The training was a lame 1960s video, which had nothing relating to the job. Basically, I was put on the floor the first day. I was an accessories sales associate. My job consisted of stocking shelves and helping customers.

It just happens that my bosses were uneducated and worked at Fry’s for a very long time. I truly believe they also hated their job, but they made good money now because they are managers and supervisors.

The thing I hated about Fry’s was schematics basically tearing the Aisle down and placing the products like how corporate wants it. In addition, I didn’t get paid to translate my own language. They made me do it. If not, the customer would get frustrated and pissed off.

I was on my feet the entire shift and I would knock out in my car before and after work. My feet would ache because I would have to wear dress shoes. This is by far the worst job and most terrible job I ever had at a physical level.

If I was doing well I would possibly get promoted to sales, which paid on commission. But if the product was on sale, there would be zero commission. As salesmen you have to sell insurance or you make no money. Some salesmen made six figures and some made enough to get by. Around 10 to 15 an hour. This job totally sucked and I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do it.

Plus most of the employees knew nothing about the products they were selling. Plus, everyone at the retail floor was rude and unprofessional. Cursing in front of customers, but I don’t blame them because the job is very stressful. In addition, the pay is crap.

PLEASE reconsider if you are considering becoming a nurse because I know once that time/money is invested in a education, you have reached the point of no return as I have and must suffer in a despised “career” until a) retirement or b) marry rich.

Let me begin by saying prior to picking nursing as my major, I simply didn’t know any better. I grew up rather sheltered. I didn’t realize how morally corrupt common people are, and it is largely “common” (i.e. coarse, uncultured) people you will find in nursing. I was sheltered but very smart, and was raised to think I can do anything in this world. Such high hopes. I was accepted to a top-notch nursing school, thinking I was headed for a swell career in taking care of others, personal fulfillment and making some good scratch. I thought I would learn something new everyday and never get soul weary. Forgive me, I was young, naive. I had some silly Mary Poppins idea of what my life would be like, as if I’d float home utilizing an umbrella in the clouds singing after a long day of “making a difference.”

Forget that, here’s reality: wiping hairy blubbery ass after ass, being a punching bag for crazy hormonal co-workers/management, being disrespected by asshole patients and insubordinate nursing aids, being treated by visitors like a glorified maid at a 5 star hotel in the tropics. Feh. These nursing aids are ghetto morons who can’t get real jobs/real education so the hospital hires them as dirt cheap labor and since most of them are black and the nurses are not so black there are racial tensions always. Everytime I complete 1 menial task for 1 stinky interchangeable ungrateful patient, I am pummeled with another three menial tasks for another interchangeable patient (ad nauseum) to the point where I feel like I am stretched so thin, too thin, that I have nothing left to give of myself to family and friends that truly matter to me. Its true, nursing will slowly but surely suck you dry. Death by a thousand paper cuts. My days off I try to recover mentally and physically and then drag myself in for more punishment. After each shift I drive home with fresh wounds (mainly inflicted by cannabilistic co-workers) begging myself not to overeat once I step through the threshold of my home because food is the only comfort I now have.

I remember the spunky girl I was in my early 20’s, so full of piss and vinegar and this joke of a career has beaten that spunk right outta me. I go to work in a position where no matter how hard I work, no matter how much of my heart I put into caring for my patients (and becoming emotionally fraught in the process) I am still only seen as just one measly screw in a giant machine. If I fall off no one will remember, know or care because in a week because some new sucker will be there to replace me. This knowledge has caused me to blockade my heart the second I clock in to start a shift because I need to preserve what’s left of my spirit. I see myself becoming weary and angry like my co-workers and I guess its inevitable that you become calloused in order to keep your place in this nursing jungle. Survival of the fittest: if I am nice, its perceived as weak and the weak ones in the jungle get eaten.

