Originally Posted by
allegro
I am in law, where there is no overtime and if you work 12 to 14 hours per day you don't get extra pay and this is just the way it is; you stay as long as it takes to get the job done, period. It's called "exempt" labor. We don't get overtime, we don't have time-and-a-half, we don't get ANY extra pay, we just work our asses off or we get fired and replaced.
Granted, we get paid very very well for this. But, our pay applies to 35-hour weeks as well as 60-hour weeks. At most firms, we have billable hour quotas.
Right now, I am working an hourly paralegal job (FROM HOME omg awesome) that's totally flexible and I bill time from my BOAT, on vacation, from my Mom's apartment, wherever I even check EMAIL I bill for it. But, I've been doing this for nearly 30 years and it sometimes takes that long and with my education to get to this point.
When I'm sitting there eating at Panera, and watching people behind the counter working their asses off and sweating to get everybody's lunch done correctly and quickly, I know that none of them have said, "you know, I really want a CAREER at Panera." They're making ends meet, making a living, working hard. I just wish we could get those people better jobs with better benefits and with the promise of advancement. On the other hand, the world NEEDS those workers. They make the world go 'round.