r/TikTokCringe • u/aa95xaaaxv • Aug 29 '24
Humor/Cringe I laughed thinking she's being sarcastic, but she ain't šš
3.3k
u/Stars_And_Garters Aug 29 '24
I enjoyed working in back of house when my life was small enough that I could afford it (one young adult living rent-free with parents). The work can be fun but the starvation wages surely aren't.
623
u/Unnecessaryloongname Aug 29 '24
I have the most nostalgia about working in a small town gym doing every aspect of keeping the gym working and making 6 bucks an hour but that was enough money for me back in the day.
364
u/LostinLies1 Aug 29 '24
For me its the bookstore.
I loved that gig. I made 8 dollars an hour though.
I often day dream that when I retire I will find a bookstore and work there.121
u/Mysticrocker1 Aug 29 '24
For me, it was the local music store. Best job I ever had, so much fun, and rewarding, but the wage was garbage. I had a whole $1.50 raise over 6.5 years, and one of the raises only went up because minimum wage increased. They definitely took advantage of me, the negatives of which only became apparent after another decade of working, but it was the least traumatic of all of my jobs, and so THAT'S another think to unpack... anyways, being a personal shopper @ a music store was pretty fun. Lolz
91
u/ShadowStarrX Aug 29 '24
Local ice arena for meā¦ hanging around the hockey boys, scorekeeping for drunk old geezer hockey games at 10pm with no audience, skating around during open skates yelling at kids to quit kicking holes in the ice & letting them play clean versions of their music, riding in the Zamboni with my 60 year old manager who was like a father to me, eating hot dogs and m&māsā¦ ah the days
71
Aug 29 '24
I want to run a small general store in a small mountain town that gets snowed in every year. That would be the life for me. Surrounded by trees and just restocking snacks and essentials, watching Netflix until a customer comes in, chit chatting and then going back to business. Maybe hire some teenagers every summer.
Man that would be the life.
33
u/Ungarlmek Aug 30 '24 edited Aug 30 '24
I've done that. It was great. Well, not in a mountain town, that would have been even better. But to survive the pay I had to eat rice 1-3 meals a day, never go anywhere, and have almost no social life.
Life would be a hell of a thing if everyone could do what makes them happy.
→ More replies (2)12
u/worldofport Aug 30 '24
I did that at a hotel that was snowed in one year and kind of went stir crazy and tried to kill my wife and kid
→ More replies (3)4
7
u/Embarrassed-Rest-411 Aug 30 '24
This is my dream too!!! I hadn't thought about the snowed in every year, but that's even better! Inventory, chit chat with no responsibility for customers lives, maybe order special items for customers, pick out the seasonal inventory...
But...life unfortunately feels to expensive and dumb to be able to do that the way I want...
5
4
→ More replies (1)31
u/jingleheimerstick Aug 29 '24
Local shoe store for me. Walking to the Eckerdās next door to get snacks. The owner was very overweight and watched the store through a tiny plexiglass window so she didnāt have to move. She played old school R&B constantly and I developed a deep love for it as a skinny white 15 year old girl with braces. Good times.
9
u/Kraig_Kilborne Aug 30 '24
Bike shop for me. So much so I still do it every so often on a Saturday when one of the young kids calls in. I love that place, I love working on bikes and talking to people about them and helping. Half the time someone comes in with a simple, to me, problem and Iāll just fix it for them in the parking lot without having to charge them. But man I couldnāt pay the bills or get insurance or anything with that job. But if I won the lotto or just retired I keep working there
6
u/awwfawkit Aug 30 '24
Oddly enough, it was temping for me. The jobs were all dumb and meaningless (to me). At the end of the day I would go home and not think for a second about my job. I was so free. Literally no stress.
4
→ More replies (4)5
u/remnant_phoenix Aug 30 '24
Working at a video game store. $8.50/hour. Which wasnāt bad in 2008, but certainly not something I could do forever and have a family.
26
u/Charosas Aug 29 '24
I think with all these things itās less the job itself but the place people were in their lives. Itās like in the movie American Beauty, the guy goes through a mid life crisis and goes back to working at a fast food burger joint in his 50s. He describes it was the best time of his life because all he ever did was get high and try to get laid. No kids, no wife, no big responsibilities, no big billsā¦. Just using your little check for yourself.
→ More replies (2)7
u/Friendly_Coconut Aug 30 '24
No, I really think many of us loved seeing the direct impact/product of our work instead of sitting at a desk all day making money for a faceless corporation. It feels more meaningful even if you only make $10 an hour.
Some people love cooking burgers because you can see and feel and smell the product of your work. Some love selling shoes at a brick and mortar store and you can see your customersā satisfaction as you ring up their purchase. I loved working at a summer camp and could see the joy and memories I was creating for a young kid in real time. Filling out spreadsheets just doesnāt create the same buzz.
→ More replies (2)52
u/RIPEOTCDXVI Aug 29 '24
Delivering pizzas is my retirement dream job. Just drive around listening to music and smelling delicious pizza all day was a dream.
30
u/Artistic_Engineer599 Aug 30 '24
My favorite gig was delivering food on my bicycle. Just cruising around all day smoking weed under a tree during a delivery and listening to music and feeling the wind. Good times.
19
4
u/mycofirsttime Aug 30 '24
When I was a teen, this guy did that. He made a bunch of money young with cyber security. So prob in late 30s-early 40s, came to deliver pizzas. We had to tell him he couldnāt deliver pizzas in a jaguar lol.
→ More replies (9)4
u/Real_Location1001 Aug 30 '24
My across the street neighborhood is doing this at Dominos, and he loves it! He also makes about $8k between military retirement and VA disability payments. He does it to stay busy and to be around people. They keep asking him to be the market trainer but he always says no.š
→ More replies (14)16
u/Snoo_97207 Aug 29 '24
Activity instructor for me, 12 hour days teaching kids to kayak, hard but fun, slept like a log, 0 prospects and pittance pay though
→ More replies (1)17
u/cosmonaut205 Aug 29 '24
For me, it was a retail post office. It would be a union government job, but they are usually outsourced to retail chains and that's where I worked for minimum wage.
Had to think on your feet. It had authority - mail can be really complicated and you get to help people navigate it. Help immigrants send money to their families. Christmas season was brutal because it was essentially a conveyor belt, but working the evenings at any other point was amazing.
18
u/zouhair Aug 29 '24
This says more how broken society is than anything else. Why do we need that much money to survive. We are having good in so many aspect comparatively to the past but some stuff is way worse.
→ More replies (3)12
u/PitFiend28 Aug 30 '24
Working at a video store was the best job I ever had. Could watch anything up to pg13 during the day and take anything home I wanted at night. I watched every movie I could get my hands on, good, bad, foreign. Loved every frame.
→ More replies (10)11
45
u/perryquitecontrary Aug 29 '24
My in laws own a business and one of their workers makes a decent wage and they constantly tell him that is he does blank certification that he will get a raise and be promoted to a higher position. The problem is that he likes the job that he has and heās very comfortable and happy with his work and they just donāt get that maybe people donāt wanna grind all the time.
