Why do people look down on others for having low paying jobs?

[CyberCubed]

This is something that always bothered me. I never understood why people who are very successful in life and make $70,000+ a year look down on people who only make about $20,000 or $30,000 a year.

Some people seem to think people who make only $10-12 an hour are because they had no motivation to get a good education or a trade, or that they're lazy, but that's not always true. Some people are just not lucky enough to find a good high-paying job even with a degree and experience, and others just don't have the financial support.

I mean I'm lucky enough to make a decent salary, but I would never look down on someone who makes less than me. Everyone has their own troubles and if you can pay your bills and put food on the table that's good enough. It really bothers me the arrogance of some people who are well off and look down on those less fortunate.

[Candy Kappa]

The short answer is that people are assholes.

[Leo656]

Sometimes Cubed surprises me by being a little more enlightened than I'd previously given credit for.

But yeah, it comes down to the whole, "You don't want it badly enough" supposition on the part of those who were fortunate. Which is patently false a vast majority of the time. Some people "make it", while others can take identical steps and somehow not. A ton of it has to do with geographical and economical circumstances more than anything. Connections, too. You can be a super-hard and reliable worker in your chosen field, and still be passed over for raises and promotions because you didn't buddy up to your boss, or have "the right personality" for advancement, any one of a thousand random reasons.

Don't get me wrong, you can't ignore the importance of hard work and perseverance. But at the same time, if that's literally all it took, a lot more people would be "making it". And that's where all the frustration and discontent and despair comes from; not from the people who "just want everything easy", it comes from the people who are doing everything "right" that they're "supposed to do" and it STILL gets them nowhere for one reason or another.

I'm not an old goat, but I've seen enough rags-to-riches-and-back-to-rags stories in my life to know that absolutely nothing is guaranteed, it's all mostly luck, and you can do everything mandated of you to be "successful", and circumstances outside your control can still rip it all away and eventually leave you with less than you started with. That's why I can't stand it when people who have "made it" look down on and sh*t talk people who struggle; there's no blueprint for this stuff, you have zero idea why someone is where they are other than what they deign to share with you, and ultimately, just because you've got it made now doesn't mean something isn't going to come and flip YOUR life upside-down one day.

Only those born into money are guaranteed "success" (and even they're not immune to f*cking it up). Everyone else is just throwing darts at the wall hoping they hit more than they miss. That's life. It's stupid to judge people for it. But, people who have things like to convince themselves they really, really deserve it more than the next person, and it makes them feel better to say "Anyone not at my level isn't trying." I get it; it's just plain false, though.

[Prowler]

In the last 3 decades or so, people became socially pressured to go to university and get a degree and maybe later a masters, post-grad or/and a Ph.D. For a while, university was useful for people who wanted to get good jobs, but nowadays pretty much everyone who finishes HS goes to uni unless their family is dirt poor and can't afford their tuition. And with the current economical problems in the West, a university degree doesn't guarantee you a good job anymore. Not even the so called "useful" degrees such as engineering or law do in countries hit hard by the crisis such as Portugal, Spain and Greece.

It's not so much "looking down", but wanting to tell themselves and their kids that if they don't work hard enough they'll end up selling papers or flipping burgers for a living. And that is a scary thought. I mean, let's face it, I doubt fast food workers dreamed of having such a job when they were kids. Obviously such jobs aren't as financially profitable or stable as, let's say, becoming an accountant.

Society places a higher importance in some jobs, and nothing wrong with that. But yes, someone who actually looks down on people with low paying jobs and thinks they're to be faulted for only being eligible for such jobs are very pretentious and ignorant. Like I've said, a person born in a poor family will struggle a lot more than a person that comes from a middle or upper middle class family does. And like Leo said, "working hard" despite being a great thing, isn't good enough to achieve success. Networking is very effective regardless of how hard you work. And people who suck up or get on their bosses right side, get an easier life at work as well. Life isn't fair.

And yes, you can't take things for granted. Even a billionaire can just have a stroke tomorrow and end up in a wheelchair or something. Or his company can go out of business just like that.

You should just try to get a job that a) makes you happy and b) pays as much money as you think you need. Lots of people dislike their jobs, so consider yourself really lucky if you get one you like or even love.

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

This is something that always bothered me. I never understood why people who are very successful in life and make $70,000+ a year look down on people who only make about $20,000 or $30,000 a year.

Some people seem to think people who make only $10-12 an hour are because they had no motivation to get a good education or a trade, or that they're lazy, but that's not always true. Some people are just not lucky enough to find a good high-paying job even with a degree and experience, and others just don't have the financial support.

