Casual Work Wages???

[Dubius]

1) Type of job Warehousing - Storeman

2) Number of hours per week - 40 (average sometimes up to 60)

3) Metropolitan

4) High unemployment area (I Think) Oxley

5) Are there any skills required for this job? Forklift licence helpful but not a must

6) Did you have these skills (or were you trained on the job)? - Trained

7) How much do you get paid? - $18.90 Per hour with overtime.

8) $18.90 Before tax. Last year I earned $46,796.00 before tax.

I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree and after years of searching for that 'career' that the capital hungry university's keep touting, I realized that I was doomed to being a slave labourer.

For the last 7 years I have done nothing but casual work. I have had over 300 different jobs and along the way I have endured underpayment, not being paid at all, harassment from permanent employees (if you want to keep your job you'll keep your mouth shut, blackmail ect.)

Then I got 'lucky' I found my current job and have worked for 4 years without a holiday or sick pay (this includes public holidays - yes I have to work them too!). In spite of the fact that I perform my duties well, and that it is an ongoing position, the site manager actively discriminates against me and finds every means at his disposal to avoid making me a permanent employee. It seems he does not like having educated underlings…

I have had a gutful of working. You probably think I am mad but I am sick of being a 'casual'; sick of having to prostitute my rights for the sake of money; having no free time, no holidays and having to work when I am sick (if I want to keep my job).

I have done everything humanly possible to make myself employable, I have an education, I have shown a willingness try my hand at anything, I have a forklift licence and I have undertaken several job specific courses at my own expense. If that is not enough for employers I don’t know what is.

The only good thing that has come out being a casual is that I met Gomaos at one of my jobs and we have been friends ever since.

Soon, very soon now I will abandon the ‘casual’ life and travel overseas – when I get back I think the good people at Centrelink and their employers owe me a holiday.

[Torsten]

hey dubius, that reminds me of something I encountered a couple of years ago. I used to study at ballarat Uni (late 80's), but left after a little more than first year (continued elsewhere, part time, correspondence). Anyway, I always kinda regretted not finishing my degree and thought I would have easily gotten a job with it. When I went back to Ballarat for a visit I ran into several people from my old course. They had all graduated with excellent results. 4 of them were unemployed at the time and had been for ages. The fifth I ran into at a service station where he had been a part time attendant for several years.

What an absolute waste of human resource I thought to myself. Even though my academic career is ....hmmmm... patchy to non-existant, out of that whole lot I was by far the happiest and most fortunate in relation to where we all were at in our lives.

I have changed degrees 3 times, have at least 3 careers (in none of the academic fields) and I think most importantly moved away from ballarat as soon as possible. I don't think a degree gives any security these days. Being flexible and adaptable is much more important.

[MrBumpy]

dubius : When you say Oxley do You mean the suburb in Brisbane? if so, not a high unemployment area. Lots of nice middle class families living there and along the train line into Sherwood, Chelmer and indooroopilly. Not too mention its close proximity to the city. There might not have been too many jobs in the actual suburb, but I find it hard to believe that that area had a high number of unemployed people living there (unless they were dole cheats living with their parents).

-bumpy

[Guest reville]

Let ME tell you a story about University Bull-shit

I started a degree at Murdoch University.

A BSc majoring in Biomedical Science and Molecular Biology

Sounds pretty cool huh?

yeah but completely Useless!

This degree will not get you a job doing anything without Honours and possibly more

despite being described as ' Highly desirable'

This is a pity as several degrees with much lower entry scores definitely will.

At the mment most people I have met who garduated with me are either unemployed or doing another degree. Several of them didnt take the double as i did and the outside electives which have gotten me the work ive had so far.

I believe that we were deliberately mislead

Ive often mused about litigation against the Uni for all my Hecs and study fees plus lost income for False advertisement.

This might work but id need a few people from my year to do a class action.

What work i have recieved has been a spinoff of just one subject i took ' Environmental Plant Physiology' an elective from a different School that taught me all the Techniques from Sterile transfer to Mycology and Practical work with DNA, Plant diseases and Nutrient deficiencies

Anyway all i can say to prospective Uni people especially those keen on Ethnobotany - dont believe the universities AT ALL they just want your money and will misrepresent as much as they can to get your $

Find out what you want to do and work backwards from people in those positions. Find out what your employer wants and then do that.

Well thats my thoughts anyway. Ive accepted that Im unlikely to do more formal study (disillusioned by the system)

A degree means a job,basically. and a job is something you do to make and save money while you work on your interests.

I was doing a bit of 'assisted' self analysis the other day and figured out taht a core problem of mine springs from the family tradition of male rolemodels working too much and being away from home too much.

this i feel has lead me to believe that when i grew up id have to become something, namely a proffession. The hardest thing has been trying to pick a 'career' that encompases who i am.Impossible!

Can you believe i only realised this at 25.

Work is work and should be treated as such

Its so much easier to work hard when you know this.Dont become your job or youll be minimising yoursef and find itharder to cahnge in future if the position evaporates

Ive met many people who didnt know this.

