Learned More at McDonald's Than at College

[Chee-to]

I Learned More at McDonald's Than at College

Read More

 

[WAYNO]

They don't teach those customer relations skills at the McDonalds anywhere near me.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

While I am not knocking a college education , it might be better for some folks , when they graduate high school to get out in the work place.
After all they just spent 12 odd years in a school environment, seeing what life is like out side of school is important too.
The important thing college or not is to never stop learning and using what you learned.
Andy

 

[Martini_Up]

the one thing a college degree shows is the person can manage a schedule, get things done on time and is more likely to know how to read than a HS graduate with a diploma....( Yeah, I know it's more than one thing but didn't want to scare anyone off with a list bigger than 1 )

 

[etrain16]

I worked for McD's for 2 years in high school. I learned a lot of valuable skills that I've carried into my jobs since. At the time (mid-late 80's) we were still held to a high standard of customer service. It's a great place to start out.

But, the #1 lesson I learned there - I can't live on minimum wage, so I worked hard to get out of that job into a better paying one - I didn't have any expectation that McD's owed me anything more than what they agreed to pay me when I started there. It's a starting job, and only a career for those that work hard to get into upper level management positions that actually pay very well.

 

[Quartermaster]

Maybe she shouldn't have gotten a fine arts degree? I didn't deal with any of the safe space BS at PSU. It was there, but I refused to tolerate it in lecture. I furthered my knowledge in chemistry, biology, physics, genetics, and psychology.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

While I am not knocking a college education , it might be better for some folks , when they graduate high school to get out in the work place.
After all they just spent 12 odd years in a school environment, seeing what life is like out side of school is important too.
The important thing college or not is to never stop learning and using what you learned.
Andy

i graduated HS just after i turned 17. went straight to college... lasted almost a year. wasnt for me. went to work. haven't looked back and have made a comfortable living. i agree that college isnt for everyone... matter of fact i know lots of people with degrees having trouble finding jobs or doing something unrelated to their studies. i guess earning a degree shows dedication and commitment to an extent. also, its nice to be able to pay for something and have something to show for it.

 

[etrain16]

i graduated HS just after i turned 17. went straight to college... lasted almost a year. wasnt for me. went to work. haven't looked back and have made a comfortable living. i agree that college isnt for everyone... matter of fact i know lots of people with degrees having trouble finding jobs or doing something unrelated to their studies. i guess earning a degree shows dedication and commitment to an extent. also, its nice to be able to pay for something and have something to show for it.

I'm with you. College can be great, and obviously is absolutely necessary for some career fields. I did 1 year at PSU, 1 year at Clackamas and 1 year at Mount Hood, never did finish a degree. Then I got into the electrical apprenticeship program and spent the next 5 years as an apprentice working during the day, going to school at night. I think it's the best choice I could have made. I make a very comfortable living and have had numerous opportunities to advance without a degree in hand. I don't have anything against college, except when people dump tons of money into a college education they didn't really need in the first place. I know far too many people with B.S.'s and B.A.'s that are doing work for less money and in jobs that they don't need degrees for anyway. I think it would be nice if we got off the 'college for everyone' kick. It's a false promise that just doesn't pay out.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

I'm with you. College can be great, and obviously is absolutely necessary for some career fields. I did 1 year at PSU, 1 year at Clackamas and 1 year at Mount Hood, never did finish a degree. Then I got into the electrical apprenticeship program and spent the next 5 years as an apprentice working during the day, going to school at night. I think it's the best choice I could have made. I make a very comfortable living and have had numerous opportunities to advance without a degree in hand. I don't have anything against college, except when people dump tons of money into a college education they didn't really need in the first place. I know far too many people with B.S.'s and B.A.'s that are doing work for less money and in jobs that they don't need degrees for anyway. I think it would be nice if we got off the 'college for everyone' kick. It's a false promise that just doesn't pay out.

i wanted to be an electrician like my dad(hes a project manager now for EC and has been with them for the last 20+ years) I was a material handler for EC company and #2 on the apprenticeship list for local 280... in 2008. yeah, guess how many new apprentices they took that year. a big fat 0 and i ended up getting laid off. after 14 months of no work i said fk it and started a career in the automotive industry. oh what it could have been. i am happy where im at though. guess thats what matters.

 

[etrain16]

i wanted to be an electrician like my dad(hes a project manager now for EC and has been with them for the last 20+ years) I was a material handler for EC company and #2 on the apprenticeship list for local 280... in 2008. yeah, guess how many new apprentices they took that year. a big fat 0 and i ended up getting laid off. after 14 months of no work i said fk it and started a career in the automotive industry. oh what it could have been. i am happy where im at though. guess thats what matters.

