In the past few weeks, I’ve been looking for a part-time job, applying everywhere from Domino’s to Pluckers to my beloved Dunkin’ Donuts.
It’s been tough and unsuccessful so far, but that’s to be expected in this job market.
That’s not even the discouraging part.
When you tell people you’re applying for a job at Taco Bell, their responses can usually be measured in levels of disgust. Some people are good at hiding it, and grimaces will only flash across their faces before they choke out smiles.
Others are, well, less subtle.
College students often feel that service industry jobs are below them. But terrible, degrading, dehumanizing jobs have an important place in our economy and our national character.
The experience you get in a service industry job will be used in every single job you have for the rest of your life.
Everyone goes to college because he or she expects to one day get a job in his or her field of study. We go to school because we aren’t born with the skills we need, and we haven’t picked them up in our daily lives.
But school can’t teach you everything. There are some things that can only be learned through experience.
And, as the man who first used a fork to get his bagel out of the toaster knows, learning from experience can be painful.
Psychology senior Garrett Holloway works at Bocage Bee & Honey managing stock and sales. He said his job has helped him learn to talk to people.
“My job definitely helps with networking,” Holloway said. “I’ve met a lot of people and actually made a lot of friends.”
Holloway is one of many LSU students who works in retail or restaurants and who has seen large personal benefits.
The majority of the U.S. workforce is in the service industry, but these jobs are still widely disrespected. However, working one of these jobs, even if only for a short time, can change your perspective.
Any job is going to have its bad days — days spent watching the minute hand chip away until you can finally clock out — but nothing builds character like the soul-crushing monotony of washing dishes for eight hours.
I worked as an expo, or a kitchen expediter, in a neighborhood restaurant for two years. For the first six months, I was a go-fer for the manager, running through the kitchen, waiting tables and generally degrading myself, job description be damned.
By the time I finally took up my actual position, I had already done the jobs of waiters, busboys, sous chefs and dishwashers. Knowing what they went through on a daily basis, I was more careful not to make their lives any more difficult.
Lots of people don’t consider service industry jobs “real jobs”, but there are real people who work them, and the jobs have a lot of life experience to offer.
If you think you’re too good to work an awful job, you might find the job you want is too good for you.
