I remember way back in the day when I was just stocking shelves at a grocery store for like... 7 dollars an hour or something like that...
I guess that was a lot of money back then to a kid back then.
In any case... I remember being offered 10 bucks an hour to go work in the produce dept. Where I was growing up/living in, 10 bucks an hour is not bad, it's actually pretty good. You find any job that paid around 10 bucks an hour and you're living large, especially if you're still young. But I declined it becuase I knew I wouldn't be at work all the time and would miss work etc etc so I just told the guy no.
Anyways... on to my story! I was stocking shelves on 3rd shift and it was break time. So we all gather round the break area and this guy who was a friend of one of the stock clerk had come to visit him and talk to him. He was telling him about how he's going to college now and about to graduate and already got a job lined up as an electrical engineer with a starting pay of 17.50. The way he was saying it made it seemed like it was such a huge pay per hour. Honestly, at that time and area, it really was a nice big pay per hour. I remember thinking wow, that's alot of money.
It's weird now that the minimun wage is going to be 15 bucks an hour, for working a job like washing the dishes at KFC or taking orders at Mcdonalds, their pay is going to be comparable to that of college degree-ed folks 15-20 years ago.
I remember listening to a truck driver talking proudly of how his son is going to be making 40 thousand a year after he's put him to college.
I took this girl to her work place, she had asked me if I could take her, she had just gotten hired on to a new job(she was pretty good looking by the way, I guess I felt she was "too old" for me, she was only like mid 20's). She was a classmate and we were all in the same physics and calc classes... It was weird, a couple of the 'older' students in there were talking about how after they got done with their calc classes they'll be able to get hired on here and there. I just found it perplexing how a class could do that but anyways! The girl was telling me she was getting a job paying her 11 bucks an hour. She was proud and excited too, and I was happy for her too.
Like I said, that area and time I was growing up, 11 bucks an hour is alot of money.
Also, this older gentleman in my calc class, he was talking about how when he got done with his calc class, when he goes to get a job, he's taking no less than 10 bucks an hour.
I worked for many companies, one company, I worked as a temp worker. I got paid like 11 bucks an hour or something... anyways, the permanent workers got paid like 14-15 bucks an hour and some even 17 bucks an hour if they had a 4 year degree or something since they were in charge of "more complex" parts of the company. Anyways, I remember one of the guy had just bought a new EVO. This was way back then, and I was thinking "wow, that's what 17 bucks an hour can afford!"
My point with all these reference's is... it's sorta strange in a way how I see the wage, per hour kind of like being devalued. 11, 12,15,17,17.50 bucks an hour back in the day was like, you'd have to go to school and put some time in to get a pay like that, and a pay like that is really good pay, it's a pay everyone strived for and hoped for, kind of like a dream everyone can attain but you had to put some work in first.
Now it seems like everyone wants that 15 bucks an hour handed to them reguardless of they put the work in or not and not only that, like that 15 bucks an hour is not just equivalent to a fast food job, where-as just 20 years ago it was equivalent to working a job that required a degree.
How strange huh?
There's really no debate here, just something to think and ponder about.