There were some lean years back in the early 90's when they weren't taking any apprentices in. I was in the 2nd batch once they started pulling them in again, that was back in '94. Business was really good in the 90's and I worked a ton of overtime for several years. I've been fortunate - to date, I've never been out of work since I started back in '94. As for me, I started in lighting maintenance for a year and a half before I got in, so I ended up skipping the material handler route.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

There were some lean years back in the early 90's when they weren't taking any apprentices in. I was in the 2nd batch once they started pulling them in again, that was back in '94. Business was really good in the 90's and I worked a ton of overtime for several years. I've been fortunate - to date, I've never been out of work since I started back in '94. As for me, I started in lighting maintenance for a year and a half before I got in, so I ended up skipping the material handler route.

i didnt mind being a material handler, I actually liked it quite a bit. i learned a lot. ive always been super mechanically inclined and have always worked with my hands. heck, when i was 8-9 years old i had to buck hay... learned how to drive a stick that way too. anyway, i helped my dad wire his entire house they just built. enjoyed every bit of it. we did a really bad@$$ job and passed code with flying colors. a lot of his house can be ran off of a generator with a flip of the switch

 

[etrain16]

i didnt mind being a material handler, I actually liked it quite a bit. i learned a lot. ive always been super mechanically inclined and have always worked with my hands. heck, when i was 8-9 years old i had to buck hay... learned how to drive a stick that way too. anyway, i helped my dad wire his entire house they just built. enjoyed every bit of it. we did a really bad@$$ job and passed code with flying colors. a lot of his house can be ran off of a generator with a flip of the switch

Nice. I'm actually a 3rd gen electrician. My grandfather was an electrician on a carrier in the Navy in WWII in the South Pacific. Came home and started his own shop. My father and uncle followed suit. My brother and I followed him. I do enjoy it, but I'm out of the field now and do miss working with the tools from time to time.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I got a degree while in the service, but I have never used it. I just started back to school taking a little here, a little there. I just finished my welding certs and also light machining/fabrication. Even if I don't use it for a job, these skills I can use at home for personal stuff! I have been looking into Gun Smiting, But I really don't want to do it for a living, just another skill set that would be nice to have!

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Nice. I'm actually a 3rd gen electrician. My grandfather was an electrician on a carrier in the Navy in WWII in the South Pacific. Came home and started his own shop. My father and uncle followed suit. My brother and I followed him. I do enjoy it, but I'm out of the field now and do miss working with the tools from time to time.

dang! yeah i would have been 3rd gen!

 

[Caveman Jim]

They don't teach those customer relations skills at the McDonalds anywhere near me.

Nor near me because I don't eat at McDonald's..... Taco bell, well maybe....

 

[Caveman Jim]

While I am not knocking a college education , it might be better for some folks , when they graduate high school to get out in the work place.
After all they just spent 12 odd years in a school environment, seeing what life is like out side of school is important too.
The important thing college or not is to never stop learning and using what you learned.
Andy

I was working for 5 years before I graduated HS...... But they were hard labor jobs, not flippin burgers.....

 

[etrain16]

They don't teach those customer relations skills at the McDonalds anywhere near me.

When I worked there, it was what we called a "McOpCo" store - owned and operated directly by McDonald's. That was different than the franchise stores. The McOpCo stores were known for higher quality on average and better service since we were closely monitored by 'secret shoppers'. Man, we would really get dinged if we even messed up an order or took too long to get it out. As far as I know, McD's doesn't directly operate any stores now, it's all franchise. Even back in my day, we kind of looked down on those stores. But that was a long time ago.

 

[PaulB47]

College is for indoctrinating kids, turning them into socialists. If you want to learn a profession, get out and work. Start at the bottom, work your way up. Way more efficient than going to school.

How I Got a Job | Strike-The-Root: A Journal Of Liberty

My wife is probably the top Oracle database programmer in the state of Oregon. She didn't even manage to finish an Associate degree at Portland Community College.

 

[L84Cabo]

Did my four years and graduated with a BS in Business Administration. You would think that this would be a relatively practical degree. Yet I still learned more about business in the first six months of my professional career than I did in the entire four years of college.

In fact I would say that very little of what I learned in college was actually helpful or relevant in the real business world. For example, nothing I learned in those four years did anything to help prepare me to lay off a 350 lb African American woman who was literally screaming "racial discrimination" and cursing at me as I was trying to terminate her and get her out of the building.

 

[Member 3687]

I have never worked in fast food and never wanted to but as a kid through high school I worked in a full service gas station (something that does not exist any more) pumping gas, checking oil, airing tires and washing the wind shield was the norm and a part of the job (ya know customer service). Most folks where friendly and easy to work with but there were always that customer or two that you missed a spot on the wind shield or you slammed their hood too hard after checking the oil and you just dealt with it.

The only safe space was your 10 min break in the back of the shop or reading a magazine in the bathroom sitting on the toilet.

I have spent more time in vocational schools than 4 year colleges but have probably enough credits for a 4 year degree just not in the correct order as I have taken the classes I felt I needed not a program. I do have an AAS degree in Machining and I went to MMI and did the Harley Davidson tech program and then while in the military I did electronics and worked on a flight simulator in the Navy and was a 12B combat engineer and 77W water purification in the Army/Army Reserve.

I failed to learn that NAVY stood for "Never again volunteer yourself" when I went into the Army.

None of these had safe places at the time except the bathroom as stated above and you learned to deal with bad situations or people because there was nobody to go and cry to. If you truly had problems there were councilors you could go too but it usually was about true life altering issues not about someone spoke loudly too me or my feelings got hurt.

The saying back then was "Sticks and stones could break my bones but words can never hurt me" but those days are long past now and people are offended by everything and everyone.

Over the years I have learned that if you do not like your Job find another if you do not like where you live move and so on. Life is too short to worry about the little things and you make your own destiny and yes I have made mistakes and some wrong choices in life but you learn to grow and not make that mistake again but you do not hide in your safe place (bathroom) and you confront the issue head on in a "tactful" non threatening way and life will treat you right.