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Bad Jobs
By JLP | November 5, 2007
From Career Journal comes this list of “bad” jobs (by “bad” they mean low pay and little or no benefits):
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop — 87.0% bad jobs
Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop — 87.0%
Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers — 85.4%
Fabric and apparel patternmakers — 82.2%
Lifeguards and other protective-service workers — 81.6%
Waiters and waitresses — 80.4%
Tour and travel guides — 79.4%
Models, demonstrators, and product promoters — 79.2%
Dishwashers — 78.8%
Motion picture projectionists — 78.1%
The percentages attached to each category is the percentage of bad jobs. I’m not quite sure how they came up with these numbers as there is no link to any report on either CEPR or the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts.
None of the jobs listed above should be considered a career but rather a part-time position for high school or college students. So, it’s no surprise that they neither pay well or have benefits. In other words, I don’t understand what all the fuss is about.
Topics: Business News | 4 Comments »
November 5th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I don’t really agree that none of these are careers. I’m in Hawaii and being a life guard is a career for a lot of people, i imagine the same goes for any coastal state. and to say Modeling isn’t a career isn’t too accurate either. While its not something anyone can just start doing, there is a large group of people who do it full time (and are paid very well). While I agree these are not popular careers, they are ones that people do have.
November 6th, 2007 at 11:33 am
That sounds a bit elitist – to suggest that these jobs should only be worked by students. There are plenty of people who have no formal education who must rely on these types of jobs, and for them it is a “fuss” that they can’t get insurance.
On the other hand, some of these jobs depend primarily on tips to complement their minimum-wage pay, and it’s no surprise that they can do pretty well with tips.
November 6th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
@CS
I agree. I know a lot of bartenders/waiters/hostesses that clear 200-300 a night in tips… not exactly pocket change.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
What about gas station attendants? I work in a car wash/gas station full time, making $11/hr. I’ve been working there for three years…The pay is just as bad. The kicker is that I’m making more than most! And the insurance we’re offered is so expensive I can’t afford it. I’m on government health care at least until my baby is born. There is very little chance I can return to that job after giving birth because it is just not enough money! With my fiance and my combined income we’re barely over poverty level for our family size and we have a mortgage to pay. These jobs don’t offer much to the population…except for people still in school and living at home.