Minimum for a reason
It’s called minimum wage for a reason. Most minimum wage jobs aren’t difficult. You’re not supposed to stay in that position forever. Most minimum wage jobs are not meant to be full-time careers. With these jobs, you should either try to get promoted to a higher position in a few months or stay there until you can find something that pays better. There are always options.
High school & younger adults
Minimum wage jobs were meant to be for teenagers and college students. I think somewhere along the way some people forgot that. I know that society and the job market has changed and people of all ages are working minimum wage jobs, but people have to remember that they should just be temporary. I know that there are better paying opportunities out there. You just have to find them.
Educate yourself
Something that anyone who is working a minimum wage job can do is to educate themselves. There are several ways that they can do that. The first way that you can educate yourself is by going to school. You can go to a tech school and pick up a trade or you can go to a four-year university and get your bachelor’s degree. In most cases, the more education that you get, the better your chances of getting a higher paying job is.
Another way that you can educate yourself is to learn as much as can at your current job. Talk to the managers and see if they know of any opportunities for growth within the organization. Some companies have managerial programs that their employees can apply for. Kroger’s, Enterprise Rental Car and McDonalds are companies that I know promote their workers to better positions.
Create your own opportunity
If you are stuck in a minimum wage position you can try to create your own opportunities. I don’t suggest that you just up and quit your job. I do believe that you can start a side hustle. It can be done. People are doing it every day. You just have to have some drive and discipline.
If you are making minimum wage there are things that you can do instead of waiting for it to be increased to $15 per hour. Everything that I’ve discussed today can be down. It just depends on if you want to do it or not. I’d rather create a better opportunity for myself instead of just waiting for things to change on their own. This isn’t the old days. It’s 2016. You can’t afford to just let things happen.
What are your thoughts on minimum wage? Should it be increased to $15 or is it fine where it’s at?
Jason Butler
Jason Butler is an Atlanta native, as well as businessman, blogger and teacher. Not only is Jason a prolific flipper, marketer, writer and side hustler his number of years in higher education and student support have given him expert knowledge in understanding the economics of the student loan industry.
People are too entitled. If you want more you should work harder to get promoted and/or get more educated. Stop expecting people to just pay you more bc you breathe air.
Minimum wages should stay low as an incentive for people to actually try to improve their situation. People who believe that minimum wage should be a livable wage are just setting themselves up for disappointment. Because companies paying minimum wage are tired of this debate. They are investing billions into automation; replacing humans with computers. In the next 20-years there will be no fast food workers, cashiers, etc. It’s too expensive for companies to pay insane minimum wages.