So many Boring people - Boring because they only think about work and use up all their creative energy at work leaving none for developing alternative interests.

so this one track nature sucks the creative life out of them

I think this happens in early High School when they put the pressure on to choose a 'career' path. They prematurely start limiting your educational options limiting your learning.

The hardest thing ive seen in male members of my family is when they lose the job or retire. They find it hard to cope - if they are not 'working' they have no sense of identity. Other never retire, perhaps the though scares them too much - i suppose theyll work till he day they die.This is sad. Better to do the work when the work needs doing and do waht you want at other times.

Im coming to realise i dont care what i do as long as i have time outside of work to pursue my other often profitable hobbies

Torstens definition of capitalism fits in well.I dont want to be a Wage slave, I want to use my accumulated capital to make more capital and in such a way that it enriches peoples lives.Ive plnty of ambitions and ideas ro keep me working a/h

..But then i dont have a Family ...thatd change everything

[WarpedAstro]

Interesting how rev mentioned about high school and college teachers put a huge pressure on students trying to have them have "career path", I personally this is full of bullshit, and I strongly disagree about teachers putting pressure on students, I mean I have no problems teachers telling the students about the range of jobs in the "real world", I mean a lot of students when they are 16-18 years old, and they often been haven't been overseas, travelled much at all and mostly will be still living with their parents, and haven't really "explored" the outside world outside their "nest" (I lived with my Dad until I was 18) I really strongly believe that everyone should least complete Year 12, then have a year off backpacking around Australia, and Overseas. I believe they will learn a lot better and more "real" than what the teachers have brainwashed the students minds, I feel a sorry for a lot of students who finish Year 12, go straight to Uni for 4-5 years, and they will be 21-24 years old when they have finally finished Uni, and it's often "what next?" and I have meet a lot of backpackers that wished never went to Uni when they finished Uni at young age, because a lot of them are in late 20's, I escaped from my "nest" when I was 18, and I was full stone deaf, and ingored my over-protective parents's advice, I just brought a one way ticket to NZ, and travelling all over NZ for 3 months, then went backpacking all over Aussie doing shit jobs from farmhand to kitchenhand, I actally planned to have a year off, but I ended up backpacking for 3 years, went to Asia. I learnt a lot about life, and my 3 years off have really helped me decided what I want to do with my life after meeting so many interesting characters, and now I am just happy with my current job as accommdation support worker for both mental and handicapped people, I work 6 days a week doing 2 shifts a day, do 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours at night helping them with meals, general basic cleaning, transport, personal needs, etc...

The pay is average it's just $16.80 an hour, $19.65 on saturdays, no overtimes, etc..but get 2 weeks holiday every year, I'm actually very extremely gald that I didn't go to Uni, because I was accepted to complete Bach. of Specialised Education to learn about teaching people with mental/disabilty/etc...

I changed my mind at the last mintue and went to TAFE, and only did 3 month course, and I am happy with my current job, and it's not the job that I planned to do when I was teenager at high school, I was hoping to become a Architect, and I went back to Tassie last year for the first time since for 3 years to catch up with my mates, and they are all doing totally different jobs what they "planned" at high school, some still on the dole. I personally think they should ban "Career Course" in high schools, my brother planned to become mechanic, he's a baker, and my younger sis planned to become Vet, but she's doing Hotel Management

in a Uni in Canberra, because they both travelled overseas before they

bury their heads in study books......

[Darklight]

Interesting how rev mentioned about high school and college teachers put a huge pressure on studentstrying to have them have "career path", I personally this is full of bullshit, and I strongly disagree about teachers putting pressure on students

I've *seen* university staff treat their courses in terms of pure marketing.

Since the increase of emphasis on cost-recovery, commercial funding for research programs blah blah ( its a global trend ) students are seen as a market to be competed for, and departmental budgets are too strongly linked to the numbers of bums on seats and glowing PR for there to be any result other than staff wasting heaps of time and misdirecting effort on ensuring they keep their jobs. We'll all pay for that in the long run.

Universities compete for their market by praying on the paranoia most ppl have about their kids futures, the paranoia instilled in the kids themselves by the HSC and by the delusion that a higher level of education somehow guarantees future security. Anyone here who, or who has kids who has been faced with the choice as to which course/ university to attend can probably attest to the flurry of printed matter with trite paragraphs and flattering photos with which one is flooded

Anyhow, about 60% of university graduates end up in a job whose requirements do not include the tertiary qualifications they spent so much time and money acquiring.

This is not to say university courses are irrelevant.However they are obviously not the only option for well paid and/or constructive employment, and most courses fail to live up to the promises outlined in their flash brochures.

And yes, Torsten I also share your ideas on real capitalism

[woof woof woof]

This has opened my eyes a bit more1 Thank you!

Yup, DL and all other that agree with T's view of capitalism. That is it!

I have also thought that..... good buisness = good for everyone involved. It can even benefit the enviroment! think long term!

irie

[Dubius]

Originally posted by reville:

Let ME tell you a story about University Bull-shit

I hear ya Rev

[Dubius]

Yeah, I have also met some of my 'fallen' comraides. I was driving through a bottlo to get some beer with my dole money and I was served by none other than one of my 'best and brightest' classmates!