Conundrum

[Mikeus Caesar]

So, the other day i finally got a job, at McDonald's, and was joyful for it, but just know i've received an invite for an interview at another place, a computer shop. Problem is, this place would require me to take 2 buses to get there, thus doubling my weekly travel costs (getting to the city alone working a five day week would cost $26.90), while at the same time i have the feeling this place would pay less than McDonald's, so that raises the question - go with a job i'll probably like quite a lot, but be financially much worse off (i'd have no hope of getting home to Britain for a few years) or go with a job that i won't like too much, but can cope with, while also having lots more cash?

[Zim]

How long do you think you'll have to work at the job?

I worked in a fast food restaurant through most of college, and it wasn't too bad. However, if I had to do it again, I think I would have taken longer transportation times and a pay cut for a job I enjoyed more.

On the other hand, more recently I took a boring job (coffee shop at the mall) for just half a year before a planned move. In that case, I didn't care nearly so much.

[Veho Nex]

Dude McD's stay there work load is surprisingly easy, unless your like me and can't understand 90% of your workm8's.

[Veho Nex]

Also, money makes the world go round. so goes the saying. If you prefer to have a little extra spending money, I'd recomend the job at McDs cause they keep you working for longer hours, but if your willing to have more time and a more expensive day goto the interview.

[Zim]

Yeah, I was very lucky that the community college I started at didn't have the language I took in highschool (Japanese). I switched to Spanish, and I think I used it more at work at the restaurant than I did when I lived in South America for a while.

Mikeus is in Australia though. I wonder if he'd encounter a similiar problem (maybe with his coworkers speaking a different language).

Dude McD's stay there work load is surprisingly easy, unless your like me and can't understand 90% of your workm8's.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Yeah, I was very lucky that the community college I started at didn't have the language I took in highschool (Japanese). I switched to Spanish, and I think I used it more at work at the restaurant than I did when I lived in South America for a while.

Mikeus is in Australia though. I wonder if he'd encounter a similiar problem (maybe with his coworkers speaking a different language).

The only language problem i ever have is when some people have very thick Aussie accents. There was a guy at a pizza hut i applied at, he had to say everything real slow because i just couldn't understand him.

I'm rather concerned about my 'dream job' which i could optionally go for. The guy on the phone had an incredibly thick accent - we spent 5 minutes on the phone deliberating about the address of his business because i could understand him. At the end of it, i finally discovered he was saying '273', not 277. He had a very thick Pakistani accent.

[edyzmedieval]

I'd do the McDonald's. Even you might not enjoy it as much, you'll get more pay and perhaps you'll meet some nice people over there, you never know.

Get McDonald's. You won't enjoy that much, but you get the cash and it's closer to home.

[Ramses II CP]

You have to consider the long term as well, even if McDs pays better immediately it has to be considered that the tech job could be an opening to larger, better things with the possibility of advancement. If you intend to have a career in a tech field getting such a job on your resume early could pay long term dividends.

If, OTOH, you're quite sure you won't be living in the same country when you eventually take up a career the experience and having the company on the resume will be less useful.

[Gaius Scribonius Curio]

If you are wanting to get to England for a bit, however long in the future I'd go the Maccas. I've just booked flights from Perth to Glasgow return for the end of the year ( ... i know I'm sorry... ) and they were over $2300. (and thats after spending a lot of time and effort looking!)

Speaking of which I work in retail for not brilliant money, but the reason I do it isn't because of the money and definitely not because I enjoy it ( God no!) but because I get along with everyone that works there and I can stand being there whenever I'm not at uni (lets face it money enough to go back to England doesn't grow on trees).

But anyway I'd say go maccas, it will be a lot less interesting, but more money and probably (I'm not sure) nicer people... but in the end its down to what you want to do and whether you could live with doing something you don't want to over something you do!

Edit: then again Rameses makes a good point too... gah I don't know

[Decker]

Dude McD's stay there work load is surprisingly easy, unless your like me and can't understand 90% of your workm8's.

Are you sure that's 90%?? Lol. Ahhh man I laughed real hard at that.

Aaanyways, go with one you enjoy imho.

[Veho Nex]

Are you sure that's 90%?? Lol. Ahhh man I laughed real hard at that.

Aaanyways, go with one you enjoy imho.

I have 2 english speaking workm8's. The rest talk a mix between spanish and english really quietly and really fast. AND I MEAN REALLY REALLY REALLY FAST

[Csargo]

My experiences with fast food joints wasn't really great, so I'd say go for the computer shop.

[Decker]

I have 2 english speaking workm8's. The rest talk a mix between spanish and english really quietly and really fast. AND I MEAN REALLY REALLY REALLY FAST

I know what you mean. I just wish I passed my spanish class in HS, it really could help around here haha, especially at those types places.

I live in the East Bay btw.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Update on conundrum - conundrum solved. I'm sticking with McDonalds, but not because of the advice some of you gave me, but because of todays experience.

I went to the computer shop today for an interview. I enter, and immediately my jaw drops. It was like going back in time, the computers were ancient. Some of them had faded little signs saying 'new Pentium III 3, special offer!'. There didn't appear to be any management about, except for some old man tottering about the store looking at the computers. Then suddenly he asks me what i want. Then things get even worse - turns out he owns the place. A 70-year old Greek guy (who, as i got to know him, has absolutely no knowledge of computers. He knows the names of the components, but what good is that if you don't know how they work?).

So, he sets me to work fixing 2 computers, to see my aptitude with them. 3 hours later, i've fixed one of them by replacing the hard-drive and then installing windows, only to find it is so buggered that it is stuck in 16-bit color mode with the worst resolution possible and the drivers were lost, and the other computer is utterly buggered, because after much looking about, i found the socket on the motherboard that connects the hard-drive was broken, presumably after it's previous owners had ripped out it's HD. And this was after i'd finally managed to get it power on by replacing the broken PSU.

This second computer was actually quite a nightmare. It wouldn't even turn on, and i figured it was the PSU straight away due to the warning light on it flashing, and the constant click click click it was making. After a lot of persuasion, i got the old man to get me a new one for it. I replace it, turn it on, and immediately jump back in fear as the blue smoke that makes computers work escapes. Then i realise this isn't the blue smoke, but the huge amount of dust that is in the computer being blasted out by the sudden air movement caused by the fans.

To top it all off, seperating the work area from the shop proper was a bunch of ancient filing cabinets he was trying to sell. On top of these cabinets he had other things for sale - crummy old speakers, that sort of stuff. I found among these, a cassette player for a car that was obviously made in the 70's. It sat on top of a faded yellow piece of paper which had the words 'new for only $35'. It was then i decided to leave.

Honestly, that place was a time warp, a nightmare, and general computing hell. The newest computer in there was the one with the broken PSU, and that was about 4-5 years old. The repair area had lots of components, but half of them were ancient and rendered obsolete in the mid 90's. When i looked through a box of hard-drive ribbons (one of them was broken), a cloud of dust arose as i pulled one out that had a plug on it that i'd last seen used on a computer from the early 90's.

Truly shocking.

[Zim]

I had a similiar experience to jkarien's. There were shifts I worked where I was the only employee who spoke English, and a couple years where I and a fellow from India were the only people who worked at the restaurant that were American citizens.

Are you sure that's 90%?? Lol. Ahhh man I laughed real hard at that.

Aaanyways, go with one you enjoy imho.