NoseHair's Blog

My uncle is a garbage man - thoughts?

By NoseHair | View all Posts
Posted Friday, February 20, 2009 03:25 PM   25 comments
My uncle has been a garbage man for 18 years.  Making the daily rounds picking up trash from your driveway.

Best part is: He loves his job!

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life lately (still haven't figured it out) and wondering what it would be like to have a crappy job like that and still be happy.

You make shitty money, and smell like shit at the end of every day.

But he's happy.  How could that be.

Do you guys look down on people who work jobs like this?  garbage men, cashiers, dunkin donuts supervisors, Denny's managers, etc    Do you think you're better than they are?

Any of you guys in this forum work a dead end, low paying job like this?   Just curious.  There must be several of you in this situation. Is it by choice?  Are you happy?

We spend so much time trying to better ourselves in the world, but what if you can find happiness mowing lawns?

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KOAJ says:
02/20/09 03:29PM
they do paulsy...sanitation do very well. not long hours, unionized, government benefits

there's a reason Waste Management is prestigious in NJ
NoseHair says:
02/20/09 03:32PM
Guess it depends on what you consider good money?

And is this the kind of job you could settle into for 25-30 years..


HutchEmAll says:
02/20/09 03:32PM
I have a friend who is a garbage collector....doesn't mind at all and makes decent money.  Not six figures, but certainly enough to live on.  Has to get up at 3:00 a.m., though. 
ABooksNightmare says:
02/20/09 03:33PM
Are you kidding with this? Anybody who is trying to make an honest living is okay in my book. Those that think they are better than them are the people that have real problems. Especially in this economy. A job is extremely valuable.

 

Today I saw a guy panhandling wearing an Orlando Magic jacket and designer jeans with fairly decent sneakers on. Gimmie a break.

HutchEmAll says:
02/20/09 03:33PM
I wouldn't be surprised if they made $20-$30/hr. with solid benefits and overtime and all that. 
andarmac99 says:
02/20/09 03:34PM
Never trust a man in a suit. Lawyers, office workers or some of the boot licking execs we see.

I'd go down the river 1000x with an honest garbage man before some schmuck in a suit.


HutchEmAll says:
02/20/09 03:38PM
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Refuse,_Garbage,_and_Recyclable_Material_Collector/Hourly_Rate

 

NoseHair says:
02/20/09 03:41PM
Low income if you're planning on a family.
ABooksNightmare says:
02/20/09 03:48PM
Than maybe those can not afford a family.....One must think about that before ever thinking of having a family.....Those that don't are usually the first to gripe..
robbie0570 says:
02/20/09 04:18PM

 

at least your open minded

CrusCrnshw says:
02/20/09 04:25PM
I respect a sanitation worker greatly and around me they make very good money. Not like 150k or anything but its a hard job to nab these days.

 

School janitors as well. these people are underappreciated and do a good share of work and a lot of the work no one wants to do.

Ace77 says:
02/20/09 04:25PM



What he said

umgmu says:
02/20/09 04:47PM
THose that do 'work' that most people don't want to do, actually make good money.

 

Trash Collectors do well here in the DC area.

HutchEmAll says:
02/20/09 04:53PM
THose that do 'work' that most people don't want to do, actually make good money.

___________

 

Absolutely.  That's why I don't give them extra props.  Their extra props are in the pay.  They would gladly move along to something else if it wasn't.

ApacheM says:
02/20/09 05:07PM
 All I ask of any man is that he be an asset to society.

 

What he does for a living is not important, as long as he likes

what he does. A firm handshake while looking you in the eye.

 

That man has my vote. A man doesn't have to stand tall, but he

has to stand up.

tob0707 says:
02/20/09 08:49PM

 

Most of them in my area make $10 - $12 per hour, plus all you can eat

BustinPiles says:
02/20/09 08:57PM
Is his motto... Business stinks, but it's picking up?

 

Couldn't refuse. If he is happy who cares 

 

 

cd329 says:
02/20/09 11:03PM

 

KOAJ, you really need to come down off your high horse.  You just bash everybody that belongs to a union. Am sure this isnt a job a guy like you who sits behind a desk all day shuffling papers would ever want, so really layoff the hate towards the people doing these type of jobs.  I cant believe how much you hate the middleclass worker making some money.

Like i have said before i would bet everything i have you are very overpaid in your field of work, but you would never admit that because your to busy knocking others.

If all these govt jobs are so great, why didnt you go out and get one, instead of spending your life behind a desk?

cd329 says:
02/20/09 11:06PM

 

according to koaj, those wages are way to much for doing that job.  Garbagemen should work for 5 bucks an hour with no benefits.  Guy is living in the stone ages. 

Rockdog says:
02/20/09 11:43PM
Trash collectors have to endure 100 degrees weather or vice versa, the freezing cold.  Also, they have to inhale all those toxins everyday, so it's a health hazard.  I have a lot of respect for them.
cowboydave says:
02/21/09 09:10AM

 

Hey,  the 60's are over..get a fucking job!

MWC says:
02/21/09 10:14AM
Shit, you have no idea how many times while stuck in a cubicle, I looked out the window (when I was near a window) and wished to god I had job like that.  No joking.


adamjoe says:
02/21/09 08:20PM
man, if you like what you do, I figure you are better off than 75% of the working stiffs that dread going to work everyday
jerry_garcia1 says:
02/21/09 08:47PM
Far better to be happy and fairly compensated than to be unhappy and paid well.

 

JMO - I'm livin' it right now so I'm not talkin' out my ass but I also realize others might not feel the same way 

Rockdog says:
02/21/09 08:23PM
Working 40 hours a week in an office is boring, regardless if you have a great job.  The only motivation for me to go to work each day is to hook up with a couple of hotties at the office.
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User: NoseHair
Joined: July 2003
Location: Massachusetts
Team: Boston Red Sox
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