I should have seen the warning signs. Clinical instructors thought nothing of making students burst into tears at inopportune times. They did this because they too feel the oppression of nursing and want other to eat shit like they have had to for years. Then the next generation of nurses comes along and they get eaten alive by older ones. This is a classic saga of the animal kingdom. Yes, I get paid well. Yes, I will always have a job. But my quality of life is marginal at best. I spend so much of my life at work and its pure misery. I no longer care about my patients. I just fulfill my duties to earn a paycheck and not get my arse sued or written up by management.

I used to read philosophy, history, and hold passionate political views: all now gone because I am a nurse hence I don’t really matter. The public doesn’t care what a damn nurse thinks. We suck. I have had to clean every foul human drainage known to man and after doing it there’s always another pile of vomit or pus or shit to wipe, no recognition from the higher ups, and woe be it to you if your good upbringing will prompt you to be kind to your bitchy equally miserable co-workers. They will indulge you, they will be kind to you in return, but then any personal info I give them pertaining to my life or boyfriend or even what I ate will be spread and twisted throughout the dang floor. The Bible says something about how small minded idiotic people are prone to gossip and this rings true for nursing.

In the past 5 years, I’d say roughly 85% of the nurses I work with clearly come from low-class backgrounds and are doing grunt work and they know it. They are not too attractive, veer towards frumpy, so they end up marrying shitty second-rate men and they end up being the female breadwinners for their homes because wealthy men don’t want to deal with their whiny retard assess. They have to labor like donkeys to put food on the table to raise their grubby kids and they do this by working peon-level jobs where everyone toils in misery (and shit-endless human brown shit). These circumstances would make anyone lash out and boy do they ever: enter backstabbing, petty gossip, jealously.

It’s 110% true: nurses eat their young because they are unfulfilled and will be eternally in this line of work in which one is paid for their back not their mind even if they went to a top-notch 4 year school wracking up mega school loan debt.

Please don’t be a nurse. No one will respect you and you will end up bitter and have a black view of the world by the time you hit thirty. Why, just today we had a floor staff meeting and our manager announced she hired three new grad nurses starting next week. “Fresh meat for ya’ll,” she says, and the wenches laughed because they knew it was true. Now they were going to get another chance to stomp on a new nurse’s innocence and watch them flounder in their new “careers” because it gives them a sense of fleeting power. Power they have scant of elsewhere in their dismal lives. I am doing the only sane thing I can do which is apply to NP school and then I can write orders to put dumbass floor nurses in their place amen.

The gentleman’s company of Allied Suppliers, better known to many as Lipton, Maypole, Galbraith, Templeton and in its latter years Presto & Safeway (due to buy outs) is but a historic memory.

Morrisons demand your life, Indeed only this week I have been told by store managers that the were called to a meeting and informed that if they have to work 16 hours a day, six days a week to keep their stores right, then they must do it, or suffer the consequences! A mass of senior managers have been given disciplinary warnings for extremely minor reasons. The purpose, they are either probably high earners (due to historic length of service) and the company wants rid of them, or their managers (the area managers & regional directors) fearing for their own jobs pass the fear – bullying culture down “just to keep them on their toes” I heard!

Safeway lost its way in the early 2000’s with the main board being run by financiers and not grocers. Sir Alasdair Grant was the last of a true breed. The Morrison take over may have been good for the consumer, but the worst possible result for the staff.

If you are thinking of career in retail, think very carefully about entering the food chain… If you do plan to rise fast, make your money and GET OUT. There are lots of GOOD retail companies… FIND THEM!

Part One:

www dot youtube dot com/watch?v=j_c9PiTmo7c

Part Two:

www dot youtube dot com/watch?v=RKEPoQ54PsM

It was unbelievable the respect I was automatically given for the simple reason I could say I worked in real estate. Unlike the reaction I get from people when I say I work at McDonalds.

Can someone please tell me why it is so unacceptable to be employed at McDonalds?

Well, for those of you who want to look down on or judge McDonalds’ employees, let me tell you something. A day at work is not a walk in the park, its down right hard work. And I can guarantee that MOST of you who do look down on us wouldn’t know what a hard day at work is.

