Disney’s grandniece goes undercover boss?

[bcla]

Oh, OK. Now I get what you’re saying. Another factor I didn’t think about was that part-time work with inconsistent hours can create uneven wages leading to months you qualify and months that you don’t.

Sure. And sometime it’s based on the person’s state with no adjustments for local cost of living. In California there can be a huge difference in cost of living in the most expensive areas such as the San Francisco Bay Area, LA/Orange County, or San Diego vs. the Central Valley.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

You can't believe everything you read. For example, the news keeps saying that teachers in my state earn more than $60,000 ... yet if you look at the salary scale, you'll see that the top salary for a teacher with a bachelor's degree is $52,000 . I've tried to figure out HOW they come up with that $60,000 figure, and it just doesn't work. Not if you include insurance and other perks, not if it's averaged in with administrator salaries, not if you add in what they contribute to our pension. The number just isn't true. It makes me question all numbers thrown out by the media.
If true, those are excellent benefits.

May I say, I think you are living in the wrong state? We have teachers in my rural district making $100,000 at the top of the pay scale. I have a relative who taught in the third-poorest district in the county (her district is about 20 minutes from where I live) and at retirement 6 years ago she was making about $70,000.

By comparison, as a public librarian I was making about $22,000 per year in a job that usually requires a Master's Degree (more education than is required to teach in my state; I was certified to teach in Pennsylvania with only a bachelor's degree). As public employees we only got very small cost of living raises, I think the biggest one I got was $0.44 one year, and that was only because they felt that they had miscalculated our cost of living raises the year before, normally we got more like $0.30 per year. At that rate it would take more than 20 years of cost of living raises for my librarian salary to catch up to what the article claims that Disney park employees are making. It's a valuable lesson on the power of unions! I learned my lesson and found a unionized job where I make much more than I made at the library--with a lot less skill and effort on my part Not that I'm bragging about having a lazy job now, just pointing out the irony that much more was required of me at the library, a job where I made the equivalent of $11.00/hour.

As for the benefits, sometimes they are considered as compensation. My ex-husband worked for a company that paid for their employees' family benefits 100%, and their contribution toward his benefits was included on the w2 as compensation, so it looked like he was making around $12,000 more per year than he actually was.

 

[DLgal]

In orange county, $19/hour, 40 hours a week, GROSS SALARY isn't enough to rent a 1 bedroom apartment. You have to also take taxes into account, so someone working full time at $19/hour is bringing home approx $2300 per month. The average cost of a 1 bedroom apartment in Orange county is $1900/month. You would need a salary of $28/hour as a single person just to "get by."

Numerous DL employees commute from the inland empire, where COL is cheaper, live with multiple roommates, or still live at home. And honestly, hourly pay at DL is closer to $15/hour than $19/hour. Security guards only make $16/hour, for example.

We are a family of 4. We live in Orange County. Our rent is $3300/month for a pretty small 3 bedroom condo. It's insane.

 

[Kennywood]

I hear this response over and over and over when it comes to these discussions. So, let me ask you this - what about people who are not capable of earning a college degree? My son has learning disabilities and struggled harder than you can imagine just to graduate. College was never in the cards for him. So does he not deserve to be able to have a family or even live on his own? People are so quick to say - "Go back to school and get a better job". If only life was truly that simple.

As a society, we seem to have gotten into the mindset that college is the only option after high school. That's part of the reason why so many people are saddled with college debt. College is not the only option, nor is it often the best option. There are very good trade schools too. Society needs plumbers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics, etc just as much (if not more) than those with degrees in business, education, engineering, etc.

Learning disabilities come in a range from slight to severe, so only the individual, their family, and support group would know their limits and their potential. There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution to those who must live with such challenges. Their choice of a vocation is one that must be chosen based upon individual abilities and aptitudes

As for those who choose to go to college, society should not be held responsible for any individual's poor choices. Those choices include selections of a school and a course of study. But those who do go to college are legal adults. If they agree to the terms of a loan, then that's a responsibility they've chosen to assume.

 

[BrianL]

As a society, we seem to have gotten into the mindset that college is the only option after high school. That's part of the reason why so many people are saddled with college debt. College is not the only option, nor is it often the best option. There are very good trade schools too. Society needs plumbers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics, etc just as much (if not more) than those with degrees in business, education, engineering, etc.

Learning disabilities come in a range from slight to severe, so only the individual, their family, and support group would know their limit's and their potential. There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution to those must live with such challenges. Their choice of a vocation is one that must be chosen based upon individual choices.

As for those who choose to go to college, society should not be held responsible for any individual's poor choices. Those choices include selections of a school and a course of study. But those who do go to college are legal adults. If they agree to the terms of a loan, then that's a responsibility they've chosen to assume.

Oh yes! Vocational training is so important. Not every kid should go to college and they can make a good living working in trades (sometimes very good!). They try to guide every kid to college and vocational programs suffer. Apprenticeships need to be more available to the kids who could really benefit from them.