I mean I'm lucky enough to make a decent salary, but I would never look down on someone who makes less than me. Everyone has their own troubles and if you can pay your bills and put food on the table that's good enough. It really bothers me the arrogance of some people who are well off and look down on those less fortunate.

Maybe those people couldn't afford to go to university/college and stuff...but I never understood why anyone would look down on someone either. It may surprise some, but those people may actually enjoy their jobs.

My current job has kind of a crappy pay, but at least I have peace of mind now compared to the previous job I had. I would like to make more money, though which is why I'm job hunting again for jobs starting in the spring when my contract with the current company I have ends. I'm going for one where I'll be working in a private international preschool as a lead teacher. I'm hoping I get it, but the pay would still be "low" by US standards, probably.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by ssjup81

Maybe those people couldn't afford to go to university/college and stuff...but I never understood why anyone would look down on someone either. It may surprise some, but those people may actually enjoy their jobs.

My current job has kind of a crappy pay, but at least I have peace of mind now compared to the previous job I had. I would like to make more money, though which is why I'm job hunting again for jobs starting in the spring when my contract with the current company I have ends. I'm going for one where I'll be working in a private international preschool as a lead teacher. I'm hoping I get it, but the pay would still be "low" by US standards, probably.

Not to mention that a lot of high paying jobs seem pretty boring and/or stressful. I have no interest in becoming a CEO, a doctor or a lawyer. Accounting and finance might be pretty stable careers, but they also sound boring as hell.

[PangolinFeets]

Its 100% about networking and getting lucky. One of my best friends was a struggling graphic designer. She did a lot of freelance work on albums for almost nothing. And she just happened to get nominated for a Grammy for best album art last year. She didn't win, but her nomination got her a lot of attention from big companies. After a lengthy interview process, she landed a job at Sony as an art director.
Was she working just as hard, if not harder, than every other struggling graphic designer in NYC? Yes. But she got really ****ing lucky.

Even me. I was trying to find a Board-certified behaviorist to study under in order to complete my certification (1500 hours of supervised fieldwork). Usually, you have to shell out a few thousand dollars to get a BCBA to come into your place of work and do supervision hours for you. However, a friend of mine put me in contact with someone willing to do it and actually pay me more than what I was getting at my previous job.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Cubed, I have to applaud you for starting this thread. I was just thinking about this last night after the subject of low-wage jobs came up in another thread. Frankly, this is one of the things that utterly disgusts me when it comes to people' livelihoods. What a person does to earn money does not define their worth or usefulness as a person, and I will agree 100% with Leo and the others here who have touched on how it often comes down to who you know, and how lucky you get with opportunities

I will be the first to admit that I've made some choices in my working life that may not have been the greatest. But they were the best options available at the time, so I simply made the best of the situation as it was. And I'm not ashamed of what I do for a living by any means. It is a GOOD steady job, with hours that I can usually be happy with, and security of knowing that it is one of the easiest job fields to find work in, so I can always find a job in my line of work no matter where I go. Unlike some fields where a specialized degree or whatever may not mean squat, and you could spend months or years looking.

[Blossombrooks]

Urgh, yep, exactly all of the above! I work in retail, I have done for many years, you would be shocked how many times I've been treated like an imbecile because of what I do. I've had some people actually demand to know which school I attended in order to prove I'm "worthy" of serving them! I went to a good school, I got good grades, I just couldn't afford university. I'd already worked every weekend and holiday since I was 14 to make sure I could afford a car and do the things I wanted so I figured why get in debt when I can just work hard and get by anyway? I'm lucky enough to love my job, it's great fun and dammit I'm good at it, if people think that makes me unworthy then I truly feel sorry that in their eyes the sum of a persons worth is their wealth.

[IndigoErth]

Funny thing is, how do those CEOs even think they'd get their Starbucks each morning if everyone had the resources and ability to score a job as a CEO or something else "important"? (Or even wanted to.) How would they shop for clothing? Eat at a restaurant? Get their children taught? Bussed to school? Have their trash picked up? Their mail sorted and delivered? And so on. If all anyone did was big "important" jobs then society could not function.

If we were all overpaid film makers, then no one would run the theaters so that people could even see it. And we'd all be so busy making movies anyhow that no one would even have time to watch any.

What also irks me is the attitude anymore that basically every person out of work is just a moocher off the system and not given the benefit of the doubt that maybe they hit a run of bad luck, have had a hard time, and are trying to find employment. And if they find work but it's nothing big? I hate that it goes from "I look down on you for not being employed, get a job!" to "Good, you found work, but it's not impressive enough so I STILL look down on you, find a better one!"