So when you come through our drive thru in the mornings to get your daily coffee, dressed in your suite and tie or those high heels, just remember that we are people and deserve just as much respect as anyone else. We work just as hard if not harder then you do, sometimes putting in 10-12 hour days.

I have done the whole 9 till 5 sitting in an office job, BORING !!!!!!

I would love to see just how long any of you would last running a shift at McDonalds.

Well, feel free to comment.

Today I kinda flipped out on two of my managers. I’ve been working for this company for about a year now and I think I’ve dealt with a lot of B.S. in that time period. First, a delayed opening, leaving me jobless for a couple of months. Then, massive layoffs. Which I survived but was suspicious of the secretive nature in which they made and executed the decision. Followed by numerous manager changes, uncomfortable working conditions (kitchen is TINY!! Plus, dishes were washed outside with a hose or in afore-mentioned tiny kitchen. Either way, rather uncomfy.) and, last but not least, promises of a raise or promotion with no follow-through.

Desperate for recognition, I asked to be relocated to another restaurant owned by the same people. This restaurant was more of a fine-dining atmosphere and much busier. Finally, I thought, I can really show off my skills, this is what I was made to do!! Right? Then why did I want to cry everytime I was in the middle of a rush and a dessert plate would come back with the complaint that the zig-zag decoration of raspberry sauce was “messy”? Shouldn’t I have been able to reply “Yes, Chef. I’ll re-make it right now.”? That’s what they wanted to hear. I just feel like if I were that customer waiting for my cheesecake, I wouldn’t care if my zig-zag under the cake was in perfect lines or if they were imperfect a little, like human beings.

I like to think I care more about the customers than the presentation. Maybe I’m just making excuses for my mistakes? Plus my co-workers didn’t speak much English, making it hard to make friends or even communicate during shifts. After just a couple months, I felt drained of all hapinesss. I didn’t want to go out, or talk to anyone, I just wanted to get through my next shift and sleep the rest of my life away.

Feeling defeated since I hadn’t impressed anyone and was realizing my new-found friend, depression, was over-staying its welcome, I asked to go back to the first restaurant. The one I had stuck with from the very beginning; I forgot to mention it was a brand new restaurant and I had been working there since it’s opening. As luck turns out one of the cooks quit and they needed someone to fill his spot. Maybe this was what I needed the whole time: to go work in a fine dining restaurant so I could appreciate my laid-back bar job.

I work a couple closing shifts with another guy, again doesn’t speak much English but enough, so I can learn all the sidework involved. A couple days later I close by myself. Now I know the kitchen manager there is a dick. One of those ” you’re Zig-Zag is messy, do it again!” kinda guys. I cook the drunks food until 12:30, cleaning as I go. The night was unexpectedly busy, giving me little time to do all the cleaning but somehow I made it out by 1:30 feeling proud but anxious of what the manager would think of my closing. I soon found out!

It started out constructive, stock up the line (though in my opinion, I did!), clean….. then, it started to piss me off. “This job is not hard for everyone. It’s easy. Some days you work for hours and sit around for hours, I mean not you but everyone. That’s why you must always be kepping busy.” His English isn’t the best either. So it took me a while to understand what he was saying. Was he assuming that I hadn’t been busy and maybe forgot some things out of laziness? I don’t know but I’m pissed! I squint my eyes at him, putting all the anger I can behind them. I was honestly slammed that night! Most guys there would’ve asked for help but I got all the food out properly and on time. So now I was starting to feel all “rage against the machine” and “don’t let the man keep you down!” I mean, why do people have to be condescending? I’m still your peer even though you are a manager.

