"You don’t know shit!” is a hard lesson to swallow, but it was one of the first things I learned when I started my nine-year career as a sales and inventory control associate at a Walmart in Laramie, Wyoming.
When I was hired by the company at $6.40 an hour, I believed I would only be working there for a few months before I landed a cool gig at a non-profit in Denver, or had my manuscript discovered by Random House. I had dropped out of college to pursue my dream of becoming the next Stephen King. I thought I was wise beyond my years and looked down on many of my new co-workers: soon I would be living in Denver, Santa Fe, or even New York City while they would still be stuck at the local Walmart.
The Guardian: $6.40 an hour for nine years: how I got stuck in a career as a Walmart employee
‘I felt like a failure with no future, no money, no assets, and lots of credit card debt’.
Illustration: Rob Dobi
There are legions in this patrol and many are pissed since they felt they played the game right by going to college but, after some years floundering in post-college time, they realized they needed to learn how to do something someone actually wants.
One of the progeny of the regulars discovered this the hard way but he was fortunately not in deep debt from school and he learned the workplace has no interest in his major. From the standpoint of some, that means a college which doesn't deliver someone fit for the workplace then it's useless but we have already been through the fact the problem isn't in going to college but rather going to the wrong one.
Note: he knew that his major had little to no commercial value anyway.
There's little granularity to education choices which are largely binary with yes/no for college but that's not even close to enough. We have flogged it previously about the inadequacy of the presentation of valid choices when trade schools don't get anywhere near the attention they need.
The consequence of that failing is with the kid at Wal-Mart.
I was disillusioned with politicians on both sides of the aisle who didn’t seem to give a damn about people who weren’t in poverty but made less than $30,000 a year. I made too much to qualify for federal tax credits to buy inexpensive health insurance under Obamacare. My premiums rose every year, and soon health insurance was my second highest personal expenditure after rent. Politicians gave lip service to tax cuts and programs for the “middle class,” but never seemed to mention the “working class.”
- Guardian
Welcome to the real world kid and sorry this part of the education came so hard.
Note: they don't care about people who are in poverty either.
This is a Walt Disney story since the kid doesn't wind up in the gutter.
And eventually, I got the courage up to take out loans and finish my undergraduate studies at the local university.
I quit Walmart after my acceptance into a graduate program that offered free health insurance and paid a stipend comparable to what I made working full-time. My decision was motivated largely by a friendship I formed with another co-worker named Ryan. We hung out because we had a lot in common: we were both quiet, shared a birthday, were left-handed, and liked similar music and books.
After years of working in fast food, Ryan had made the decision to return to school and was working to fund his education. Despite the financial obstacles and his own personal fears, he took a big step to change his life. I had a lot of respect for him, and eventually my desire for him to return my admiration led me to change my life.
I don’t miss unloading trucks, but I do not regret the years I spent working at Walmart, especially because of the lessons my co-workers taught me: humility, patience, and respect for those scratching out a living in the low-paying retail sector.
- Guardian
The Rockhouse cautions that may have been the only solution for him but it's not necessarily the solution for everyone (i.e. graduate school).
When I was hired by the company at $6.40 an hour, I believed I would only be working there for a few months before I landed a cool gig at a non-profit in Denver, or had my manuscript discovered by Random House. I had dropped out of college to pursue my dream of becoming the next Stephen King. I thought I was wise beyond my years and looked down on many of my new co-workers: soon I would be living in Denver, Santa Fe, or even New York City while they would still be stuck at the local Walmart.
The Guardian: $6.40 an hour for nine years: how I got stuck in a career as a Walmart employee
‘I felt like a failure with no future, no money, no assets, and lots of credit card debt’.
Illustration: Rob Dobi
There are legions in this patrol and many are pissed since they felt they played the game right by going to college but, after some years floundering in post-college time, they realized they needed to learn how to do something someone actually wants.
One of the progeny of the regulars discovered this the hard way but he was fortunately not in deep debt from school and he learned the workplace has no interest in his major. From the standpoint of some, that means a college which doesn't deliver someone fit for the workplace then it's useless but we have already been through the fact the problem isn't in going to college but rather going to the wrong one.
Note: he knew that his major had little to no commercial value anyway.
There's little granularity to education choices which are largely binary with yes/no for college but that's not even close to enough. We have flogged it previously about the inadequacy of the presentation of valid choices when trade schools don't get anywhere near the attention they need.
The consequence of that failing is with the kid at Wal-Mart.
I was disillusioned with politicians on both sides of the aisle who didn’t seem to give a damn about people who weren’t in poverty but made less than $30,000 a year. I made too much to qualify for federal tax credits to buy inexpensive health insurance under Obamacare. My premiums rose every year, and soon health insurance was my second highest personal expenditure after rent. Politicians gave lip service to tax cuts and programs for the “middle class,” but never seemed to mention the “working class.”
- Guardian
Welcome to the real world kid and sorry this part of the education came so hard.
Note: they don't care about people who are in poverty either.
This is a Walt Disney story since the kid doesn't wind up in the gutter.
And eventually, I got the courage up to take out loans and finish my undergraduate studies at the local university.
I quit Walmart after my acceptance into a graduate program that offered free health insurance and paid a stipend comparable to what I made working full-time. My decision was motivated largely by a friendship I formed with another co-worker named Ryan. We hung out because we had a lot in common: we were both quiet, shared a birthday, were left-handed, and liked similar music and books.
After years of working in fast food, Ryan had made the decision to return to school and was working to fund his education. Despite the financial obstacles and his own personal fears, he took a big step to change his life. I had a lot of respect for him, and eventually my desire for him to return my admiration led me to change my life.
I don’t miss unloading trucks, but I do not regret the years I spent working at Walmart, especially because of the lessons my co-workers taught me: humility, patience, and respect for those scratching out a living in the low-paying retail sector.
- Guardian
The Rockhouse cautions that may have been the only solution for him but it's not necessarily the solution for everyone (i.e. graduate school).
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