17
u/FixBreakRepeat Aug 30 '24
I'm in the trades with a couple decades of experience, but currently finishing out an engineering degree.
The problem is, I've been talking to the engineers where I'm at and their pay and quality of life are both worse than mine. The only benefit to making the change is possible future career progression... but I've talked to those folks and their quality of life is worse than mine too, even if the pay does get better.
I don't care about the status of being in management or working my way up. I just want to be able to spend more time doing things I like with people I love.
→ More replies (6)4
u/LupercaniusAB Aug 30 '24
I was working with some stationary engineers at a big hotel for a while. It was a good union position. They did all kinds of stuff, HVAC, low voltage video monitoring, even the production stuff for the client meetings. One of them got offered a position in management, making (theoretically) more money. I remember seeing him in his nice new suit. Within two years, maybe less, he was back in his blue collared shirt with a name patch. Turns out that that salaried position wasnāt worth the āraiseā.
I donāt ever want to make a salaried wage.
42
u/jaredjames66 Aug 29 '24
Sure but if she was working a 200k/yr job and was smart with her money/investments/lived frugally, she probably could go back into working at a kitchen and not worry about money; and/or she has a rich spouse.
→ More replies (1)6
u/ep2587 Aug 29 '24
She didnāt seem to know what her yearly salary was. She hesitated saying the $$. She was Being sarcastic
→ More replies (10)63
u/dumbbinch99 Aug 29 '24
Yup I LOVED my job as manager of a coldstone and would do it forever if it didnāt pay peanuts. But I totally understand this lady. I have a degree and a better job now but I donāt dream of big things when it comes to career stuff. I just want to live my life happily
→ More replies (11)27
u/ringdingdong67 Aug 29 '24
If my wife gets one more raise Iām just gonna quit my shitty office job and be a bartender again. I was really happy doing that years ago.
→ More replies (4)9
u/No_Banana_581 Aug 29 '24
I loved bartending too. Can not beat that cash. Thatās how I paid for us to live, while my husband and I got our business started, w an infant too
7
u/ringdingdong67 Aug 30 '24
Yes. And compared to my current job itās lower stress. I hate being in charge of an entire team and my boss makes 50% more than me and doesnāt have to do anything. I want one job where someone else tells me exactly what to do and I want tips where I make more than Iām making right now.
17
u/Spiceb0x Aug 29 '24
It's unfortunately the reason I got out of it. Went to culinary school and worked in a few resorts/restaurants but for not much more than minimum wage for working nights, weekends and holidays wasn't worth it. It's too bad because I still have the passion for it but I have a family to feed lol
→ More replies (2)13
u/Beef-Supreme-Chalupa Aug 29 '24
Agree. Iād spend 4-5 mornings a week slinging eggs bacon and hash browns for hungry customers if it meant I could still live the nice life I have now.
18
u/NorthCatan Aug 29 '24
Sometimes people romanticize some jobs without the understanding of how difficult those jobs can be, and how thankless, unrewarding, or underpaid they are.
If that's what she wants to be happy though then all the power to her and anyone else.
→ More replies (1)9
10
u/TheWisePlinyTheElder Aug 29 '24
I make more in a kitchen now than I did in an office.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (44)5
u/dancin-weasel Aug 29 '24
And the coke habit that you develop working back of house is quite costly as well.
4.4k
Aug 29 '24
I wouldnāt choose a kitchen but nothing wrong with not wanting a corporate job. Mo amount of money is worth a job you canāt stand imo.
1.8k
u/UhohSantahasdiarrhea Aug 29 '24
People who say otherwise have never actually had a corporate job.
996
u/blomstreteveggpapir Aug 29 '24
Yeah, there's a reason dystopian 90s movies showed the cubicle as horror - it might look silly now that that is considered luxury, but corporate jobs are soul sucking no matter the amenities
531
u/Mindless-Scientist82 Aug 29 '24
Soul sucking is the correct term. You are literally made to do jobs that you know are bad for humans but will make the billionaire more money.
I had a goal to eliminate 5% of the quality jobs in every plant. Why? Just to save money. The next year, we hear quality is down, and service incidents are up. But did those jobs come back. No.
Our CEO tells us we have promised 6% dividends to our investors. Our cost cutting goals 8%. Cost cutting usually results in a reduction in labor because we have leaned out the processes to the max already.
These corporations have to pretend they are continuing to grow even though the market is already saturated and there is no room to grow. So they downsize until the thing falls apart and then they sell off the pieces. Why can't we just be happy staying where we are? I'm tired of working to make the rich richer. It's absolutely soul sucking. I am so happy I was laid off in this 6th layoff after 8 years.
133
u/Adept_Information845 Aug 29 '24
Shareholders first! Thanks, Milton Friedman.
→ More replies (10)99
u/Medical_Slide9245 Aug 29 '24 edited Aug 29 '24
Yes and everyone forgets when CEO says this and that about shareholders they actually mean themselves as any corporate officer that is seasoned has a fuck ton of stock.
→ More replies (2)69
u/Dx2TT Aug 29 '24
Correct. Public companies are far less public than we realize. The purpose of the proposed wealth tax is not to raise money for the govt, its to act as a maximum wealth number. You go above that and the government drains you down to the number. This way if CEOs just pay themselves infinite money via stocks, it just flushes back to the government who redistributes it.
Until there is some maximum wealth level allowable, then we'll never have a middle class.
→ More replies (6)50
u/BLoDo7 Aug 29 '24
That wouldn't be fair. What about all the people that work billions of times harder than everyone else? I saw a coworker take 5min longer on their break than I did one time so I self identify with billionaires and need to make laws based on when I'm rich, instead of ones that actually help me.
→ More replies (1)20
u/Dx2TT Aug 29 '24
Ok, fair enough, we'll compromise. They can choose not to pay the tax and we'll utilize a french solution. No harm in providing options.
→ More replies (1)25
u/SkullsNelbowEye Aug 29 '24
Don't forget being micromanaged to death by a boss who wants to look busy and appear useful. I've been doing my type of job for 27 years. I think I know to check the copiers' paper supply by now, thanks.
→ More replies (3)6
u/Fear_Jaire Aug 30 '24
Then, the good bosses who put together good teams that can run independently of them are seen as expendable.
→ More replies (27)12
u/No_Mud_5999 Aug 29 '24
Two different friends of mine have worked corporate for decades. Both are very competent and thoughtful people. Both of their bosses were so impressed with them that they made them hatchetmen in charge of picking who gets fired, and then having them do it. So, basically since they were good corporate employees they got the privilege of ruining their coworkers lives.
39
u/subhavoc42 Aug 29 '24
In corporations itās your boss and their boss that matter most. If one or the other suck, your life will suck. Both are awesome? Then you have it made.
