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I remember when "working at the bank" used to be the shining example of a stable, well paying, middle class white collar job. Now it is borderline minimum wage.

by paxys 2y ago

I remember when "working at the bank" used to be the shining example of a stable, well paying, middle class white collar job. Now it is borderline minimum wage. Another profession swallowed whole by the internet. Sucks because there are fewer and fewer jobs nowadays that keep money in the local community.

noitpmeder 2y ago
I don't think the bank tellers were the shining examples, but the actual bankers and customer relationship managers. That hasn't changed.
- ceejayoz 2y ago
  That has changed, though; the actual bankers are mostly gone from (or powerless at) the branches. Last time I had an issue with Chase they pointed me over to a phone to sit on hold.
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    As a previous Chase customer, I can only say that they are horrendous and as a financial services consumer, one can do much better at just about anywhere else. Use a credit union, use a brokerage, but for the love of god, avoid a commercial bank entity at all costs (Chase, BoA, Wells, etc).
    - ceejayoz 2y ago
      Yeah, this (and the demise of Simple) was one of the things that steered me towards a local credit union. I've been very happy with the switch.
      - insane_dreamer 2y ago
        As one of their first customers was sad to see Simple not make it.
- patio11 2y ago
  Depends on the country and weight class of the financial institution, but among e.g. U.S. money center banks, branch bankers have been successively de-skilled for the last ~3.5 decades or so. It is still nominally a white collar occupation but has, indeed, suffered in terms of prestige, compensation, and socioeconomic makeup of workforce versus other middle class mainstays, against a backdrop where the upper edge of the middle class is doing exceptionally well for itself. Citation available if I Google for the academic papers but the handwavy version is “I write about this sort of thing for a living so uh self-cite for the moment.”
missedthecue 2y ago
In a time where money can be zipped around the world in seconds, and most transactions are cashless, what exactly is the advantage of 'keeping money in the community'?
- psychoslave 2y ago
  Maybe more than money, let’s say assets. If no-one care about local community, then one can have all the world money in their digital wallet, there will be no place on earth where putting their human body in a safe and enjoyable place.
  - randomdata 2y ago
    Perhaps the COVID situation saw a temporary exodus from the cities, but it seems since most people have returned. It would appear that people still care about concentrating assets in a community. That is, after all, why cities exist.
- paxys 2y ago
  Who do you think is paying for the roads, parks, schools around you? Is it Chase/Amazon/Apple/Google? Or is this stuff funded by taxes collected from local businesses and their employees? What happens to your town when the money in the latter category drops to 0?
  - gruez 2y ago
    >Who do you think is paying for the roads, parks, schools around you? Is it Chase/Amazon/Apple/Google? They're paying state, local, and federal taxes, are they not?
    - paxys 2y ago
      The federal and state governments aren't paying to maintain your neighborhood. And they together contribute <50% of the budget of your local schools. If these mega corps don't operate in your city, they aren't contributing to it financially in any way.
jsbsv20 2y ago
Wait till big tech starts buying banks. Cuz banks are really struggling worldwide to keep up with the rate of change in tech and finance. So we aint seen nothing yet.
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  Would require regulator approval due to bank charters, which ain't gonna happen. https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/banking_12779.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/banking_12779.htm
ericcholis 2y ago
My grandmother worked for a bank for the better part of her life. She used to bring old punch cards home to use for notes/grocery lists. My mom and I used to drive through her teller window and send her cookies through the tubes or the document slot.

by paxys 2y ago

noitpmeder 2y ago

I don't think the bank tellers were the shining examples, but the actual bankers and customer relationship managers. That hasn't changed.

ceejayoz 2y ago
That has changed, though; the actual bankers are mostly gone from (or powerless at) the branches. Last time I had an issue with Chase they pointed me over to a phone to sit on hold.
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  As a previous Chase customer, I can only say that they are horrendous and as a financial services consumer, one can do much better at just about anywhere else. Use a credit union, use a brokerage, but for the love of god, avoid a commercial bank entity at all costs (Chase, BoA, Wells, etc).
  - ceejayoz 2y ago
    Yeah, this (and the demise of Simple) was one of the things that steered me towards a local credit union. I've been very happy with the switch.
    - insane_dreamer 2y ago
      As one of their first customers was sad to see Simple not make it.
patio11 2y ago
Depends on the country and weight class of the financial institution, but among e.g. U.S. money center banks, branch bankers have been successively de-skilled for the last ~3.5 decades or so. It is still nominally a white collar occupation but has, indeed, suffered in terms of prestige, compensation, and socioeconomic makeup of workforce versus other middle class mainstays, against a backdrop where the upper edge of the middle class is doing exceptionally well for itself. Citation available if I Google for the academic papers but the handwavy version is “I write about this sort of thing for a living so uh self-cite for the moment.”

missedthecue 2y ago

In a time where money can be zipped around the world in seconds, and most transactions are cashless, what exactly is the advantage of 'keeping money in the community'?

psychoslave 2y ago
Maybe more than money, let’s say assets. If no-one care about local community, then one can have all the world money in their digital wallet, there will be no place on earth where putting their human body in a safe and enjoyable place.
- randomdata 2y ago
  Perhaps the COVID situation saw a temporary exodus from the cities, but it seems since most people have returned. It would appear that people still care about concentrating assets in a community. That is, after all, why cities exist.
paxys 2y ago
Who do you think is paying for the roads, parks, schools around you? Is it Chase/Amazon/Apple/Google? Or is this stuff funded by taxes collected from local businesses and their employees? What happens to your town when the money in the latter category drops to 0?
- gruez 2y ago
  >Who do you think is paying for the roads, parks, schools around you? Is it Chase/Amazon/Apple/Google? They're paying state, local, and federal taxes, are they not?
  - paxys 2y ago
    The federal and state governments aren't paying to maintain your neighborhood. And they together contribute <50% of the budget of your local schools. If these mega corps don't operate in your city, they aren't contributing to it financially in any way.

jsbsv20 2y ago

Wait till big tech starts buying banks. Cuz banks are really struggling worldwide to keep up with the rate of change in tech and finance. So we aint seen nothing yet.

toomuchtodo 2y ago
Would require regulator approval due to bank charters, which ain't gonna happen. https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/banking_12779.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/banking_12779.htm

ericcholis 2y ago

My grandmother worked for a bank for the better part of her life. She used to bring old punch cards home to use for notes/grocery lists. My mom and I used to drive through her teller window and send her cookies through the tubes or the document slot.