Why are low-paid jobs viewed so negatively when they still allow people to survive?

[YourWaryPlumBalonz]

This is something I've never quite understood.
A lot of people spend years getting degrees, professional qualifications and chasing promotions to avoid jobs such as cleaning, care work, retail, warehouse work, etc. Yet many people in those roles still manage to pay their bills, put food on the table and live their lives. They may never be wealthy, but neither are most professionals.
I understand wanting more money, but some discussions make it sound as though earning £25k-£30k is a disaster and anything less than a professional career is failure. Realistically, most people aren't becoming footballers, CEOs or David Beckham.
Is it mainly about:
Money and financial security?
Social status?
Working conditions?
Having more choices and opportunities?
Fear of struggling if costs rise unexpectedly?
Interested in hearing from people who actively worked hard to avoid lower-paid work. Was it the money itself, or something else?
Not judging anyone's choices. I'm genuinely curious why some jobs are viewed as something to escape from rather than simply another way of earning a living.

yep, my DP is on about £30k. He is mid 50s.
Several posters fall over themselves to tell me their 18 year old DC is on more, or that their DP is on £150k (yet they wont say how much they themselves are on... funny that).

I've spent 40 years earning 2 to 4 times average ft salary.

I was raised in a fsm household, and watched my dm scrimp & save for years. I graduated with a degree in business, and have used my salary to give my ds the best childhood possible. A secure home, a decent education, I've saved for my ds' university fees. I've saved into my pension to ensure I have a better retirement than she did.

None of that would be possible on a low wage job.

Years ago, a man on a low paid job was taking home enough to support his wife and a couple of kids.
That is impossible now. A low paid job is barely enough to support a single person. But that that not their fault.

Do you say what you’re on? If you’re only talking about your DH’s salary and not your own, it sounds like they’re probably just responding in kind?

I have worked hard to give my family the housing and financial stability that I did not have growing up. I have never loved my job, but it pays the bills.

I don't judge anyone. Having lived in poverty and previously worked in low paying manual jobs, I can tell you the judgement works both ways.

The jobs you listed relate to industries which need bank accounts and financial services provided by those “parasitic bankers,” as well as legal services from those “parasitic lawyers” or none of them could operate…

I'm not suggesting anyone is at fault, I was just determined to provide more for my child. I refused to accept a life like my dm's. I didn't expect a man to provide for me, I have worked ft all the way through as a single mum. And I've been lucky.

Childhood poverty leaves a long shadow.

Actually I grew up in a poor country but where there is a strong work ethic and a good education system. My people have been discriminated against by other countries repeatedly.

I think you are ridiculous bankers, lawyers etc are often paying heavy taxes supporting people like you. Your naivety is startling, haven,'t you looked at the housing market, very few purchases at the top end, lots of the "super rich" are leaving in their droves, because of the relentless taxation to pay for a ludicrous benefits system and a load of unskilled migrants bucketing in, everyone is worse off if you don't keep the super rich happy.

Because society deems people in these positions as “failures”. I work as a bus driver and have people be patronising and condescending towards me all the time! (They think I’m the lowest of low etc) . But in fact I earn £40,000 a year. My partner works as a nursery nurse on £30,000 a year and yet in fact we’ve bought ourselves a 2 bed house (near Surrey), Even our neighbours when they knew what we do for a living were stunned as to how we afford it etc.

There is also the societal expectation to go down the academic route etc and “be ambitious”! And if you don’t you’re considered an outsider especially in middle class areas.

i do my job as I was bought up with a single mother and grew up on a council estate and had learning difficulties at school and these schools were actual in fact “rough schools”. I felt the system failed me and I don’t have much more intellect to better myself. So there is me driving buses around!

Seriously?? come on now.

Because theyre hard, often have long hours and are not very pleasant.

Do you fancy wiping poo from someone's bottom for your entire career?

I have respect for anyone that goes and earns a living, even more so for people who are on minimum wage. Given this country seems to reward people for not working I respect those who have a good work ethic, rather than the actual line of work.

Manual jobs are very hard on the body and might not be viable in later years. Obviously sitting at a desk is also bad for the body but generally can be done in old age.

What? Everyone knows bus drivers are well paid.

@Greenseawitchwithout accountants nobody has any money to pay anyone. The whole system stops with them taken out of it.

Or they aren't earning anywhere near a boastful salary tbemselves

I've come across people who are snooty about low paid workers, and it turns out they don't actually earn a penny themselves. I will never forget a comment on i( I think it was handbag or damsels) back around 2005 when someone was saying about her DH earning £100 an hour. This was in a conversation about people looking for part time jobs. She pipes up " oh you really can't expect the wives of successful men to do a low class job like that ( it mightve been Avon or something like that)

She'd never really worked and met her husband right after uni. Yet she had the cheek to look down on low paid workers

Well yes, that’s true, I was just wondering why that PP was expecting them to offer up their own salaries if she was only offering up her DH’s.

Most people think we’re paid around minimum wage. I’ve heard people say supermarket delivery drivers get paid more than us. When actually they don’t!

The other thing is, a lot of low paid jobs actually don’t allow people to survive, without top benefits.

Are they? My uncle is a bus driver and even after 20 years he is still only earning about £40k.

I think you answered it in your title. Who wants to just ‘survive’?

I think people assume clever people will have better jobs than thick people, whichvas we all know is often not the case. That is where the assumptions (older gen usually) are damaging for youngsters who are educated to Degree or Masters level then end up doing admin when their boss got O'levels or A'levels but won't retire and let everyone move up the chain.

@YourWaryPlumBalonz who wants to just survive ? Surely you should want better for yourself that survive. I’m from
a council estate, fsm and we were advised away from low paid work as there’s minimal
progression & you’ll always be scrimping and saving. A lot of low paid work is often topped up by universal credit. I think we should all
be striving for better and for our
children to live better than us.

This is going to sound really patronising so I do apologies but a lot (not all) minimum wage jobs are also fairly boring and if you’re bright would get very tedious quickly. I’m a nurse- for example I love doing personal care and spending time with patients but I would be bored just doing that (like a carer or care home worker). I enjoy that part but also diagnosing, calculating drugs, coordinating care with the patient and relative, liaising with people and all the more complex stuff. So I did nursing and worked up and was earning a decent salary. I work with absolutely incredible HCAs and lovely carers but personally I’d find that job boring. Same as lots of minimum wage jobs.
again- not all and if people enjoy the challenge of hospitality and meeting people they can be fantastic careers.

I think a lot of minimum wage jobs are objectively easier and offer a better work:life balance. I say this as someone that has worked quite a few of these roles and whilst they might be physically demanding, the level of responsibility and stress is generally much lower. If you have an issue then you can generally escalate to a manager to resolve and whilst there are always unpleasant aspects of every job, if it all goes wrong then ultimately you can walk away when your shift ends and it's not your problem to sort.

Generally higher paid work involves more hours and more stress. Suddenly you're expected to sacrifice your weekend and evenings to do extra work or to travel to places. You're expected to always be available and to resolve issues no matter what it takes. The buck stops with you. I could tangibly feel the stress harming my physical and mental health. It's tough and in my experience you certainly earn your money.

I think from a work:life balance perspective, the ideal situation for many, especially with families or other caring responsibilities, is to work PT in a low paid job with limited responsibilities and expectations. Some do this and get topped up by benefits but I can see how unfair it is that this is facilitated by the tax of others that are stuck in really difficult situations with very difficult and intense jobs requiring long hours.