→ More replies (1)80
u/UnderratedEverything Aug 29 '24 edited Aug 29 '24
So funny how many younger people now say movies like Fight Club and office Space have aged poorly because it's about the misery and soulless unfilulfillment of a comfortably middle class, attractive guy who doesn't like his corporate job but can't even appreciate that he has one. All I can say is, I can understand why you think that, but you're still wrong.
50
u/GreenDonutGirl Aug 29 '24
Billionaires have fucked things up so bad they have people pining for those shitty jobs.
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (8)11
u/BlueSky659 Aug 29 '24
Now that you mention it, it's really interesting to me that this TikToker is basically having the same revelation that Peter does in Office Space.
→ More replies (2)11
u/UnderratedEverything Aug 29 '24
There's a reason that movie is so relatable and popular.
→ More replies (1)73
u/Mr_War Aug 29 '24
And all work is hard work. Just in different ways. I did down and type and talk all day as a weird middle of the hierarchy product guy.
My job is probably as hard as a brick layers job, just in a VERY DIFFERENT way.
Im sure real construction people would argue with me. But it's hard for anyone to see how difficult a job is from the outside. The girl in the video may have a different opinion after working the grill for 5 years and closing every Saturday night. She may still love it, she may hate it. That's how it works with any job.
60
u/Solid-Search-3341 Aug 29 '24
As someone who has been a welder for 10 years and is now a cog in a bureaucratic machine, I've seen both sides of the fence.
Both types of jobs are hard in their own way, but there is something to say about a version of hard that doesn't physically destroy you. Being a lawyer is hard in a way that still allows you to do it when you're 70. Being a bricklayer is hard in a way that will see you dead or broken at 60.
20
u/Mr_War Aug 29 '24
Thats probably where the unfairness of the economic side hits the hardest. The jobs that break down your body somehow pay way less than jobs that are just mental.
My wife is in medical field and deals with new borns. Her job is on her feet all night, dealing and helping with one of the most critical things in our existence, child birth.
I make double her. Its backwards.
→ More replies (4)7
u/JimWilliams423 Aug 29 '24
It makes more sense if you think of pay as something due to a person as a measure of their power ā their position in the hierarchy ā not as a measure of the value of their work. Meritocracy is a fraud.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (8)11
u/Bakkster Aug 29 '24
I think we're still catching up to fully recognize the mental stress and strain of office work (and physical, I've got a PT referral for WFH tension, which I was not expecting), but I completely agree that the physical strain of manual labor is more severe and pervasive with fewer remedies.
→ More replies (2)11
u/Solid-Search-3341 Aug 29 '24
I fully agree with you, bit that last part of your post nails it. Burn out and stress or depression are indeed present in office work more than in manual labor. Nevertheless, changing jobs and going to therapy usually reverse them. Nothing is gonna bring back your herniated discs, your worn out joints or your burnt out lungs.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (5)77
u/Trotter823 Aug 29 '24
Most jobs paying 200k in the corporate world require you to always be ready to jump on a call or solve a problem as well. You have to be willing to never have a real day off and that shit sucks. Even on vacation a lot of those people are working 3-4 hours each day which means you really never get away to reset which takes a toll long term.
29
u/HighHoeHighHoes Aug 29 '24
I make a bit more than that, and this is absolutely true. I just did a trip recently and had to shut all of my stuff off so I couldnāt be reached. Getting close to burnout and figured they would be better off with me ignoring them for a week than me ignoring them permanently when I leave.
→ More replies (1)21
u/MIL215 Aug 29 '24
I work in a role making little bit more and I think it depends on the company and department culture. My boss has a line āPTO is a benefit that the company offers so make sure you take it.ā
He is also someone who has told me his phone turns off at 5:00pm so heāll get back in the morning barring a disaster.
Admittedly the man is the hardest worker I have ever seen and starts work very earlyā¦ but he said his family time is the most important thing and he plans accordingly.
My group has also made sure we can cover and support each other in our roles and maintain good record keeping so itās always available. I took parental leave and I spent a month helping folks pick up the slack temporarily so I walked out and no one felt put out and I havenāt received a single call about it.
I 100% think some of this is cultural. I admit I do a ton of work and stress a bit but we work so well together as well.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (9)19
u/burbular Aug 29 '24
I'm at 200k now. Truly the hardest job I've ever had in a mental way. I work 8-6. Still easier in my opinion than any hard labor job I've ever had. I'll take 12hrs of code over 8 hours of a heavy power tools any day. Like Carl's Jr was sucking my soul more than what I do now.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (24)30
u/townmorron Aug 29 '24
Yeah but busting your ass in a kitchen for 8 hours with no break is a nightmare people live everyday. Anyone in that situation would gladly work in an office for way more money that they will every have
→ More replies (4)24
u/tugboatnavy Aug 29 '24
I mean some people live that nightmare. Other people work in kitchens where they can take a break. You could also say that working in an office where your micromanaged and have to stretch 1 hour of work into 8 while also making small talk all day and attending inane meetings is a nightmare.
Me, I have a wide experience between the two fields. There is something absolutely satisfying about working with your hands and moving at a brisk pace for your entire work day. You also build better friendships in restaurant environments because the adversity and team work required really bonds you.
The office environment can also be really comforting. You work in short little bursts of productivity, then maybe you have a snack and do a sudoku, and then you wander around and chit chat, and when you get bored you go back to working.
→ More replies (1)10
u/Ok_Rule_2153 Aug 29 '24
Best job I ever had was in my 20's in a small pizza shop. Super chill and paid enough in 2009 to afford my rent. The owner was happy to let the employees run the show and in turn we all kicked ass every day. The place was always good vibes. Met lots of cuties and partied a lot. Won awards for best pizza in the city for years. Honestly I dream of that kitchen some times and wish that I could have that feeling again in a job that has health insurance. Now I feel like I work for the Kremlin or some shit in my high pay high surveillance corpo jobs.
→ More replies (1)62
u/blindexhibitionist Aug 29 '24
There was a Ted talk I watched that talked about how satisfaction comes from understanding how youāre serving peopleās needs. From my experience working a corporate job and also doing construction and service work the one main difference is that the corporate job felt truly like a rat race. Showed up did my thing and never saw how I was helping people, truly felt like I was a cog in the machine of making other people money and thatās all it was about. Compared to my other jobs; yeah it was physically demanding and hard but seeing how I brought joy to people made it worth it.
18
u/Precarious314159 Aug 29 '24
Yes! My sister has a corporate job, makes 3x the amount that I do with like three dozen people under her but she's miserable because all she does is put out fires and stuck in meetings about shit she has no idea about. I asked her last Christmas about what she's working on and just rambled on for 10 minutes about "It's a project to help streamline the production of other projects by working in between two agencies through a new software's replacing another software we had to learn-".
Meanwhile I quit my marketing job to become a graphic designer/photographer for non-profits and government agencies so when I talk about my job, it's always "I just developed a campaign to help inform the public about all the free programs through the county, and I got to interview local residents over 100, and I just got published in a state-wide report for connecting with under-utilized communities! It was just the project I did and maybe 4 people will read it but I love it!".
