What Kind of Person Makes a Career out of Working at McDonald's?

Well, I see that some branch managers of those fast food chains are quite old already, like in their 30's, so I guess some or most of them work their way up from being a service crew to being a manager. I don't think anyone above the age of 15 would actually dream or aspire to be a McDonald's worker, but if they work there and become promoted to a managerial or supervisory position, then it's because of hard work, and not necessarily because it's a childhood goal.

 

What kind of person? I don't know.. the human kind? I'm not sure why everyone is so hung up on how people make their money. The point is survival in any way we can and if we happen to climb a ladder, so be it.. if not, should we be ashamed of ourselves? I personally would hate to work for such a company, based on morals, not how old I should be to work there. Is it any worse than someone that goes to school for thousands upon thousands of dollars and lives in debt most of the beginning of their lives in the real world? Some people live on less doing much more. Some people don't have access to higher education or don't know they do. Money is money and we're forced into a system that steals it from us for everything we do.. as long as you're lining those pockets, it shouldn't matter how you go about doing it.

 

The kind of person who wants to support themselves? Support their family? Put themselves through school? Why judge that person for how they are making their money? At. Least. They. Have. A. Job. Like it or not, we're always going to need people to fill our drinks and fry our french fries. Just thank that person and move on.

I had a friend in high school who started working at KFC in high school. It wasn't meant to be a "career" but it turned out that she is great at managing people and doing what she does. She is now a regional manager (at 24 years old) and makes more money than I did when I was working. I'm sure most of the people who ended up making their "careers" in the fast food industry didn't start out wanting to do that BUT I also bet they are not complaining.

 

If there's one good thing about working at McDonald's it's that there's lots of opportunity to grow within the company.
Of course it depends on your location because it's a franchise, but I know two people who started off making minimum wage and now they are managing the restaurant, one is even working for corporate now.

 

Yeah, maybe don't judge someone for their place of work so easily. Most fast food joints are actually very good employers, especially once you get beyond the entry level jobs. They know that no one wants to work there, but there's still a huge turn over in terms of entry level jobs like working behind the counter because...well, would you like to spend all that time behind the counter and come home greasy? The thing is though, they don't like that there's such a high turn over rate. They want to keep you as long as possible, because training someone new is a hassle. So the pay is usually quite good, even for entry level jobs.

Further, because of this sort of prejudice, they're always looking for people to be higher level employees. I mean, McDonalds needs managers and technicians and lawyers just as much as anywhere else. And the people who work their way up the company get a lot of benefits for doing so, rather than looking elsewhere. McDonalds even offers to pay for your university fees if they feel you're worth it.

 

Livvy, I have nothing else to add to that post except that you hit the nail on the head! McDonald's needs managers and associates just as much as the next business.

 

Working at McDonald's is a job, and I don't think anyone should look down on someone (that's the tone I got from the original post) who is working or wants to. Doesn't matter how people are making their money, but if they put in a hard day doing honest work then they deserve a pat on the back! Maybe people who work at McDonald's enjoy customer service positions, maybe they like fast food, there are lots of opportunities for advancement, perhaps for the time being it is the only job they can get at the moment...perhaps they just like it! Whenever I go to McDonald's (or other fast food restaurants), Starbucks, Gap or wherever I am polite, say thank you and go on my way. What concern of it is ours why people work or want to work where they do?

 

People who work as regional managers and in corporate positions at McDonald's get:

Our benefits and compensation:

Medical
Dental
Profit Sharing
Vacation
Sabbatical Program
Employee and dependent life insurance
Incentive Pay
Recognition Programs

What's wrong with having life insurance, health insurance and vacations? I think people are too judgmental about how others earn a living.

Mythman, didn't you start a whole thread about how you want a feminist woman to support you so that you can stay home with the kids?
Would you reject that woman if she was a regional manager of McDonald's and provided you with dependent life insurance just because you don't think McDonald's is a career?
A McDonald's General Manager makes $51,000 a year.

 

I do understand what mythman mean with his post.
He certainly worded his opinion in a somewhat douchy way though...

