
General multitasking, team coordination, cash handling, basic restaurant dishwashing, stock management, industrial cleaning, pacifying unhappy customers, dealing with druggies and harassers, and a whole bunch of other things I've probably forgotten from when I worked fast food as a teenager. The simplicity of each individual job means that nobody ever has just one job at a fast food place. Stick around for any amount of time and you'll get rotated through every available position.
- chillwaves 5y ago
  Any of those skills can be picked up at basically any job, further they require no foundational skills to learn. That's why the pay is low, because the skill set is widely accessible. I'm not sure why people insist that these kind of jobs are teaching valuable skills. All that is happening is the basic process of working. They could learn it in any context, at any point in their lives. There is no justification to pay people starvation wages.
  - IG_Semmelweiss 5y ago
    They also reveal information. For someone that didnt go to college, seeing a 2yr stint on a resume as a fast food worker tells me more about that persons work ethic, reliability, and general sense of getting stuff done vs your avg grad. Its not only skills but its the information being conveyed
pxeboot 5y ago
There are definitely a lot of summer only burger joints, ice cream shops, etc., especially in places with cold winters.

AussieWog93 5y ago

>I'd rather attack that problem than make Wendy's sandwich maker a viable career. Why shouldn't Sandwich Maker be a viable career? They definitely contribute more to society than HR professionals or agile coaches.

eggsmediumrare 5y ago
Serving greasy heart attack patties might not be the most optimal example for an otherwise valid point.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  To be fair, both "sandwich" and "Wendy's" mean completely different things in Australian English! Sandwiches typically contain fresh ingredients (we'd call a gresy heart attack patty between two buns a burger), and Wendy's is a completely different chain that sells dairy products and hot dogs.
  - eggsmediumrare 5y ago
    TIL!
meowkit 5y ago
This is not a great hill to die on, but I’ll bite a bit. If I fundamentally disagree with fast food as objects of consumption than I might think every job in this field should not be viable. There are costs to society (“externalities”) that places like Wendy’s are not held responsible for (obesity epidemic). All said, Sandwich Maker is a viable career, to me, if its in a boutique/gourmet shop where the food is prepared from scratch and with precision care. The prices will be higher, extra skill is involved, and then the Maker can command a higher wage. The meme of whether or not fast food is a viable/respectful career is just a manifestation of more fundamental problems with growth optimized capitalism.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  >There are costs to society (“externalities”) that places like Wendy’s are not held responsible for (obesity epidemic). This is a valid point. Western society should be making an effort to ensure that there are cheap, convenient, healthier fast food options like what you see in Asia. My comment was more in response to the parent, who was drawing a distinction between "real jobs" and "entry level jobs". I believe we should treat people in low-skill jobs with more respect, as they actually produce things we need and want as a society. Many people in "real jobs", on the other hand, produce (or facilitate the production of) nothing.

samcal 5y ago

I agree (I think), we need either free college or a livable minimum wage or both to solve this problem. Disagree that we need to have any low-paying jobs at all, but I suppose your high school could run a fast food joint for the students, if we really need that sort of thing?

werber 5y ago

But that doesn’t solve the problem for the people in those situations. It’s just saying that those jobs are deserving of slave wages

monocasa 5y ago

Was the fast food joint closed while school was in session?