Quote:
Originally Posted by BarryRX
I have a personal story to share that is relevant because it involves a fast food franchise, namely Burger King. My brother in law just turned 56 years old a few months ago and he has already been retired for 10 years. He graduated SUNY at Stonybrook in the 1970's with a BS degree in Pyschology. Now, about the only job he could get with a BS in Pyschology was flipping burgers for Burger King. He moved up over the course of the years from worker, to night manager, to day manager, to store manager. From there he became an Area Manager and then a District Manager. Burger King sent him to an abbreviated MBA course at Univ. of Pennsylvania. When Burger King decided to open up Europe, they picked him to do it. He moved his pregnant wife and infant daughter to England. My nephew was born over there. He spent two years traveling all over Europe. If you ever go to a BK in Europe, he was probably responsible for opening it. Because of Burger kings ex-pat package, he was also able to bank a good deal of his salary in those 2 years. He came back to the States and was made a Vice President. After 2 years, Burger King decided to open up business in Asia, and because of his previous international experience they picked him to do it. He and his wife and 3 children moved to Tokyo for the next 3 years. While there he traveled the entire Pacific Rim opening up Burger Kings. His youngest child often answered the phone "Moshe Moshe". When he returned he became a senior Vice President and a few years after that took his golden parachute and retired at age 46 and is probably worth a lot more than I am. So, it doesn't matter what his starting pay was as a beginner burger flipper. His drive and hard work (and probably a little bit of luck along the way) made him a wealthy man. Perhaps if robots were flipping burgers back then he may have never been hired by Burger King. But I am absolutely positive that he would have had the same success at anything he did. I've always had a bit of wanderlust, and because of that I've done a bunch of things in my life. I've been successful as a retail pharmacist as well as being quite successful in pharmaceutical manufacturing, quality assurance, and orthopedic sales. I was also a bit lucky along the way. We've all seen great workers laid off as the result of a merger while some so so workers kept their jobs. That's all part of the lottery of life. The minimum wage in 1963 was $1.25/hour, which is equivalent to $9.73/hour now, not the $7.25 that we pay. We should at least raise it to $9.73 to keep pace with inflation, since inflation hurts poor people the most.
Edit: I just wanted to add that he is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to know. While not a prerequisite for success, I find that it often goes hand in hand with it.
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Thank you for so aptly describing how The American Dream works. He did what was ASKED of him, and much more.
I'm constantly amazed at how people complain about "no jobs available" or the jobs "pay too little", but they
will NOT move! Others will not accept a job that is "beneath their level" as they have a degree and are not going to lower themselves to flipping burgers or scrubbing floors. They expect employers to come to
them and their town/city and GIVE them a job, instead of going out and
looking for one elsewhere.
Very few of the complainers would move and sacrifice all that's familiar in their comfort zone, as your brother did. And if he has a nice Mercedes or BMW, more power to him. Everybody deserves some enjoyment after working/traveling that much, for so long. I know that the family sacrifices in that situation can be huge.