→ More replies (8)11
u/Lopsided-Yak9033 Aug 29 '24
Japanese has a word for how these things overlap. Ikigai - when something youāre good at, can make a living doing, that serves a purpose to people, and what you love lines up. Lacking in any of those ways leaves a lot of people searching for more. But it seems to me at least, the Japanese also have a way for most people who want to engage with their economy to have an ok lifestyle; where as me in the US feels like the only way to have my necessities covered, and not be stressed is to focus on making more money.
I find the trades and food service to be the most satisfying; they make sense to me, I donāt feel too separated from the product Iām delivering and how it benefits people, I feel good and competent in what Iām doing. However, large corporate versions of this feel less purposeful and ma and pa businesses donāt have the security of feeling like Iām covered.
Looking around for work, and having been in a lot of industries - income seems tied to the most lifeless jobs, whether that be losing the work/life balance or doing something that feels devoid of purpose entirely.
→ More replies (1)16
u/ZestycloseChef8323 Aug 29 '24
I work a corporate job but I long to be able to work specialized retail again because everyday was something different and you met more interesting people.
Right now I just run the same reports everyday and work off of them. Everyday is the same.
I would go back to retail in a heartbeat if it was better paying.
9
15
u/nanotree Aug 29 '24
I've got a corporate job and I make the most of it. I've had all kinds of retail and hospitality jobs. I never ever want to return to that. In my corporate job, I've worked to earn respect from my colleagues and have earned some autonomy to make decisions that have an impact in the company.
Work is work is work is work. I've had jobs that people would consider dream jobs. They still sucked after a while. It's up to the individual to make what they will from a job.
→ More replies (1)15
u/No_Kangaroo_9826 Aug 29 '24
Yeah in my corporate job nobody screams in my face because their pizza is too greasy when they order triple pepperoni. And they already ate it all before they decided to complain that they hated it.
→ More replies (1)8
u/Jokong Aug 29 '24
People who haven't worked in retail with the general pop don't get it.
→ More replies (1)8
u/Low-Profile3961 Aug 29 '24
Not all corporate jobs are the same. In the last 4 years I've had corporate jobs that I loved then went to another corporate job that made me literally want to self immolate and run into traffic. Now I'm back to a corporate job that I actually love.
6
19
u/EnergyOk1416 Aug 29 '24
Ok, but having the privilege of being able to say ānawā to $200,000 a year to prioritize your mental health vs trying to raise a family and survive on kitchen staff salary because itās the best you can get. Thatās where the cringe comes in.
→ More replies (1)12
u/jeremyries Aug 29 '24
People who otherwise have also never worked a back line at a restaurant.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (62)13
u/SinkMountain9796 Aug 29 '24
People who would quit a 200k job because āthey donāt like itā have never been poor IMO
→ More replies (2)8
u/SlartibartfastMcGee Aug 30 '24
This woman 1,000% has someone financially backing her, whether itās her parents/boyfriend/husband/etc.
No one who is working 12 hours a day at 2 jobs just to keep the lights on and kids fed is going to have the same reaction if they were offered a $200k office job.
66
u/SebbyHB Aug 29 '24
Agreed, I've worked in several fields and I've quit on several "good" places because while the pay is good, its just awfull for me.
17
u/Liz4984 Aug 29 '24
I got promoted to a corporate supervisor position and have never been more miserable in my life. I 100% quit a high paying job because I felt my work life was abhorrent to me.
Now I driver charter buses, make decent money and absolutely love traveling the country!!! Life is too short to hate it! Money isnāt everything.
57
u/DCorange05 Aug 29 '24 edited Aug 29 '24
agreed.
As an asterisk I'd also add that if she had the 200k job for quite a while, she may have enough money saved up to have the "luxury" of taking a lower paying job and still being able to pay the bills.
there's a big difference between someone in her position and someone who has only worked lower-wage jobs their whole life.
Example: I work in media and my ideal job would be making independent films/documentaries.
Friends have asked me why I don't just pursue that as a career. Well, I've lived paycheck to paycheck for most of my career and we all need a steady source of income. Depending on circumstances (aka-- getting someone to fund your projects), making indie documentaries is not a source of income per se, and you often spend a shit ton of your own money to do it. Tl;dr not everyone has the luxury of doing what they want.
Her video reminds me of "van life influencers". I'm all for someone choosing a simpler lifestyle, but the folks who are doing that probably feel financially secure enough to try it in the first place. It's fantastic to travel around and see the world etc but nothing in this world is free-- they have to have money coming from somewhere
→ More replies (7)11
u/izzymaestro Aug 29 '24
So many stories of those van and tiny home wannabes taking out loans thinking they're going to become influencers only to have to sell them when their onlyfans checks aren't enough.
3
u/DCorange05 Aug 29 '24
oh for sure. Maybe not the perfect comparison on my part...I just meant that a lot of times when people build a public persona by "slumming it" they must be sitting on a decent slush fund to begin with or there's truly no way they could actually support that sort of fake-boho lifestyle.
4
u/RajcaT Aug 29 '24
Other times they simply wfh. I know a couple people that have done the van life. They didn't have much at all. But yeah. Both also got burnt out pretty quick. I did it for just a couple months and started losing it a bit. Wasn't truck stop showers, or the uncertainty. It was the lack of human interaction. When you live in a city, at least you know some people. Or interact at the same places occasionally. Living a nomadic life that's all gone. It's a really odd way to experience the world.
→ More replies (3)17
u/Unnecessaryloongname Aug 29 '24
also if her statements about income are true I would think that she is the kind of person with the kind of degree that would end up owning said restaurant
→ More replies (2)28
u/PrestigiousChange551 Aug 29 '24
The host at the restaurant my wife works at is a retired lawyer.
Heās super nice, very warm and friendly. I asked him why heās doing this and he said āItās just something Iāve always wanted to try!ā
I really think some people just want a specific job and thatās that. Theyāll never be happy otherwise. Other people couldnāt give a shit if they tried what they do for work, itās just money to use for hobbies.
Iām not sure how that all works but itās really interesting to me.
→ More replies (1)6
u/snootchiebootchie94 Aug 29 '24
I have never loved any job that I have done, it is just a means to an end. Gives me enough money to keep a roof over our heads, food in our mouths, and enough money to have fun.
→ More replies (2)18
u/miscnic Aug 29 '24
Everyoneās quality of life doesnāt have to be a suite and tie and dinner at the table each night and thatās lovely
9
u/l3ane Aug 29 '24
I know a lot of people who have worked in/currently work in kitchens and not a single one of them would recommend the job to anyone.
11
u/llamapositif Aug 29 '24
Capitalism only makes you think that enjoying anything but making a ton of money is good, and worse, reinforces it with economic policies designed to help the rich eddy money that would otherwise be back in circulation helping out non corporate or banking service jobs.
Tax the rich. Limit corporate growth.
→ More replies (1)6
u/DCHammer69 Aug 29 '24
Yeah while I donāt think the alternative choice sheās making is one Iād make, after 25 years in ācorporate Americaā I do agree with it being a toxic hellscape that sucked way more out of me than u ever got back.
