If you are a high school student looking to work at the McDonald's in Winchendon, MA, not only do you live in a town that is eerily similar sounding to Winchestortonfieldville, but you are out of luck when it comes to landing that prized job at the front counter of the store. In an ad posted online, the local branch of the fast food chain says you should not even bother applying to McDonald's unless you have a college degree and two years of experience. Yeah, so that $100K you spent on your college education is going to get you what you used to be able to do when you were just trying to make a couple of bucks a week working part-time in high school.
Are they MENTAL?!
ReplyDeleteNot having to work at McDonalds is the reason I went to college, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI weep for America.
ReplyDeleteThis is what college degrees are worth now a days
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ReplyDeleteIt's true, @hag. There was a posting on our alumni vine that required an MS and 6 years experience - starting salary was $16/hr and 6 mo probation. FYVM.
ReplyDeleteIt's an employer's market and some companies are going after the best for nothing...
ReplyDeleteThat is beyond fucked up.
ReplyDeleteI've talked to people in the Phillipines and India who say this situation has existed there for years--any job, like a call center employee or cocktail server--requires a college degree because the employers can demand it of their employees, and the competition is so fierce, they get it! This is probably just the beginning of that trend in the USA.
ReplyDeleteI believe it. The job market is intense now. Bachelors degree is the new high school diploma
ReplyDeleteWTF???That's crazy.
ReplyDeleteThis is insulting.
ReplyDeleteYou post an opening, five hundred people show up.You have no way to interview that many so you use credentialism to thin the herd. Unfair perhaps, irrelevant to the job requirements definately but logical and effective.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteThat's strange, because a lot of high school kids usually work at McDonald's or BK as their first job after school and on weekends.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they are looking for a potential management trainee?
ReplyDeleteI just got back from a job interview. They are interviewing 50 people. I did go to college but didnt finish. I do have 20 years experience but they didn't act like that was anything. Looks like I may be going back to school. Not looking forward to that since algebra is my worst enemy. :^\
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens to say, those who get a degree in English or Art History or Communications from some 3rd tier but still expensive school.
ReplyDeleteAn old boyfriend graduated with a degree in Poli Sci/Philosophy from a small private college just outside of Chicago. No great reputation, but expensive. He's still paying off his loan, and he's 42, and making < $30k working the computer help desk...a job which is quickly being outsourced to India too.
Kiddies: think before you matriculate. Give deep thought to that major.
This is bullshit.
ReplyDeleteThis was a mistake, it's not true. I mean it was published that way, but it was a mistake. There's an article over at Gawker.
ReplyDeleteWhy is anybody shocked? Sad, frustrated, that I get. But shocked? Take the govt #s of unemployment and multiply by 2 and you get a more realistic figure in what the USA is facing. Then add in the "underemployed" and, well..depressing. Student loans need to be 0% interest with a 30 year repayment period for existing loans. Future loans? Good luck. Wall St got the bailout, never forget that! imho:)
ReplyDeleteGreat, so with your degree and couple of years experience you'll probably be reporting to a 17 year old with acne!
ReplyDeleteBut in a competitive market, its a starting point - I remember a friend wanted a government job and was discused that the only question about qualifications was which MBA she had...
Jesus Christ EmEyeKay is that Lindsay??? Nice.
ReplyDeleteMy therapist just recommended that I take out student loans to get some vocational training I'm thinking about. Student Loans? no, no, no a thousand times no. No loans!!! I'm so glad I didn't go to college. I used to feel bad about it, like I'm a loser, etc. But my sister, who's got her masters, can't find any work, not in any basic retail/office/or any kind of field. The real world work experience is what employers really seem to look for, and degrees are an impediment to hiring someone, as in they're overqualified and they'll just leave. Her solution is that she's going back to school for her doctorate. I don't have the heart to tell her that I don't think that's such a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of people that have been looking for a couple of years, applying to any job, getting interviews only after taking their degrees off of their resumes.
ReplyDeleteAnna, that's so true. My friends who are looking have 2 resumes, the A list resume and the D list resume. You might financially qualify for vocational training courtesy of the govt. If it's available, please take it !