Well, back to present day, me, flipping out on two managers. I go into work at 9 a.m. for prep. There’s quite a lot to so I get to it. Two and a half hours later, I go outside to find my two managers outside sorting crabs, laughing, and basically enjoying their day while working. I ask to smoke a cigarette and they look at each other. “What have you done?” they ask. “I don’t know… breaded chicken, cut up lettuce, tomato, and onion for sandwich setups….” This wasn’t looking good for me. “I don’t know, what do you think Fernando?” asks Matt, my normally easy going manager. “No, it’s too early. Go finish the sandwich setups then come back and ask. Anger behind my eyes that are so squinted at this point all I see is blurry faces staring back at me.

As I turn to walk back in, Matt says something about how I can’t smoke five cigarettes a day. This set me off so bad it was like he were my husband making some smart ass comment behind my back. I turned on a dime and yelled that I only wanted one and that I wasn’t one of those employees who take advantage of breaks. I stomped back inside and told my co-workers my problem, hoping to rally them on my side. I’m completely aware of how immature this sounds but i was beyond the point of maturity. In my mind, I’m a hard worker. I don’t disrespect anyone unless I feel disrespected. I care about my restaurant and the customers who support it. I just hate how my management have sort of an overkill attitude towards expectations of employees.

So now, when all is said and done, I’m left feeling angry, unappreciated, embarassed and hopeless. My hope that I can work while enjoying my time there is gone. Like a child who has just been told the Easter Bunny and Santa don’t exist, I’m left to contemplate whether or not hapiness in the workplace is a story my parents told me, so I would grow up ready to work for some asshole who is happy to buy hours of my precious life for the bargain price of 10$/hour! I love restaurants, but managers and owners lose touch of why we love restaurants: they’re one of the oldest professions, they’re always in need, and working there comes with a family of coworkers moving around each other in ways and speeds that make it look like some choreographed dance. The feeling you get when a person walks out happy because of the time they spent there and the food you made for them.

No, managers are puppets manipulated by the owners. They’ve made it to the point where little to no physical labor is needed so they spend their time piling the labor on those below them. ugh. Is my outlook on work just a lazy and self-deserving one, or am I right to request common courtesy from my management and a cigarette break every now and then. Honestly: Is that too much to ask?

It is the place where I have had been terminated from as a staff nurse because I wrote up a couple of lazy nurse’s aides who had made it a habit to sit in the lounge and eat and watch TV for hours at a time when the management left. It was plainly stated that I could issue written or verbal warnings to the CNAs without supervisor approval, which I did. So, this lazy CNA gets in my face and screams at me.

Now bear in mind, if the call bells were going off, they would pull the call buttons out of the patients hands and leave them out of the reach of the patient, no water available, the trays out of the patients reach, dirty patients, crying patients, and I was so stuck in the med cart I could do nothing but pass meds.  Well I go to the lounge and try to get these lazy CNAs to work and was screamed at and told by the one she would have my job. She did.

I filed with the labor board and am waiting to hear if i get unemployment. Now, no one will hire me because I will not cower to the CNAs. I want the patient properly cared for and let us see about what the labor board has to say. Will I get my money or not? For two months I have been waiting. I plan to get even with the facility but the wife tells me that they will jail me. I could use any advice about this issue from someone more in the know than me.

I was spoon fed how wonderful a career in nursing is. I’m sure you guys have all heard it too: “its great money, you can name your price!” “You can find a job anywhere!” Well my experience has been completely different. I have 2 years of experience has a CNA, 2 years as a Charge LPN and 1 year as an RN and my last pay offer was 20 dollars per hour. Not enough. It took me three months to find a job. I filled out over 40 applications.

Everyday I go to work with a bullseye on my back. The liabilit is scary. Shortages are horrible. Patients are abusive. I was recently attacked by a male patient who attempted to strangle me with his IV tubing after he threw me up against the wall, and when I came back for work the next day he was my patient again.

If you are someone considering nursing as a profession, don’t believe the hype – it’s all bs. Here’s the real deal about nursing: your over worked to the point that it jeopardizes your license, your patients are demanding and ungrateful, patients’ families are looking to sue you or the hospital for anything, and administration will sell you down the river in a second. Oh and not to mention the verbal abuse you’re expected to tolerate from the doctors.