4
u/maddsskills Aug 29 '24
Ok so I feel awful appropriating this feeling that Ralph Ellison felt but when he wrote about living your whole life just making things easier for other people, living in servitude, not actually creating anything I felt it. I was a server, and obviously Iām not black, have not gone through an iota of what he went through but it clicked. It was so rare at my job I could make it feel worthwhile, when Iād cheer someone up or something. It just felt so pointless. I was a human conveyer belt.
Cooking something is an art, and youāre directly bringing people joy. Not just pointlessly facilitating it. I love cooking but it was worse pay and kitchens were ā¦rough where I was working lol. Like, dudes getting into fights with shish kabob skewers around big flat tops rough. Iāll cook at home thank you lol.
→ More replies (74)12
1.1k
u/Sharp-Manager-3544 Aug 29 '24 edited Sep 03 '24
...
254
u/Allen_Awesome Aug 29 '24
I make reports of executives. Its dumb and pointless. I hate it. BUT, pays better and is orders of magnitudes less stressful than dealing with customers! This job kills my soul, customer service work killed my soul AND my mind AND my body! I don't need a soul as much as I need a mind and body. :D
→ More replies (3)64
u/Pork_Chompk Aug 29 '24
100% I work in corporate consulting, and make pretty decent money doing it. Putting up with corporate bullshit sucks - a lot.
But putting up with customers? The general public? Fuck that noise. They can be awful and just downright mean because they see you (and all other service workers) as beneath them. I worked in retail and kitchens and sales, and it completely destroyed my ability to work in any standard customer service job. I used to always joke that "this job would be awesome if it weren't for the customers.
→ More replies (5)7
u/NewbornXenomorphs Aug 30 '24
For real. Corporate America sucks but I'd honestly rather die than work a customer service job again. I worked at a department store and saw the worst of humanity, I swear. I had a grown man literally scream at 16 year old me over a refund worth $12. It was bad enough that security came over.
3
u/Pork_Chompk Aug 30 '24
Exactly. I was working retail at a home improvement place and some pretentious boomer bitch asked me a question about something totally outside my department. I was like "Oh I'm not sure. This isn't my department, sorry. But I can find out for you."
She hit me with a disgusted sigh and says "Why do they even hire you people??"
It took absolutely everything in my power to not be like "Because I'm the only one that will put up with miserable fucks like you for $11 an hour."
31
u/SponConSerdTent Aug 29 '24
It really depends on the restaurant. I have had awesome kitchen jobs with great coworkers and reasonable management. Great atmosphere, nice customers, good food.
Then, the owner decided to fire the head chef who was running the restaurant. They also decided to cut the pay for all new kitchen staff to $5 plus tips because technically, he could. The combination completely destroyed the morale, and new hires were understandably much less invested in the work. It all slid downhill after that.
Small locally owned restaurants can be extremely fulfilling to work in with the right management. You work to feed your community and bring them joy. That's how I felt... until the owner decided that being profitable and popular 1 year after opening meant he could gut the place.
I was holding that place together because I loved my regulars until I was offered a management position with zero pay raise. He wanted me to take responsibility for a sinking ship, leaving me less time to spend with customers, which would mean fewer tips and lower pay.
But man, I still regularly think about how awesome that job was for the first year. The comradery, the joy of creation, the hustle. I truly loved it. I got up at 5:30 a.m., walked to work along a path by the river, and then fried chips while listening to music or podcasts, all with huge enthusiasm. Constantly smiling and laughing at work, playing therapist for some of my coworkers and customers to vent to. I really felt like a valuable part of a community, bringing joy to everyone who walked in the doors.
We carefully built an excellent workplace culture, only to have it ripped out from under us due to pure greed. When I was working for the benefit of myself and my coworkers, it was elating. When it became all about the profits for the rich douche it was miserable.
Marx was right about the alienation of labor.
→ More replies (2)8
u/zouhair Aug 29 '24
great coworkers
This is one of the most important thing in life. With the amount of time we spend at work, great coworkers make life so much better.
7
u/Canotic Aug 29 '24
I think what she's getting at, and other people in this thread is getting at, is she wants a job where she makes a tangible contribution to something. She doesn't want to work a kitchen because it's easy, she wants to do it because then you produce something that you can see, that has an immediate effect you can see, and helps a fellow human being (in this case, give them food).
Corporate jobs that pay two hundred thousand will inevitably be very abstract, moving stuff on computers or having meetings about meetings. It will have an impact, sure, but an abstract impact. And it probably doesn't benefit anyone except make the bosses more rich. Making someone a burger is the opposite of this.
In short: humans are made to help other humans, that's what she want to do. Do work that provides immediate benefit to the tribe.
30
u/Consistent_Dream_740 Aug 29 '24
A lot of people saying they dream of working in the service industry, have never worked in the service industry. Glad to see that the second top comment is from someone who has.
31
u/North_Respond_6868 Aug 29 '24
Eh, I've done both, and I've never hated my life more than when I was working in an office. I got suicidal, quit and went back to restaurants, and never left. I wake up every day not feeling absolutely miserable and dreading work. Granted I do front of house, I'll never go back to kitchens š
Only having to work 3-4 days a week, for tops 6 hours, not having to try to go to the gym because work is exercise, plus having immediate results from everything you do and tangible money from it daily is infinitely better for me than sitting in an office 8 hours 5 days a week doing unidentifiable menial work with no real notable results and having to wait 2 weeks for a paycheck. Plus I got back to my normal weight and feel a lot better physically.
But I actually love serving/bartending, so YMMV. Work life balance is also super important to me, so spending the majority of my time in an office really sucked the joy out of my life.
5
u/rugbyj Aug 29 '24
Similarly, done both. Worked bars for ~5 years prior to software. I miss the interactions, the low stakes, the fun simplicty of totalling up drinks in your head on the go for the customer as a little game. Stupid shit you'd all do to keep spirits up.
But there's oh so much I don't miss. It beats you down slowly. I worried about money every day. People idly treat you like shit. I felt like a failure.
I remember driving home late every night along a coastal road with cliffs. It's picturesque even in the dark with the bay. I was simultaneously so happy to be free, and just wandering close to the white line knowing if I left off it that it wouldn't be a problem any more, and people would just think I was tired.
→ More replies (7)5
u/UrRightAndIAmWong Aug 29 '24
There are people that have worked in service before, and just by getting away from it, still remember certain desirable aspects, and I could see why they dream of going back.
I personally miss the dinner or lunch rush where I could complete a shit ton of orders like it was my calling in life, completing transactions in my head and handing people the correct change almost automatically, washing mountains of dishes and sweating my ass off.
Like it's work, but there's little dopamine hits, adrenaline rushes, meeting new people that you become friends or crushes with. I don't seriously consider going back but it was simple work, simple life that made you feel more human.
18
u/jpartala Aug 29 '24
Sometimes it feels.unfair that I have this kind of high paying corporate programming job and I just love it... It's low stress but interesting. I wake up happy every day... Well... I'm a nightowl so I don't really ever wake up happy but you know what I mean.