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has dealt with real grade A morons, i hope this imptoved the sevice.
ReplyDeletefiggy is right - certain degrees aren't worth the paper they're printed on. Things have changed now. You may love music history but you can't make money at it. Go for a degree is something that's necessary these days - health care, computer stuff, etc. Check with guidance counselors, etc. Yahoo always seems to have articles on this. The subject you get a degree in may not be the main interest of your life, but at least you'll be able to pay the bills.
ReplyDeleteSusanB, Figgy - I just want to point out that people who go into education do really well when they major in these fields and either double major or stay an extra year or two for the credential. Half the teachers I know (and truly not a bad one in the bunch), swear that it helped them over the people who just did education majors. YMMV
DeleteI've heard for a McDonald's job in the states u must have a drug test.
ReplyDeleteThat's completely mental!
In our country y just have to be in high school, or have graduated. T be a manager u need college
So the answer is not more education and student loans, contrary to what we're being told.
ReplyDeleteI saw a job posting once for a secretarial job at a small non-profit and they were asking only people with Masters Degrees apply. I actually wrote to them, not to apply, but to tell them they are insulting people with college degrees, much less Masters degrees, to ask for either for what the job description was (filing, data entry, meetings). The economy is awful and I get that people may be desperate, but to INSIST on a masters degree for a mindless job a trained monkey could basically do is disgusting and employers should be ashamed. what are the gaining by demeaning someone who has worked very hard like that?? Besides a 100% chance that once the economy gets better that person will leave the job immediately.
ReplyDeleteI went to their website and found the ad, but nowhere did it say anything about the required degree.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom paragraph was there, not the top.
Hoax/practical joke?
I believe this is a mistake and "Enty" knows it, when does he ever look for accuracy?
ReplyDeleteThat said, education of course is always a wonderful thing, but it also keeps the bankers flush.
Asset bubbles may come and go, but education loans never seem to stop being money makers for banks.
The request for a degree was incorrect :
ReplyDeletehttp://www.myfoxboston.com/story/21882321/winchendon-mcdonalds
And here's the Gawker article EmEyeKay referenced:
ReplyDeletehttp://gawker.com/5993623/no-mcdonalds-is-not-requiring-potential-cashiers-to-have-a-bachelors-degree
In other awful employment news, Cracked did a story about databases that HR people join to blackball jobseekers. You can end up on it for all kinds of stupid reasons, and never get a job in your field again. One guy was blacklisted because the HR person felt he had bad presentation skills during his interview.
http://www.cracked.com/article_20322_6-ways-companies-are-secretly-screwing-job-applicants.html
they want the best of the best...can you blame em?
ReplyDeleteThis is insane.
ReplyDeleteOk, so it was a hoax. But if things like this didn't happen all the time, no one would've believed it.
ReplyDeleteWhy would you pay for an education to get a job when places with jobs train you to work? I've never understood this. Who in their right mind would take out loans for this?? Most kids have parents who pay their way and are half brain dead when they finally buy their degree. They are too stupid to find their way to work most days, much less complete a task without someone holding their hand and showering them with praise the entire time.
ReplyDeleteDegrees are for something beyond jobs. Folks need to keep it real. Try staying healthy and going to work every day. That's a start.
Uncle aunt Jess is looking for work. His previous place closed and he had no idea it would be this hard to work. He's a cook and has numerous certificates and is serve safe licensed. Yep, no bites yet.
ReplyDeleteA lot of jobs won't consider people without a 4-year degree. Even if it's for a menial job that doesn't require any higher education, and even if the person has years of experience. It's a way to keep out the undesirables. It's a vile practice, but it happens.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a degree and have been approached by large companies. I tell them from the start and most seem okay to accept my experience. With the exception of Google and Apple everyone has been willing to meet with me, luckily for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd truly, if I had a degree it would have been in.film and television performance. I'm presently in software sales. Or I was until I got laid off.
I believe companies put the degree requirement on the description to weed out the crowds.