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.

Its very odd to paint being unable to cope with stress as a choice. Some people might dislike stress and prefer to have less, but thats not the same as unable to cope.

People might have all sorts of reasons for not coping with stress, from having autism, to being sexually abused as a child so thier stress hormones are high, to having other competing stresses in thier home life such as sen children tipping the balance.

I dont like stress but I dont have something thats caused previous burnout meaning I can't function under stress. Im very lucky.

Okay, I see what you mean now. I think in this case we’re talking about a medical condition and that person should be supported through the benefit system, as they physically can’t improve their financial situation. And if they’re not supported, then that’s a failure of our benefits system. Very different from someone choosing a job with minimal stress as they prefer not to deal with any pressure at work.

And we’re in agreement on stagnant wages - an absolute travesty.

See my post above. Those are medical / psychological conditions that should be supported through the benefits system. If you’re dealing with the aftermath of child sexual abuse you are deserving of support by the state. I don’t think anybody would argue with that.

In cases where there is no such condition, then I’m afraid it is a choice to pick work with minimal pressure and not upskill, and therefore stay on low pay. People either need to own that choice or stop looking for others to blame.

Care assistants, supermarket workers, GP receptionists are all 'stressful roles' which sadly pay minimum wage or just above.

The world would not function without them.

Not easy to even get minimum wage jobs and it's quite shocking how some jobs are barely above minimum wage or on it when you would think they deserve so much more for the importance of them.

I've just googled GP receptionist jobs. Minimum wage. Care assistants. Minimum wage.

People who work in those jobs are highly skilled in their areas, and their work is definitely stressful. To say that minimum wage jobs are 'stress free' you're delusional.

This

And so many other factors at play as to why people may be stuck in minimum wage jobs

I didn’t say that all NMW jobs are stress-free? However jobs with low pressure are very likely to be NMW. In those roles, any opportunity to upskill and take on more responsibility must pay more than NMW or no one in that organisation would take the role. Staff then have a choice (health-related exceptions aside) whether to upskill and seek higher pay or stay put in the lower stress role.

The fact that even stressful jobs pay NMW in the UK is an absolute travesty, I would not disagree with that one bit. It’s amazing to me that people stay in these jobs instead of sticking it to their piss-taking employer and getting a low pressure job for the same money.

Would you tell your GP receptionist to up skill and get a better paid job?
Would you tell that to the carer who supports a loved one in a care home to get a better paid job?
These jobs are very skilled and not everyone can do them.

If everyone got 'better paid jobs' who would do the roles which sadly do not pay well?

It's housing costs that are the issue

If I had a friend who was a GP receptionist on NMW then yes, I would absolutely tell them to quit their job if it were stressful. Because to me that is ludicrous, and utterly shameful on behalf of their employer. He/she should either seek a much easier job for the same money, or find a job that uses their skill set but which pays more than NMW.

It isn't necessarily about low pay jobs but life needs to be made more affordable and jobs easier to get into along with a raise in personal allowance which has been frozen for few years now and to keep raising minimum wage is closing the gap anyway between low and high earners.
We need more affordable childcare housing food etc etc

Who would work being a delivery driver for supermarkets post your letters, work in pharmacies (some of their roles are minimum wage) care for your children?... If everyone had a 'better paid job'

These jobs which are vital to communities are all minimum wage or just above.

Comments about upskilling and seeking promotion were in response to the idea that it’s impossible to improve your financial situation if you’re struggling.

The point I am also making is that many jobs which are vital to communities pay minimum wage or not much above.
To tell a carer (for example) to 'upskill' in their job is quite frankly insulting.

Those jobs are vital and the pay from them should be enough to live on.
The cost of living crisis and housing costs have meant they no longer are.
I am not sure what the solution is but telling people to upskill etc is not a solution because we need people in those jobs. The people in those jobs should be able to afford to have a life and not just survive.

I am also sure the postman who delivers your post would love to be told to 'upskill' when you next see him.

Who would do these roles if everyone 'upskilled?'

Spot on.

Also yes some min wage jobs are low pressure. Some people stay in them because they actually like working in them. If you love your job then you are winning at life as far as I am concerned. How sad to feel you have to leave to afford to make ends meet.
I admit that can be a privilege though. I used to attend a mental health group that was craft focused. The facilitator was amazing and she loved her job which was good for us service users. The job was not full time though and was min wage. She had to leave as the job centre said she had to increase her hours and pay otherwise she would not get her top ups. She had kids. So she left us and ended up working in a care home which she hated.

If someone is upskilling and trying their absolute best to be promoted for FIFTY YEARS without results, they're either dangerously incompetent, a genuine idiot or an absolute nightmare to work with.

Or, they're not actually trying that hard at all.

The workforce is full of people happy to make excuses for not getting anywhere in their career while people pass them by, but for every one of them, there are others willing to put the effort in or make the sacrifices necessary to make things happen.

Alright Molly-Mae, we all have the same 24 hours do we? Hmm.

And often the responsibility isn’t worth it. For example in care, if you work in a home and become a senior you have lots of extra duties and there must always be a senior on every shift. So if you’ve just done a 12 hour shift and the senior for the next shift doesn’t turn up, you have to stay for another 12 hours.

In another sector, my bf was promoted to management for an extra £2k a year. She left after a year because it cost her so much extra to be able to do the job. Her workload vastly increased so she’d stay later at the office. She wasn’t able to pick up her teenage DCs from school (they live rurally) so she’d have to pay for taxis. She was worse off. She ended up going back to her previous role.

If she’d worked in the city in a corporate sector she’d have been given a much bigger pay rise.

Usually if you've worked in a role long enough though, you acquire skills & additional responsibilities. This usually makes you more useful & productive than someone brand new with no experience.

If your employer doesn't pay you for that, you bloody well leave to go to one who will.

If there are no jobs at all in that industry that reward your experience 5 years in, you look for courses to do in evenings on weekends to access a career with better prospects?

I can understand that someone could have stuck it out 5 years, but you get people who've been shat on relentlessly for 25 years by an employer who won't bloody promote them and they just won't leave. You have to leave.