There's 100% nothing wrong about aspiring to achieve something in life.
Having said that, some people do not have that wonderful chance in their life. For them, it's about feeding their kids and paying for the essentials of life.
So you are part of the lucky ones mythman. As am I.

Some other people might aspire to nothing though...
They might be like Kevin Spacey in American Beauty - all they want is to flip some burgers, and have as little responsability as they can. Is that so wrong?
If they can have peace and hapiness within themselves, I think that's kind of even more beautiful...

 

Mangers of Restaurants make very good money and most of them have degree's in business management. The business name is McD's or w arhat ever but it still a business that needs to be managed by people who know what they are doing to keep the business running smoothly. I have worked as a restaurant manager and know it is hard work but it does pay the bills, it also a job I would not have gotten if I had not gone to school for accounting. I was not looking to work in a fast food restaurant, I was looking to take care of my family with the income I made.

 

Why thank you DustysMommy

That seems to be an entirely different thing to what he was saying though. You seem to be saying, "hey you want to flip burgers for a living? That's fine. Fair play to you, we need people to flip burgers!"

Mythman on the other hand seems to be saying that anyone who chooses to work in McDonalds-ignoring of course that some people can't find a job elsewhere-is somehow beneath him, or worth mocking because of where they work.

 

Did you miss where I wrote that McDonald's general managers make $51,000 a year and have medical, dental, profit sharing, vacations, life insurance? How is that nothing?
That's a career and carries plenty of responsibility with it.

I'm not sure you want to put yourself in the same category as Mythman. He created a whole thread about how he can't work and wants a feminist career woman to support him so he can stay home.

 

I don't mind doing what I don't want to do as long as I can balance it out with what I do want to do. For me that means working at McDonald's is just fine as long as I can earn enough to do what I enjoy doing. Any kind of profitable venture that leads to my happiness career wise is fine with me. If I hate doing it or it pays a terrible wage then if I can do it along side something I enjoy it balances out. I also earn more and I believe it increases my options since my employers realize I have other ways of earning a wage.

 

It's a job. It would provide food for the family, insurance, benefits, and more. If I needed to provide for my family, and I had this opportunity, I would take it. Would I like it? I am not sure, but I would make the most out of it. There are many places that we might not want to work, but we do it. Life isn't always easy. You need to perservere and do your best no matter what.

 

I just don't like the jobs like we have here in the south because they make a joke out of being trapped in the system. Many bosses here make these types of jobs a nightmare that they don't have to be because of their attitude towards the typical shift worker. They tend to single certain persons out and make their work life hell when they aren't any different then the next worker. Its a form of abuse of low wage workers and it really needs to stop. I've been practically forced off of jobs with no support from supervisors or store management because of the abuse suffered from these types of so called bosses. They'll get theirs though because ultimately it damages the brand and over time no matter how long fewer people will work for them forcing them to shut down in places to save money. Unhappy workers can lead to all sorts of disasters from customer losses to physical damage of property and endangering people. These so called managers don't seem to realize the effects their actions have on the companies brand and they probably don't care. Eventually the company pays for it and the karma will surely catch up to these people.

 

It's a multinational company nonetheless, and one of the top ones at that, so it definitely isn't too weird to me that someone would want to work there and possibly work their way up since I'm guessing a lot of their lead positions are hired from the inside. I've honestly never heard of anyone aspiring for this, though, but now that I have and had the chance to think about it, I personally don't think it's too weird of an idea.

 

It's also franchised so those opportunities aren't the same everywhere. In most neighborhoods its likely that the store is owned by some person's company rather than the actual McDonald's corporation so getting a job there won't have nearly as many benefits if any to start and the opportunities to advance aren't weighed the same. Plus the management is sure to be less than stellar and the starting pay will probably be terrible. I speak from experience with a franchise.

 

Maybe people don't set out wanting to be a front server for life, but there are plenty of opportunities to progress if you have a bit of sense about you. It might not tick everyone's boxes, but it's a job, has perks and has opportunities.