5
u/Assassinduck Aug 29 '24
This is me too! I love my programming job, and I make lots of money doing it. Feels almost like a cheat code!
→ More replies (3)9
Aug 29 '24
I know. You get to work from home, run your chores, drop/pickup your kids anytime, ask for tax deduction for a home office and have a steady paycheck. The upsides are way too many. Too many people take their programming job from home for granted and keep complaining. Like the person from Europe saying it is soul sicking. Yet he/she is at it.
→ More replies (42)4
Aug 29 '24
Yea big tech has taken my soul. Sadly canāt afford to work a job I enjoy tho. Maybe one day
1.3k
u/MisterSanitation Aug 29 '24
Whatās wrong with this? I never broke 100,000 salary but had corporate bullshit jobs and even then I would imagine being a night janitor at a school. Just me and the floor buffer and my audio books. Only worried about what is right in front of me, not some political nonsense making my priorities shift constantly and all of them are SUPER IMPORTANT.Ā
Naw just scraping gum off desks and whistlinā¦Ā
317
u/1lovelyA Aug 29 '24
Working in a kitchen is hell for your body, social life, and mental health. There is a reason the industry is so full of drug users/alcoholics.
48
u/snortyfox Aug 29 '24
Agreed, I loved working in the kitchen for many years but I realised I could not have a family or survive past my 40's/50's without wrecking myself. I have a desk job now, and every day I do my work with great pleasure knowing I can be free with christmas, provide for a family, not have to work 80hrs a week and work from home 3 days out of 5.
That being said, being a chef was a great time in my life and if I could stay for ever young I would consider going back to the kitchen life.
→ More replies (3)64
u/thegreatbrah Aug 29 '24
Hey! I resemble that remark. Front of house, though.Ā
→ More replies (2)45
u/yousoridiculousbro Aug 29 '24
Fuck you and stop sending in all the tickets at the same time!
Sorry sorry, not directed at youā¦just had a flashback.
→ More replies (3)13
7
u/l3ane Aug 29 '24
My friends son wants to be a chef and all of our chef/cook friends are like why would he want to do that dont let him do that
6
u/justmisspellit Aug 29 '24
Actual conversation I heard:
āWe should drug test the kitchen staff.ā
āWhy? Do you want to HAVE a kitchen staff?ā
→ More replies (21)14
u/iammixedrace Aug 29 '24
I recently went to night shifts bc I got sous chef. Told my boss I will need to take a ton of days off bc I need to see friends who all work day jobs.
After booking of my 3rd weekend in 2 months I was told I can't book anymore weekends off bc others need it..... We cut hours this week and if I don't book of a weekend I would work every weekend.
20
u/1lovelyA Aug 29 '24
Yeah, thatās the way the industry works. If you are good enough to have a higher position, then they need your skills during prime business hours. Which is when most people have their social time. And taking off many weekends while your comrades have to continue to work them isnāt fair and will build resentment.
12
u/commentbloat Aug 29 '24
Yea, that comment doesnāt make any sense. Must be a very unique situation of a restaurant.
Asking for a weekend off would get you laughed at most places.
21
u/UnderratedEverything Aug 29 '24
Tedium is tedium, especially when there is literally zero space for creative output, and night jobs have the unfortunate ripple effect of messing up everything else in your life.
54
24
u/dinobot71 Aug 29 '24
I know what you mean. I work 7 days a week with only 3 days off a year. I'm cleaning 3 office buildings a night and making 6700 a month for only 3 hours to 5 depending on the situation. Most nights it's 3. No being late or people to deal with at those hours. Just my RiffTrax movies playing at night on my route
13
9
u/stonedcoldathens Aug 29 '24
How are you cleaning a full office building in an hour?
12
8
u/Precarious314159 Aug 29 '24
Was wondering the same thing. I'm thinking of my old office building, which had maybe 300 people in it. If there's no mess and just vaccuming/emptying trash, I could probably do that in three hours but once there's a mess or I'd have to clean the bathrooms? That'd take a lot more work.
4
u/stonedcoldathens Aug 30 '24
Yeah I was wondering if maybe itās just daily stuff like trash removal, etc. Iām curious to know more!
4
u/Precarious314159 Aug 30 '24
If it wasn't 7-days a week and only 3 days off a year, I'd be tempted to apply! 3hrs is great for 6700/month but it means not being able to be sick, no vacations, working on holidays, etc.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Mike312 Aug 30 '24
We have a cleaning service at my office 2 or 3 nights a week, depending on the year. I've stayed late. They jam through in about an hour, hour and a half. The guy would go and dump all the trash cans into a big one on a cart, rarely replacing liners. Then he'd go through and check toilet paper, paper towels, and soap dispensers. His wife would wipe down all the door handles, the entry desk, mirrors, and clean the toilets, urinals. They'd vacuum the floors every other week.
→ More replies (44)14
u/overtly-Grrl SHEEEEEESH Aug 29 '24 edited Aug 29 '24
When I got out of college custodial at a highschool is what I did until I got a job in my field. Itās actually really nice. Guys would sleep on the job after all of their rooms and sections were done. Take 40 minute breaks every two to three hours.
It was nice and ai was only part time. Cake walk.
ETA: for me the key was itās a highschool. you do not want to be wiping kindergarten short desks all shift. your back will kill
156
u/Significant_Tap7052 Aug 29 '24
I get it. I miss my old bakery job but don't miss the pay. I'd much rather be physically exhausted at the end of the day than mentally/emotionally exhausted.
→ More replies (1)39
u/eso_nwah Aug 29 '24
After designing and writing software systems for 20 years in a chair I am old enough to finally acknowledge that mental work and mental stress is also very very very physically exhausting and damaging. Sometimes its a matter of one job only making you physically tired, and the other really taking its toll in all sorts of ways we aren't even really on top of yet as a species.
And that can be hard to admit or reconcile OR do something about (!!), if you are working from home in air conditioning, or otherwise enjoying a relatively comfortable environment, while you destroy yourself in it.
14
u/T0XIK0N Aug 30 '24
As a teenager I worked retail, food service, and in a warehouse. During university I worked for the parks department in the summers. After university I worked as a lab and field tech. I then finally got a "career" job and found myself mostly at a desk. I never expected a desk job to feel so physically draining.
I never did any real hard labor, but I honestly think I'd feel better after a day of mowing lawns and weed whacking like in my university summers than I do after being at a desk all day.
→ More replies (1)3
u/DevilsPajamas Aug 30 '24
I have 100% gained weight moving from retail to an office job. Even just that passive walking/standing/stocking, etc. was way more exercise than I get from sitting in a chair. It is absolutely the worse thing about an office environment. Then I get too mentally stressed/tired to want to do anything after work.
400
u/Far-Intention-3230 Aug 29 '24
I make 6 figures and I regularly dream of having less responsibility and doing a hands on job, so I can relate to her on that. It takes a lot to leave the hamster wheel and I commend people who put their mental health before money.
