General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Making $7.75 an Hour, and Figuring There’s Little to Lose by Speaking Out [View all]Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)It's hard to believe someone found a job paying only $30k there. Everyone I ran into there who was doing what I do was getting paid a LOT more...but the cost of living there is much higher.
But accepting that that's true...that's a starting salary. You HAVE to accept whatever you're offered as a first job in a field. You do that for a year, then move to another place that pays you more, since you now have experience. (You're getting benefits all during this time...that's worth something.) Then you move again, if you can get a job paying more somewhere else. That's how it's done.
I'm wondering if your friend is a general office clerk or something, and she calls it secretary. A lot of people do that. A secretary is a specific job...doing admin work for a person.
If she hires on with a professional organization, such as a corporate legal division or law firm, she'll get paid more (except at first, maybe), because it requires specialized knowledge in a field.
In 10 yrs she'll be making over $45k, have a nice little 401k going, get 3 weeks paid vacation a year, and about 8 holiday days off. She can get promoted, since she has a degree (if she works for a corporation...not a law firm). In 20 years she'll be making maybe $80,000 a year, have a large 401K, and still get her paid days off.
If she got a degree in a specific field, she might get paid more if she sticks to that field. Depends on the field.
OR....learning some skill or trade or specific profession is a good way to go. Nursing, for example. Nurses rarely have trouble finding employment and can work for all sorts of organizations doing all sorts of different kinds of duties. And they get paid well, usually. Radiology technician. Court reporter (there are court reporting schools...you would not believe what those gals get paid!).
My point was...this is all handled much better during the teen years. If schools & parents would only school kids for their job and financial future (in addition to the regular subjects).