I'm too good for that job

This post applies to both China and the west. The economy isn't getting much better and the job market has really been hit hard. It's just not easy to find a job these days. What really gets me is the number of unqualified people who seem to think they are too good to take just "any" job.

I have a job in retail. It is not my dream job but it pays the bills. I still go to work everyday and do my best. Here's a few examples of what pisses me off.

Example 1

One girl who works with me has a boyfriend. He didn't graduate high school and has no special training. He has been on welfare for a long time. He got a job that was Monday to Friday and paid about $14 an hour. He missed a few days as he didn't have a ride and I guess didn't work up to expectations. They let him go after 1 month and now he's back on welfare. I asked her if he looking for another job and she told me that he won't take a job under that money. He said there is no way he is working for minimum wage so he sits around the house collecting a cheque every month (with my tax money)

Example 2


I knew a foreigner in Changzhou who didn't have a degree or a TESOL/TEFL but felt he was the greatest teacher alive. He wasn't. His grammar was terrible and he knew nothing about how to go about teaching a class. The demands he laid down on schools he would interview at were so above anything I would ever ask for. He said that he wouldn't work for less than 16000 RMB.

What is with these people who would rather sit on their ass than go get a job. If you have no qualifications and low paying is all you can get, then take it. You can always move up from there.

Amen Sister.

Something is really broken with the welfare system.  People like your co-worker's boyfriend should be out shoveling snow or picking up litter in public parks.  Something - anything - to get them out of the house and sort of earning their public cheque.  I know Ontario has training programs for folks on welfare.  The idea is to train them to get them off welfare.  Why able-bodied people are allowed to sit home and collect cheques is beyond my ken.

People here in China have the idea that if you don't have a job in America (or Canada), the gov't will just give you money.  They aren't that far off base 

I am an Engineer with a Master's degree.  When I was unemployed, I worked for minimum wage for the day-work companies.  Packing boxes, putting labels on stuff etc.  Hard ***ing work, but I wasn't about to go under either.  UI allows you to earn a bit of money and then they deduct the rest from your UI cheque. 

I agree that the dolts who won't work should be forced to earn their welfare - unless they are disabled or unable to work due to mental or physical health etc.

It's this arrogant attitude that real makes me angry I'm too good to do that kind of work with their nose up in the air. It wasn't my dream to be working in a toy store surrounded by teenagers (thank goodness I'm on nights now) and having to put up with bitchy customers but at least I am earning my money. If you don't like your job then you a few avenues to go down. You can work hard and move up (I managed in 6 months). You can look for other jobs on your days off and then quit when you get something better. The last thing you can do is go back to school/training course in your free time to qualify you for a new career. One girl I work with got pregnant in high school. She is married with 2 kids. She works during the day and she is going to night school in the evening to get her nursing degree. Is it easy? Nope but that's what you do if you want a better job.

The Canadian gov't pays for your school/training course if you are on UI or welfare so there is no excuse not to go back to get better qualified.

I had to pay for my own university

I've worked on a farm picking cauliflower and broccoli. It was totally beneath my dignity, but I did it!

I've worked as a ESL teacher in China. It was totally beneath my dignity, but I did it!

  You have dignity???

I've worked as a ESL teacher in China. It was totally beneath my dignity, but I did it!

Stil you said    'WAS"    What do you do now   

A sense of entitlement combined with pride is common. My experience is that these individuals suffer from "stinkin' thinkin'." They are surrounded by people that enable this kind of behavior.

Quote from: Stil on June 15, 2009, 03:19:59 AM

I've worked as a ESL teacher in China. It was totally beneath my dignity, but I did it!

Stil you said    'WAS"    What do you do now   

I'm a 'White Monkey' now. I feel really lucky because I'm not qualified.

Affirmative action works.

Frankly, I feel too good for jobs. Period. Work sucks.

I gave up work after a serious injury 20 years ago. Since then I have simply played at life.

I find many Chinese university students share the delusion of when I get out of school I'll get a job as a manager. I had a student who was convinced that he would get a job as a hotel manager straight out of college. He had no work experience and his family did not own a hotel. After school I find many that jump from job to job doing fairly lackluster work. They don't stay in one place long enough to advance in the company (with the exception of say the more qualified ones like doctors). Instead of going on welfare they will just live with mommy and daddy and let them pay all the bills.

After school I find many that jump from job to job doing fairly lackluster work. They don't stay in one place long enough to advance in the company

Too true!

Many will get so frustrated at their senior year job search, that' they'll finally take a job, any job, just to get their parents off their back. Then they'll slog along until Spring Festival time, collect their Spring Festival bonus, and just quit and, as you said, live with mom and dad and start looking again.

(As an aside, I tell my students that one of the best times of the year to find a job is the 2 or 3 days after Spring Festival ends. A few Chinese managers have told me that they always have immediate openings because almost always, a few employees will just not show up after Spring Festival, having collected their bonuses a few weeks earlier, gone home and decided to quit without notifying anyone.)