I'm in the process of being rehired, mostly just have to go do the pee test tomorrow, get paperwork done and do orientation and whatnot. It's "just a retail job" though, and while I'm grateful that they want to bring me in and look forward to it - particularly because the place is close to home AND the two I'd be working under that interviewed me seem like really nice people thankfully - it's "just retail" so I don't really feel that being too excited about it is even deserved and hate feeling like that. After 5.5 years in retail previously, I'm already well aware of how some of the public and some higher management tend to view (and treat) us...

Even stupider is that much of that work is part-time and they give no thought to what a retail worker might be doing those other hours that they aren't there.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Blossombrooks

Urgh, yep, exactly all of the above! I work in retail, I have done for many years, you would be shocked how many times I've been treated like an imbecile because of what I do. I've had some people actually demand to know which school I attended in order to prove I'm "worthy" of serving them! I went to a good school, I got good grades, I just couldn't afford university. I'd already worked every weekend and holiday since I was 14 to make sure I could afford a car and do the things I wanted so I figured why get in debt when I can just work hard and get by anyway? I'm lucky enough to love my job, it's great fun and dammit I'm good at it, if people think that makes me unworthy then I truly feel sorry that in their eyes the sum of a persons worth is their wealth.

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Funny thing is, how do those CEOs even think they'd get their Starbucks each morning if everyone had the resources and ability to score a job as a CEO or something else "important"? (Or even wanted to.) How would they shop for clothing? Eat at a restaurant? Get their children taught? Bussed to school? Have their trash picked up? Their mail sorted and delivered? And so on. If all anyone did was big "important" jobs then society could not function.

If we were all overpaid film makers, then no one would run the theaters so that people could even see it. And we'd all be so busy making movies anyhow that no one would even have time to watch any.

What also irks me is the attitude anymore that basically every person out of work is just a moocher off the system and not given the benefit of the doubt that maybe they hit a run of bad luck, have had a hard time, and are trying to find employment. And if they find work but it's nothing big? I hate that it goes from "I look down on you for not being employed, get a job!" to "Good, you found work, but it's not impressive enough so I STILL look down on you, find a better one!"

I'm in the process of being rehired, mostly just have to go do the pee test tomorrow, get paperwork done and do orientation and whatnot. It's "just a retail job" though, and while I'm grateful that they want to bring me in and look forward to it - particularly because the place is close to home AND the two I'd be working under that interviewed me seem like really nice people thankfully - it's "just retail" so I don't really feel that being too excited about it is even deserved and hate feeling like that. After 5.5 years in retail previously, I'm already well aware of how some of the public and some higher management tend to view (and treat) us...

Even stupider is that much of that work is part-time and they give no thought to what a retail worker might be doing those other hours that they aren't there.

People actually care what university others go to? Unless you're hiring people or work in PR or are going on a date with someone, why would you care? When I meet someone new I don't ask them to hand me over their CV. That matters jack **** to a potential friendship. And I doubt people like talking much about work outside of it. And the last thing I want to hear is someone telling me about their boring job.

Judging someone's worth based on their degree and job? Man some people are just pompous assholes.

And yes, Indigo. it's funny how some engineers, doctors, etc. look down on "lower" professions and seem to not understand the fact that if everyone wanted to be an engineer or a doctor, the world wouldn't work. That and their degrees would become less valuable due to over saturation.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Oh, GAWDS, yes! Been doing either retail or food service all my working life, and the view of the general public is to treat you like an idiot who can't understand simple orders or handle cash, or- anything, really. It's infuriating at times, and some days I just want to talk to them in the same condescending and insultingvtone they use. Like talking to a mentally challenged six year old. And there are people who are out in public driving and trying to order food whom I suspect really should be in some sort of institution or care facility. Yet we are the ones who are supposed to be stupid or incompetant....

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by MsMarvelDuckie

Oh, GAWDS, yes! Been doing either retail or food service all my working life, and the view of the general public is to treat you like an idiot who can't understand simple orders or handle cash, or- anything, really. It's infuriating at times, and some days I just want to talk to them in the same condescending and insultingvtone they use. Like talking to a mentally challenged six year old. And there are people who are out in public driving and trying to order food whom I suspect really should be in some sort of institution or care facility. Yet we are the ones who are supposed to be stupid or incompetant....

Ye, it's funny because anyone who has worked in retail before has lost all faith in mankind at some point due to all the moronic customers they've met there.

