To think it is not that easy to 'get a better job'

[EuclidianGeometryFan]

Seen a few threads lately about people with money issues, and on low wages or minimum wage.
Then some posters say things like 'why haven't you got a promotion in the last X years?' 'Why don't you re-train / upskill?' 'Why don't you get a better job?'

As if anyone stays in a minimum wage job for years just for the fun of it!

The job market is a pyramid - there is not enough room on the higher levels for everyone. Even as you age you can't automatically expect to climb the ladder and move up - the maths don't stack up. Not every field of work has a 'career ladder'.
Some people are stuck on minimum wage or not much more, for life. They may not have the ability or skills or aptitude to re-train or get promoted, let alone the time and energy.

It smacks of blaming the OP for not being ambitious enough. Some posters seem to have no conception of what life and the job market is like for minimum wage workers.

Totally agree..and 'entry level' is just plain insulting. Entry level is paperboy/girl, Saturday job under school leaving age..

As if anyone stays in a minimum wage job for years just for the fun of it!

Nope, but it might be because they can’t be arsed to up skill or pursue promotion

hence why posters suggest it

But even if you upskill and pursue promotion it doesn’t mean you’re going to get it.

i think there are a disproportionate number of posters here who seem to work in areas with defined career / progression paths. That isn’t the case in most sectors.

Plus the job market is terrible at the moment

Yeah I hate this. If you're in work you should be able to afford to live, and I'd even go so far as to say that all workers should be able to afford and qualify for a mortgage and own their own home.

People forget the impact of life, family, health, etc on the ability to work. Like there are some people who cannot work due to this, there are some people who cant get promotions due to life circumstances, or cant swap jobs

And some who may love what they do. The people at my local sainsburys are fairly old, and give great service and chat. If they left, it would be to the company's detriment

Yanbu at all

Over 50 years of working and you upskill and work towards a promotion and it never happens?

I know people in that position, yes. Why is that surprising?

There are also people who say "I can't study or retrain, it'll take too long". I've just finished a part time degree - it took six years. About to start a masters in a niche subject which will take 2 more years. When I'm in my 40s in a few years I can see people saying "she so lucky, she got a good job and was promoted". Forgetting that it's the end result of 8 years of hard work in my own time. If you put in minimum effort you get minimum wage.

A lot of jobs, the 'promotion' can mean a shed load of pressure, concrete KPIs for less than 2k more than their direct reports.

Well these are practical suggestions that maybe have benefited others hence they say them….what else do you want people to say? - it’s tough stay in rubbish paid job? People just trying to offer constructive advice that’s all.

If you aren’t getting promoted or pay rises, start seeing what other options are out there, you never know.

So 50 years despite upskilling and pursuing promotion … they made zilch progress?

I wasn't mentally capable of getting a 'better job'.

All I could do was work more hours or get a similarly unstable low paid job sporadically.

There were promotions but I was never in the frame. I even worked a zero hours contract job for 15 years with a £1.50 ph pay rise in all that time. As I had such low self esteem and ADHD and other MH issues.

I just could not handle managing other people. Had a nervous breakdown and left without anyone saying a word.

So no, it's not easy. Even really capable people with no MH issues can struggle to find higher paid work or magic up a promotion/pay rise.

Yes

The last line really soured things for me there

No it's not, I posted a thread about it recently. The barriers for me are the cost of childcare making it not achievable unless I can get the salary to afford the childcare whilst making the equivalent of 22 hours minimum wage after. Plus not being around for my eldest when he starts high school next year, I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone all day everyday with me being a distance away whereas now I am a 5 minute walk away so he can come see me and can get by with working 6 hour days.

Plus also not being qualified enough because whilst I have a degree and years of work experience I've been in hospitality for years and have no experience doing anything else. I'm fully expecting to be on minimum wage for life now because the longer I leave it the harder it gets. I don't want to study again to build a career, I just want a stable salaried job.

I'm not stupid, I pick things up pretty quickly but my CV lets me down so I don't even get to interview stage.

Also you can get to a reasonable point, even in jobs with a career path, then halt because of the pyramid. For instance you are a marketing senior executive, you become a middle manager, get some extra training, develop a specialism in one area, which often happens. Great, you could become head of widgets. But there's already a head of widgets. Doesn't mean that heading a division or larger area of the business will fall into your lap, nor does it mean it's easy to move companies. And what if the place you work is nice to you and you're not sure if a new place will be as good, and they might let you go, and you need 6 months pay slips for a mortgage and you've just had a baby and need the reliable income.

Some careers are definitely easier to progress in than outers, but it absolutely is possible to get a better job, not overnight, but definitely to work towards as a medium term goal.

My friend is single mum to 4 DC with a dad who's not much help. She does carework, which we know doesn't pay well. For the last 6 years she's also been studying and is about to qualify as a social worker. Six years because all she had was GCSEs before and she had to redo maths. It's been v v tough for her, but if she can do it in her circumstances, most could if they put their mind to it. Those who don't want to, of course can stay as they are, but it is possible if you want to earn more.

Did you pay for your degree? Many people in low paid work don't have spare money.

Agree op. There are so many ‘I’m alright Jacks’ on here these days with zero empathy. I can’t be bothered to engage half the time.

Can I ask how you managed to pay for the fees, equipment and childcare needed to study for your masters degree while supporting your family on a minimum wage?

They'd qualify for a full student loan...

I have managed people in their last
decade before retirement who were mystified why they weren’t on the next salary grade up. We had incremental salary scales, but to go up to the next one now you’d have to apply for a job at
that grade, be interviewed etc. Public sector. In the past they’d carried on up the increments, then up to the next grade. Without even doing more than turning up for work and doing it. No performance reviews, no feedback, no idea about reflecting on performance and how they could improve. The onus was on the employer to promote them
and it was all very passive.

yup

Well that’s on them
They obviously really were set for a life in minimum wage if despite five decades of up skilling and striving for promotion they never ever got it