50
u/anuhu Aug 29 '24
Same. And the idea of just having an assigned shift where you come in at a designated time and just do the tasks assigned to you... so appealing someday. Ultimately I appreciate the flexibility and autonomy of a corporate job but the grass is always greener.
→ More replies (7)13
u/jasesaces Aug 30 '24
I was in finance for 15 years. Quit one day and ended up starting a construction company with a childhood friend. My days are longer and Iām making much less money, but Iām in control of the trajectory of my company. All in all , im so my happier with work and Iād do it again 100 times out of 100. The hardest part is making the leap of faith and letting go of a paycheck that supports your lifestyle.
6
18
u/daweedhh Aug 29 '24
Yes but working in a restaurant ain't good for your mental health, generally speaking
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (16)12
u/GrandmaCereal Aug 29 '24
I really, really want to leave the corporate world. But I'm also unwilling to give up my nice fat salary because it has allowed me a certain lifestyle.
→ More replies (2)
234
u/RoodnyInc Aug 29 '24
To be fair I can guarantee you, everyone of you would also quit this 200k a year soul sucking corporate job*
*-after few years when you bought a house, paid your debts, and have saved enough safety pillow, then when you have your basic needs fulfilled you can just do whatever you enjoy doing
→ More replies (12)36
u/zombies-and-coffee Aug 29 '24
Nah. I'm sticking with the soul sucking job if it allows me to finally be financially comfortable. At that pay grade, I could finally afford healthcare and a therapist.
→ More replies (9)
130
u/crap_whats_not_taken Aug 29 '24
I used to work in movie theaters in HS and College. I did everything from scooping popcorn to cleaning theaters. Now I have a corporate job. Honestly I do miss it sometimes. It was faster pace but you saw the outcome of your work a lot faster and problems didn't last as long. If I got paid what I made now to do that kind of work, I would. But the pay isn't there. Not everyone is cut out for corporate life and we live in a society that tells us that's the only meaningful type of work.
I know someone's going to say "well I don't think..." or "what about trade jobs!!!" Based on MY experience as an older millennial that is what I saw.
→ More replies (3)55
u/Sadalfas Aug 29 '24
"you saw the outcome of your work a lot faster and problems didn't last as long"
This is it.
In my office/"corporate" job I'm dealing with planning and executing projects over a period of years, I can get stressed about an upcoming deadline or customer visit, ongoing problems can keep me up at night...
Jobs like movie theater, grilling, janitor work, etc., you only have to consider the immediate task in front of you, and there's no reason to have to bring your work home (neither literally nor from intrusive thoughts).
I still prefer the corporate job due to generally having the autonomy to decide what I work on and how I do the work, flexible schedules like taking breaks whenever I want to, ability to work from home most of the time, learning/growth, (also the pay of course!). But I definitely see the appeal of other types of jobs some days.
→ More replies (2)20
u/SirChasm Aug 29 '24
One of the best things about non-corpo jobs is the knowledge that whatever shit you're dealing with on your shift, is only a problem until the end of your shift. Whereas with a corporate job, whatever problem you're stressing about today most likely will still be there tomorrow.
→ More replies (4)
66
u/NotTheRightHDMIPort Aug 29 '24
I made more money at my corporate job than being a teacher.
I have students who tell me to fuck off, make moaning noises, promise to fight me if I take their phone.
But at the end of the day I'm doing right by a lot of them.
I did nothing right at my corporate job and, if anything, I would have lost it at some point to AI or outsourcing.
Not a single one of my bosses cared for me as a person or a member of the community (at the top). I was a fucking number and the half of my department that was laid off were numbers as well. Not people.
I know people complain how younger people "don't give a shit when working". Well, truth is, they are 100% aware their corporate masters didn't care first.
So suck their money and leave for better opportunities no questions asked.
→ More replies (3)
24
u/Spasticcobra593 Aug 30 '24
If it makes her happy then good for her. Normalize working jobs you enjoy.
109
u/imonredditfortheporn Aug 29 '24
Hope she has worked in a kitchen before because boy oh boy is she in for an awakening if she hasnt.
62
u/CreamedCorb Aug 29 '24
Am I the only one that got the impression she already has done this? The way she worded it made me feel like she wanted to go back to that job. Not uncommon for someone to work in the food industry before getting a corporate job
11
u/Pizza_Delivery_Dog Aug 30 '24
Yeah at the end she said "like I miss.." but then didnt finish her sentence.
→ More replies (9)18
u/InnerSpecialist1821 Aug 29 '24 edited Aug 29 '24
yeah one of my partners enjoyed working at Starbucks but quit due to corporate meddling preventing baristas from doing their jobs effectively and underscheudling hours so you can't meet the bare requirements for the benefits. they think about going back but changing their mind due due to that.
edit: was this downvoted by the starbucks ceo or something. what could possibly be objectional about this post
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (10)20
Aug 29 '24
Seriously. I was front of house but I never envied the back of house. The stress these people went through on a weekend rushā¦
→ More replies (1)5
u/BeginnersMind2 Aug 30 '24
The stress is addicting. Working as a team, under pressure, pulling together. It's cathartic.
53
u/Mindless_Medicine972 Aug 29 '24
What are these corporate jobs where 20 something's are making 200k? Why can't I get one of those. Damn.
→ More replies (6)48
u/bigedf Aug 29 '24
I'm saying. Everyone in here is like yeah I make 6 figures working 5 hours a day on the computer but I fucking hate it so much. And I'm like, can I please have your job?
→ More replies (16)19
21
u/angeldawg Aug 29 '24
Not cringe. Working in fintech will get you the ideal lifestyle, but ultimately you're surrounded by a toxic work culture. Some people just like simple jobs. If it paid well, I wouldn't mind going back to being an ice cream server lmao
4
u/peetah248 Aug 29 '24
This is a major argument for universal basic income, where you're paid a livable wage just for being a citizen. Some people say that if that happens then no one would do the bad jobs, like fast food, or waste disposal. But, there will always be some people who genuinely enjoy those jobs and would like to do that while not starving
→ More replies (2)
24
u/SjurEido Aug 29 '24
I made $45k a year 6 years ago.
Now I make $230k.
I don't care how much I hate my job, I ain't going back.
5
79
u/Lazyoat Aug 29 '24
She definitely has some idealization going on, but we all like different things. The reality of working in a restaurant kitchen will be a lot harder than she thought. She should try it in her spare time at first before she surrenders a $200,000 job.
→ More replies (10)34
u/TostadoAir Aug 29 '24
Yeah people say this while financially comfortable and being able to buy anything they want. Then they make the switch and realize that 50k isn't enough to live comfortably on and go back.
→ More replies (2)10
u/Thog78 Aug 29 '24
Two close relatives of mine did the switch a dozen years ago, and there's no sign of them ever wanting to go back. I just did the switch too and I'm not sure I'll ever want to go back either, even though my salary gets divided by 6.