So if you choose nursing, be prepared to handle all of this daily with a smile!

I should have known then that there were a lot of back stabbers and competitors in the Nursing profession. I say profession lightly. Why????? Because it is the one profession that is given almost NO respect. R.N.s are in a field where not only do other nurses try and compete with you, but people who are trained on the job are allowed to call themselves Nurses. If you question this, Look Out! They will be out to get you any way they can. Also, in an medical office or clinic, why are the office staff allowed to wear Medical scrubs etc.???? This gives them and the patients the false belief that they are on the same level as an R.N. that has 5 years of college behind them. It’s wrong.

There are many Medical facilities that want to hire MAs versus CMA’s or LPN/R.N.s. Why???? Because there are NO laws against this and the physician or Medical facility wants to pay cheap wages. I’m sorry, but you get what you pay for…in the end it WILL bite them where it counts…(The wallet)

The above practice should be illegal. It is not right that those parading around as if they are fully trained and educated as an CMA/LPN or R.N. and falsely portraying to the patient, that they are a De greed or a licensed/certified professional are allowed to continue in this manner. I wonder how many patients would except that knowledge…. I wouldn’t. Why is this not considered Fraud???????

The back stabbing by those jealous of the R.N. education I busted my butt for, would like nothing more, than my resignation. That way they can continue with the charade and the physician saves money. As a patient, this is a scary thought. As a patient advocate, I must protect them.

Like many on here, I no longer care to be in the medical profession/or Nursing in any way. I just do not know what else my education qualifies me for. I truly want to be treated with the respect I have earned. (BTW, I treat those that are not licensed with respect.) I have lost all respect for the Medical profession. Knowing the inside of the profession, I would definitely have chosen a different path. The rewards are few and the me first world doesn’t appreciate us.

I went to classes to learn management which I enjoyed and even won a High Academic Achiever Award for highest test score averages. I was so proud of myself. In 2008, I was asked by the owner if I was interested in transferring to a location almost an hour away and becoming an assistant store manager. I respectfully turned it down because my vehicle wasn’t reliable enough to travel that far daily and I wanted to feel a little bit more ready before being an assistant. They were fine with that.

In 2009, I was transferred to a location that was closer because they needed my help and I was doing a good job. I got a good raise and I still have no complaints about my pay. I had trouble adjusting to the new environment because the managers seemed unprofessional, they talked about everyone behind their back, swore in front of customers, and started unnecessary drama. I sucked it up and soon those managers left and I was the senior swing manager, and I still tried my best and worked hard.

It turns out that no matter how hard you work, you are not appreciated. I frequently ask the assistant store manager if she needs help with anything, and she won’t let anyone help her, she wants to do everything all by herself because she feels that she’s the only one who can do it right. My boss, who I like most of the time, asked me to help her put some forms in the computer. She asked me to do two but I wanted to do the assistant a favor and did the whole stack for her. She wrote me a nasty note telling me she will do her own job. Well, sorry for trying to help! I have never been so disrespected for helping anyone in my life!

I have trained my crew to stock the whole store and clean before the overnight shift (I run dinner) and they do it. The overnight managers complain to ME when stuff isn’t done on the days that I don’t even work. And even on the days they do work, they find something to complain about even though my shift works twice as hard as they have to to get everything done. The management team gets nasty notes sent to them often. I hate the way they treat each other. I can’t do anything about it because I’m the mature levelheaded one according to my boss, but there is only so much I can take.

I can deal with coworker drama, but one thing I can’t deal with is when crew are abused by management and nothing gets done for months. Many of my crew also are underpaid. I don’t think McDonalds is a bad job, I think some franchises and areas are worse than others and if you need a job, don’t hesitate to work at McDonalds but I wouldn’t make anything long-term out of it.

I have been here for six years which is too long for me. I went to an interview last week and I should hear back from them soon if I have the job, so I can put my two weeks notice in. My boss is going to be really angry with me for quitting, but I have to do it for me.