Posted on 05/09/2024 8:04:04 PM PDT by Cronos
Cathy R., 63, has a master's degree and has worked all her life, though she's very worried for her future.
The clerical worker in Minnesota has struggled to rise up the ranks throughout her career. She said she's earning a salary similar to some entry-level positions despite nearly three decades in her current role. She's nervous that even though she's eligible for a pension in a few years, it won't supplement Social Security payments nearly enough to live comfortably.
"I can't afford life while working. How can I even think of retiring?" the St. Paul, Minnesota resident said.
...Cathy grew up in Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota, after which she enrolled in law school. She worked full-time as a legal secretary at the Attorney General's office while in school part-time at night.
She said the job didn't work out, as her supervisor disapproved of her leaving an hour early each day to attend classes. Law school didn't pan out after two years, and she was laid off from her government position. She still had loads of student loan debt, and she took jobs in Minneapolis as a legal secretary at different law firms.
After a decade, she hadn't climbed the corporate ladder at any firm, so she returned to working for the state government to attempt to make more money and not lose benefits. She worked at the Department of Revenue in the mailroom, then got a job as an administrative assistant for the state's college system, which she kept for about 25 years.
Because she worked for the college system, she received free tuition for a degree, so she obtained a master's in public administration shortly before the pandemic.
...Many peak boomers also fall into the growing category of ALICE, which stands for asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
That’s about where I’m sitting, however, I have no desire to join a swanky golf club nor to live in luxury. We just bought but haven’t received yet a rooftop tent camper for my pickup truck. That’s my idea of swank.
I guess I wish I had set more aside, however, our lifestyle didn’t afford it. We raided our children with a full-time mom and home school educator which we felt was more valuable than a healthy bank account.
Gender roles are a real thing. It doesn't mean women are inferior to men. In fact, from my perspective as a man, I feel that women have a lot going for them and a lot more options in life than a man would have. They also have a much better ability to hold families together and to be caretakers for elderly family members.
A man is pretty much stuck in his gender role as well. He is expected to be the breadwinner for his family, as well as being the strong one. The one who is called on to kill the spider in the bathtub, so to speak, or to change the flat tire, or get up in the middle of the night to investigate a possible prowler.
I'm sure you can find a few "househusbands" out there but the fact is that they are not respected by society at all.
Feminists love to play lip service to the concept of women serving the role as head of household while the husband assumes a more submissive and domestic role, but that that never plays out in real life. Any man wanting to assume that role and put his wife out into the workforce will be branded a lazy, no-good bum, and quickly dumped by said wife.
Yeah, that took place in my younger days, and I’m Irish, so it runs in the blood. That’s ok, I’ll be ok, life is good.
“We raided our children with a full-time mom and home school educator which we felt was more valuable than a healthy bank account.”
It was.
Yeah...but working at Chic-Fil-A is considered “low class” by govt wokees
For a lot of people, $25 an hour is a lot, but, of course, at his old job, he made much more than that. When his school’s owners decided to close the school, he just wanted some part time work without the Chicago drive time, and this present job is 15 minutes away. They’re writing a grant for him to be associate director, and he’ll get a big raise, but my point was that many people who work in college or university jobs, even in big cities, make a relatively low wage.
Dunno. I sacrificed a lot to scrimp and save for my retirement at 62. But some people just won’t do it.
Cathy dropped out or flunked out of law school after two years. She had student loans to pay from undergrad and law school, while bouncing from job to job, which is not a good way to build a career. She then earned a masters degree in public policy when she was in her late 50’s, but could not get a job that reflects her masters degree because she lacked experience in the subject matter (well duh, she spent her career working as a legal secretary, mail clerk, and administrative assistant). She apparently lived above her means by spending money she didn’t have using high-interest credit cards, instead of living within her means and investing for retirement. Since she spent the last 25 years on the government payroll, she probably had decent health care and other benefits, including retirement benefits, and as a result, she assumed the government would take care of her as she pissed away any excess money she might have, rather than living within a budget and planning for the future.
I stand by my initial comment.
One of my best friends in MN has a PHd and got forced out of teaching by the libs.
Very bad advice. When President Trump is re-elected; Delaware will become Marylands "Eastern Shore" once again.
Throw in some piercings, some tats, body augmentations, and you're probably talking about some real money.
Or, maybe she's just into Scientology...
Thanks!
Joe’s niece got a job as a GM Executive a week after Joe gave GM like $15 Billion!
I understand and appreciate that. I guess I was trying to make the point that the free market will not pay more for labor than it has to.
We hear about how people in this job or the other are “underpaid.” Undervalued, is more accurate. But if there were not people willing to do the job for the price paid…the price would go up.
My daughter is an adjunct professor at two universities (and will add one more next semester). They all say they like her, but won’t give her those three more credit hours that comes with being an employee. So, she has to scramble.
And if she decided to not do it…they would simply move on down the list.
It makes me sad for her, but in her chosen field…this is how it goes.
I was always a corporate guy. After my second promotion, I was in awe that anyone would pay me what they did. And after a couple more, I knew the company was getting ripped off—because I worked hard for a lot less time.
I never made more than $20 an hour in past 67 years.
OWN ALL my real estate/vehicles/ personal items.
Many people make less than that. Of course, years ago, when real estate, and everything else was cheaper, $20/HR was very good money. I was referring to uber expensive colleges who pay their help a wage which is not commensurate to the outrageous tuitions they charge. Unfortunately Catholic and Christian schools are notorious for underpaying teachers and staff.
Traditionally a college liberal arts education was for the wealthier or most intelligent young men. These men were then expected to form the leadership and intellectual class for their generation.
For the last two generations we have told kids that college is required prep for many/most jobs. No longer is college the top crust of society, but your average kid is expected to get a college education. The need to prepare for and attend college is drilled into every kid from grade school through high school.
We only need just so many leaders and intellectuals. A lot of kids are given crap degrees they are unable to use- and that includes any degree with the word “studies” in the title. Most of these people can’t even make good use of a solid classical degree like English, or Philosophy, or Economics. They simply lack the intellectual strengths or the societal connections to really use that knowledge. Frankly, many of those mid-wits are ill-equipped for a more hardcore science class as well.
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