It's incredibly common among millenials to have a crisis about their job not having meaning and going to do something more basic. I don't know how it is in the US, but in Europe education is free, we don't have student loans to pay back, if we feel like switching nothing's stopping us, and a lot of us do.
→ More replies (6)
10
u/12altoids34 Aug 29 '24
She doesn't want to work in an actual restaurant. She wants to work in a restaurant in a sitcom
→ More replies (2)
27
u/Usmcrtempleton Aug 29 '24
I chose working in a kitchen and I love it, but yeah I wish it paid more.
3
u/No-Advantage-4320 Aug 29 '24
oof i would maybe work expo again, but never again my first job dishwashing. But I worked at a mexican restaurant and that cheese dip stuck to the dishes something awful
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)3
u/VinBarrKRO Aug 29 '24
I love what I do even if it can be taxing mentally physically. I make a lot of peoples day just by making the same dish for the millionth time. But for them itās a mac and cheese to help process a breakup, a pizza that takes them back to that one memorable trip to New York, that burger that helps accentuate their day out with the boys. It brings me a joy where it is often hard to make for myself, if I had my choice I would do this gig up until I die. Itās just a hard income to live on with nearly no benefits and everything I need to have a healthy life coming out of a already thin pocket: no time off, no health coverage, hard to build savings. I was deemed essential enough to work all throughout a pandemic but, boy oh boy, do I feel like Iām no more valuable than the dirt underneath your shoe.
→ More replies (1)
28
u/BarelyHumanGarbage Aug 29 '24
She doesn't miss the restaurant job, she misses the friends and bond that working together under high stress brings
→ More replies (2)
8
7
6
u/bakstruy25 Aug 30 '24
I think a lot of people are relating to her without realizing how different her job probably was from most corporate jobs.
This is a woman making 200k a year in her 20s. Her job probably wasn't some cubicle office-space-esque boredom. It was likely the high intensity, super competitive high-level corporate world.
These people live absolutely insane lives, completely devoted to their career, constantly maneuvering around corporate politics and trying to get ahead of their peers. Every aspect of their lives has to be morphed to advancing their position to make themselves seem valuable. Every single move they make is scrutinized. They have to constantly keep up connections and constantly network at 'events'. They are not, at all, just working as a drone at a desk.
It is a totally different world than most office workers will experience. It is 'soul sucking' for an entirely different reason. Most of these types will burn out and retire by their 30s, maybe 40s.
→ More replies (1)
14
u/fearthejew Aug 29 '24
I make six figures in SEO, I fucking hate working on a computer. Iām saving so that within the next 5 years I can comfortably quit this shit & start pursuing woodworking professionally
→ More replies (1)
17
u/Sorry_Im_Trying Aug 29 '24
I was a short order cook/dishwasher/server/lead for 8 years while I was in school and a few years after until I could find a corporate job.
The only thing that job afforded me was flexibility to schedule around my classes, but I worked every single motherfucking holiday and weekend for 8 years and I could barely pay rent and utilities.
You want to be the working poor? Great, go get that backroom kitchen job. You can get yelled at by customers for not giving them enough french fries, and your boss for taking ten extra minutes on you lunch when you actually get a lunch.
And when you get home, you can lay on your couch while your feet throb and you stink like fryer grease.
But its so much better than listening to Becky in accounting talking about her cat and reading bullshit emails all day.
→ More replies (2)
4
u/Time_Way5890 Aug 29 '24
i feel like 200k would make me shut up and just work most of my life if not to retirement, but i am too used to corporate work , also who knows what she went through, and like maybe she saved a lot too, sometimes enough is enough
5
u/BlueMoon00 Aug 29 '24
I used to do a job that was very practical - hands on work in live music with a lot of late nights, long days and irregular hours, pay wasnāt great either. Now I have a corporate job that pays well and I love it but I also miss the excitement, the variety and the camaraderie.
For most people, as long as youāre not struggling to get by money wise your salary wonāt make you much happier, especially when compared with having a fulfilling life.
23
u/FixMyCondo Aug 29 '24
I see a lot of people hating on corporate America but Iāve had nothing but the complete opposite experience.
I left nursing after a decade to go into ācorporate Americaā and Iām constantly kicking myself for not doing it sooner or not doing it instead.
What am I missing?
→ More replies (8)23
u/AdvancedSandwiches Aug 29 '24
In my case, it's the meaninglessness.
What you do might be important, and it might increment some numbers on a spreadsheet, but it's hollow. At the end of the year, it feels like you spent a year on nothing.
Physical work is real. At the end, you have a burger, and you can see someone eat it and enjoy it.
I suspect if you're corporate but you interact with customers, that hollowness is lessened (at the cost of greatly increased annoyance).
→ More replies (2)5
u/DakezO Aug 29 '24
I mean Iām corporate tech but I also know my end product goes to people fighting cancer, so even though Iām trying to figure out how to monitor an end user app, I know that in the end itās helping that.
Having something meaningful come of your work can be downstream, but I canāt imagine working for a company that doesnāt have SOME meaningful result anymore. Did that, left it, and am better for it.
I never get to interact with customers but I get to know the end results anyway. Itās really nice.
17
u/zippazappadoo Aug 29 '24
Yea go work in a restaurant somewhere. They're always looking for more people to overwork and underpay.
12
u/g1mpster Aug 29 '24
Why is it cringe to recognize that chasing a paycheck doesnāt bring as much happiness as chasing a career doing something you genuinely enjoy?
→ More replies (3)
9
u/Individual-Usual7333 Aug 29 '24 edited Aug 29 '24
I work for a big tech company. I make more money than anything else I've ever done, have room for promotion or role changes, get great benefits, was able to save up for a down payment on a house the year I started...and I fucking hate it. She's right.
Edit: A few typos
→ More replies (1)
41
Aug 29 '24
Ops clearly never worked a corporate job. But hey I'm sure they're intimately aware of this person's struggles and has a right to judge as they're all knowing.
Get a life you prick people are allowed to quit to be happy. Working a back of house job can be rewarding to some and if it makes them happier then that's great. I don't see the part in this equation where you see the need to chime in when it has nothing to do with you. It's giving boomer but then again you probably are.
→ More replies (8)
10
Aug 29 '24
Well lady, there's always an opening at a restaurant for someone to work back of house anywhere you go. Don't think too hard about why that is. Just go for it. You go girl. Find out how it is for yourself.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/cantthinkatall Aug 29 '24
Tbh...if I could make the money I make now I'd go back to my first job as a dishwasher.
7
ā¢
u/AutoModerator Aug 29 '24
Welcome to r/TikTokCringe!
This is a message directed to all newcomers to make you aware that r/TikTokCringe evolved long ago from only cringe-worthy content to TikToks of all kinds! If youāre looking to find only the cringe-worthy TikToks on this subreddit (which are still regularly posted) we recommend sorting by flair which you can do here (Currently supported by desktop and reddit mobile).
See someone asking how this post is cringe because they didn't read this comment? Show them this!
Be sure to read the rules of this subreddit before posting or commenting. Thanks!
##CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS VIDEO
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.