[Mayhem]

Retail is hell. I wouldn't wish retail on my worst enemy. It is the necessary evil of necessary evils sadly. The assumption is, sadly, that everyone working retail cannot aspire or become better. It's true for some people, retail is all they'll ever be able to do skill wise. For others, it's a means to earn while at university/college, a stop-gap if they need to earn while out of work elsewhere, extra money for the family if the partner is in another job, and so forth.

Part of the problem is that many areas having nothing BUT retail. I mentioned something about work to MsMD recently, and with no car and the area she lives in, that's practically all there is to do.

When all else fails, there's http://notalwaysright.com/

Originally Posted by Prowler

And yes, Indigo. it's funny how some engineers, doctors, etc. look down on "lower" professions and seem to not understand the fact that if everyone wanted to be an engineer or a doctor, the world wouldn't work. That and their degrees would become less valuable due to over saturation.

Having said that, I wish more people would aspire to become doctors, engineers, scientists and so forth, because there are generally not enough of them in the world. More than enough Z-list vapid celeb wanabees mind you

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Ye, it's funny because anyone who has worked in retail before has lost all faith in mankind at some point due to all the moronic customers they've met there.

Soo so true.

Originally Posted by Mayhem

Part of the problem is that many areas having nothing BUT retail. I mentioned something about work to MsMD recently, and with no car and the area she lives in, that's practically all there is to do.

Been noticing that about my area. I was hoping not to return to retail, but trying to think on what's around here, so much right here and the wider area around is retail of one kind or another. (And what there is that isn't retail...well, those pretty much all want years of related experience and levels of degrees that I don't have.) I don't even now how the median income of the area is even being reached if so many are 'stuck' in retail.

[Blossombrooks]

Mayhem that link is brilliant! I've just spent an hour reading through all the stories and I've got face ache from laughing It's all far too familiar.

I know all too well how easy it is to feel like it's just retail but it can be rewarding and I still think we can make a difference even in a small way. A lot of my customers are elderly and quite lonely, I might be the only person some of them speak to that day and if I can I send them out smiling. Those moments make up for all the rubbish ones.

Indigo I'd hazard a guess that it's the massive pay divide skewing the median, it seems that there are relatively few mid level paying jobs wherever you live. The high earners seem to be pulling further ahead while the lower sector seems to stay flat.

[shuriken]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

The short answer is that people are assholes.

This essentially

[Candy Kappa]

Honestly, working two years in retail should have been mandatory for everyone. So people would learn how to behave against others, and not be a complete asshat.

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Honestly, working two years in retail should have been mandatory for everyone. So people would learn how to behave against others, and not be a complete asshat.

Agreed.
Food service as well.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Honestly, working two years in retail should have been mandatory for everyone. So people would learn how to behave against others, and not be a complete asshat.

You have no idea how many times I'd wished while at work that some of the customers would be forced to work with us for at least a few weeks for exactly that reason.

I also often wished to find out where they worked and go there - often finding a child or few to borrow and take with me - and drive them crazy at their job and make it harder on them.

The "customer is always right" nonsense may be helpful to the business, but it's also being terribly abused by some people at this point via atrocious behavior and expectations that should be considered crossing the line.


At my former job, a woman once came in to return a curtain rod. It was clearly old and used, it was bending in the middle from having probably held heavy drapes for quite a while. The person at the register could not find it or any similar enough in the system... either it was that old, or it very possibly never even came from that store.

And you know what... they took it from her, gave her store credit for it. What happened to the 90 day return limit and needing a receipt?? They can't even resell that. And they dare complain about not meeting sales goals? It's become a glorified exchange depot. Get tired of something you have? Cleaned out someone else's home or got something from a yard sale? Well heck, why not take it to a store and get free store credit.



Edit: Also, people are at their WORST in the fitting rooms, particularly teen girls/women.

The usual discourteous behavior of course, but then there was the mass quantity of french fries ground into the carpet in the handicap fitting room stall when an obnoxious a group of people (plus one small child) decided they should use that one together... even after having the nerve to move the rolling rack we kept in front of it to discourage people and keep it reserved for those who actually need it.

The rather dirty underwear left behind - I assume someone walked out wearing new ones. Naturally the stalls have to be cleared out... so that got picked up with the end of a hanger. Disgusting.

Used bloody pads and tampons left behind. Luckily I never saw those, but heard about it.

People who literally peed on the clothing they left on the floor.

People who go in there and fart up the place. Or have horrible B.O. and likewise make the whole room reek.

Obviously this is a place for people to have sex with each other. Including a kid's fitting room... And maybe those especially because they were upstairs and away from the heavier customer/associate traffic.