‘It doesn’t work’: This Florida waitress says she tried doing what she loves but couldn’t afford to live
Waiting tables is a common way for students to make some extra pocket change while in college. But now, many keep serving way past college graduation.
Genevieve Sleboda, who goes by @genevieve.show on TikTok, revealed that she is one of these people in a viral video. After graduating with a master’s degree in education, she realized that none of the jobs in her field pay enough to cover her rent.
The Fort Lauderdale, Florida resident took a serving job at a bar instead — which she claims pays better than an education job.
“In this economy, as a post-grad Gen Z, I cannot afford to start a career on a first-year salary,” Sleboda says.
“I tried doing what I love — it doesn’t work out for me.”
Education vs serving
Jobs in Sleboda’s field of education pay a decent salary. Teachers make a median salary of $61,250, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This falls slightly above the median national yearly earnings of $59,540.
But Sleboda says that when she has worked in education, it was bad news for her wallet: “I’ve had to take money out of my savings to pay my rent.”
Rent.com reports the median Florida rent as $2,099 per month — which equals over $25,000 over a year. This would mean that Sleboda would spend nearly half (41%) of her $61,250 education salary on rent.
Though servers tend to make less money per year than teachers — the BLS reports a median of $29,120 per year — they can make a lot in tips. Staffing platform Adia approximates that servers bring in $100 in tips per night. And none of those earnings are taxed.
If you work five shifts per week, you could bring in an extra $500 a week. By the end of the year, you’ll have an additional $24,000, nearly doubling your salary to $53,000 — almost as much as a teacher.
Not only could you bring in a similar amount of income to a teacher through serving, you’ll also avoid all the unpaid parts of the education profession: marking, lesson planning and parent calls. On an hourly basis, you may even find yourself coming out ahead, as Sleboda does.
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