To think I shouldn't be sneered at for working at McDonald's?

[Dinkleberg]

Regular poster but NC for this. I have a degree. I did have a full time job related to my degree but unfortunately was made redundant whilst on mat leave in October last year (and wasn't entitled to redundancy pay as I'd been there less than 2 years). So when my mat pay ended last month I needed to find a job fairly swiftly! Unfortunately I couldn't find a job related to my degree and bills were piling up, so I applied for anything I could find, and McDonald's came up.

I got the job and am really enjoying it, its it's a 10 minute walk away, the hours fit in perfectly around my children and DHs hours (I do evenings and weekends) and of course it helps pay the bills and put food on the table! I'm starting my Masters in October and again the flexibility the job offers is good.

But recently I had a catch up/conversation with a friend who I hadn't seen for a few months. We talked about what we were doing now etc and when I mentioned I was working at McDonald's she seemed baffled and embarrassed for me? Said "But you have a degree so why are you working there?". When I said it was to pay the bills until I could complete my Masters, and that the hours were perfect for me in terms of childcare ect she was like "But surely anything is better than bloody McDonald's?"

Is working at McDonald's really something to be embarrassed about?? A job is a job surely? And said friend eats at McDonald's so surely she realises someone has to prepare and serve her food? I should say a lot of my colleagues are students.

I left the conversation feeling quite deflated 😞 I know I shouldn't care what others think but I do! Sometimes too much.

YANBU - she's being horrible and you shouldn't be sneered at
YABU - she has a point

Sounds like my mum.
Ignore her OP, she sounds like an idiot

What an awful attitude from your friend! My DH was Head of Finance for a company and was furloughed then made redundant in lockdown, he took a job doing the picking in Tesco. He intended on doing it until he got something else, he got a new job similar level to his previous one about 4 months later but loved working at Tesco he has stayed on at weekends with a view to retire soon ish and do more hours at Tesco.

I hate snobbish attitudes about jobs. You have found something convenient and flexible, I'm not sure why it matters where you work. She sounds like a cow.

I know some people that would never work in McDonald's because they feel it's not a good enough job for them. To be honest your so called friend friend sounds like a bit of a snob.
At the moment your working in a job 10mins from home, your earning above min wage, your doing hours that suit your family and you not just working to pay childcare.
Along with this your planning to do your masters. You making the best of your current situation in life and doing what you need to do to keep the bills paid.
Your showing a future employer that your willing to work and not going to have big gaps on your CV either.
I had several friends who worked in fast food places, in bars ect in the past and they are all good workers. Several of them now have very good jobs.

Absolutely nothing wrong with working at McDonald's.

You had no job and needed to pay your bills.

You found a solution to your problem.
I salute you...

No one should ever be ashamed of working (legally) any one who tries to put you down is an arsehole.

I have the utmost respect for anyone working in that sort of job. I did a summer in burger king and it was so stressful (i was too slow!).

I agree.

My only quarrel would be with McDonalds itself, and what a ghastly place it is – the horrible plastic interior, the nasty rushed feel and, worst of all, the horrific slaughterhouses that keep it going. Anyone who doubts Darwin should sit in McDonalds on a Saturday afternoon. Just watch the customers shoveling greasy meat into their mouths and licking their fingers and tell me we aren't animals!

This just comes across as the same kind of snobbery, but from a different angle TBH.

It's reasonable to think about food supply ethics, not so reasonable to consider me Untermensch because I like a greasy burger now and then and (shock horror) eat it with my fingers.

And it's really not that much of a stretch from sneering at McDonalds and its customers to sneering at the people who work there.

I think there is something inbuilt about Mcdonald's and I am not sure what it is, but I know a friend of mine told me they got a job there (similar reasons as you) and I was surprised at myself.

So there is that possibility, If you had said to me, you were working at Burger King or KFC, I would think well done you for getting a job that is working great for you. Just something about Mcdonald's makes me think what the fuck. its not something I would verbalise to someone either.

I know you have probably had 8 pages of people telling you that your friend is a bitch etc etc but the reality is working at maccies has been looked down upon for millenia.
If you didn't think it was then you wouldn't have mentioned your qualifications as that implies you will have something 'better' soon.
If you are happy then it makes no difference.

A job is a job. I got it a lot when I worked as a carer. It was a case of taking any work to pay my bills but I was good at it too
Now I work in a contact centre and get exactly the same comments

Your ‘friend’ is an ass. I have a collection of degrees and I currently work for a quid more than minimum wage in a job you don't need a degree for, BUT it's flexible, tops up our income by 800-1k a month depending on extra hours/training done and actually I do enjoy parts of it.

Well done you for being practical and resourceful!

There are only a handful of jobs I'd hope people in my family didn't do (venal, lying politician; bent copper; and some finance jobs; we have one relative who works for one of Murdoch's companies, which I also despise but it doesn't seem to bother him or his money grubbing partner) but I'd be really pleased for them if they worked in an honest job somewhere like McDonald's. The poster who was a bit snotty about the food evidently hasn't actually been in one recently or they'd know there are loads of healthy options now. Nobody is forcing you to eat multiple burgers with cheese.

Plus it has, as many others have said, a very highly regarded management program and if you can work at McDonald's no one can ever doubt your work ethic or ability to work with others to get things done.

Your, er, friend is a numpty.

Oh, and McDonald's coffee is ace. Now if I could just get the ruddy app to work properly....

I think McDonalds - simply because it's by far the biggest and best-known of the American fast food brands - has become a placeholder for a lot of negative thoughts about Americanisation, globalisation, capitalism, ethical treatment of animals, the obesity crisis, etc. That has been the case for at least 25 years and is the reason it provokes such a gut reaction in some people. It attracts way more vitriol than a humble hamburger restaurant chain has any right to.

Nothing wrong in working at McDonald's if it works for you, i have been a nanny for nearly 20 years and constantly get asked when am i going to find a 'proper job'

I think people don't realise. Unless you know someone working there and the hood conditions people have preconceived idea!

Your friend is a horrible snob. One of the best administration recruits I had was a manager at McDonalds. She was really hot on systems and processes.

I find the “I have a degree” comments interesting- isn’t this some sort of snobbery itself?

It sounds like “I’m a high quality person and even I don’t look down on this low quality job”.

I was listening to a podcast with Rory Sutherland who is a marketing expert, I can’t remember if it was on his podcast or when he was a guest on another but he said:

If he could go back he would spend one less year at Cambridge and work at McDonald’s instead because he learnt more.

There’s also a really interesting theory about inner and outer scorecards. So if you have an inner scorecard you are happy to do things which suit you and you don’t feel the need to impress anyone. An outer scorecard can be harder because your life choices have to be approved of and you make decisions based on what people might think. Life is much easier with an inner scorecard. I think your friend has an outer scorecard.

I'm betting it's bloody hard work and more skilled than people give it credit for.

It is much better that you've got work you need than not and going short.

I used to work in a McDonald's nothing wrong with the job. It teaches you about hard work. They are good employers overall and good team working, and great skills to learn.

Your friend is a snob. I've been lucky enough to be able to leave my previous role and find a minimum wage job in hospitality and I've never been happier. I'll also now be able to avoid a stress induced heart attack.

Your "friend" sounds awful. You're working, you're earning money, the hours work for you and you're enjoying it. It sounds perfect.

Thanks for this it might be what it is. It might also be because I cant stand the food as well

There's no shame in honest work. Besides which McDonald's actually offers quite a few opportunities for career development if that's something you fancy.