A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
<i>I’ve worked in the fast food industry for 14 years—about half my life</i><p>Can someone give me an anecdotal example of how this could come to be without some fault in Brown&#x27;s decision-making process?<p>For starters, I&#x27;ve always heard that commute time is inversely proportional to career mobility. I made it a rule not to work anywhere farther than half an hour away. And that is the absolute maximum which was necessary when I lived rural area. Currently, I work remote, which has indeed provided more time for further career training.<p>My mother has worked at the same minimum-wage food joint for almost eight years. She tells me it&#x27;s because she&#x27;s &quot;comfortable&quot; and friends with everyone there. Personally, I think it affords her the time and lack of responsibility needed in order to engage in non-moderated drug use. This was certainly the reason she was usually unemployed and unable to provide the most basic resources for me as a child. If I bring up this or her other time-sucking addictions such as mobile gaming &#x2F; simulated gambling, she becomes very defensive.<p>Regardless of the reason, comfort breeds complacency. Complacency leads to not making a meaningful change to your career trajectory in a 15-year period. As someone who grew up in relatively abject poverty, most of the positive things in my life have only come from within, due to my determination to succeed despite numerous setbacks. Sometimes I find myself having difficulty empathizing with people who seem reasonably intelligent but have been in the same situation for 10-20 years.