ENTRY LEVEL’S BENEFITS

James Meadows • May 29, 2018

When Bill Simon was Walmart’s CEO, he defended low-paying jobs in the retail sector by emphasizing that these jobs are the initial step in many people’s careers (“Quoted” Bloomberg Businessweek 1/21/13–1/27/13, p. 21):

“ Just about everyone started out in an entry-level job. I did, and I bet you did. My first job was as a dishwasher in a restaurant for $2.10 an hour. It wasn’t a great job, but it was a great first job. ”

My first job was as a hospital janitor for $2.14 per hour. That was a pretty good wage for a high school kid back in the day, especially considering minimum wage at the time was around $1.65 per hour. So, although Simon’s statement makes me chuckle, more importantly I love Simon’s statement for four reasons:

1—No Free Lunch. Especially for teenagers and others new to the workforce, Simon’s statement reminds us that the proverbial free lunch is a mirage. Anything of value in this world will be things for which you work. (Granted, occasional providential gifts arise, but that is not the norm.)

2—Start Means Start. An entry-level job is exactly that—entry level. It is where you start. Whether you remain there is largely up to you. Nevertheless, we all have to start somewhere, and for most of us that means entry level.

3—Opportunity Abounds. By virtue of working an entry-level job, you quickly realize many additional opportunities exist for those with special skills, training, experience, ambition, and education. This results in a mindset transformation from “I’m stuck in this entry-level job” to “Wow! Look at all the cool things I can do with my future!”

4—Incentives Are Good. While I do believe the love of money is the root of all evil, I also believe money must be acquired and managed well so we may accomplish those things we are called to accomplish. Therefore, money itself to a certain extent is a direct incentive because it enlarges our ability to accomplish, which is the ultimate incentive.

I understand many people like to bemoan and mock entry-level jobs. It’s about time we recognize their value and benefits. And since it doesn’t appear we have yet arrived at Edward Bellamy’s socialist utopia (Looking Backward: 2000–1887) where everyone makes the same wage regardless of occupation, entry-level jobs are here to stay. I appreciate them for what they built into my life, and for what they built into the lives of millions of workers.

DEGREE OR NONDEGREE, THAT IS THE QUESTION

By James Meadows • September 7, 2025
Is a college degree still worth the investment? It depends of the path you craft.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: TAMING THE TIGER

By James Meadows • August 12, 2025
You need to give serious thought to taming the tiger before you are in its cage.

HOW I EMBRACED A 2020 LAYOFF TO CAPTURE A NEW LIFE SEASON

By James Meadows • June 8, 2025
My transparent reflection about my five-year post-layoff experience, how I navigated it, learned through it, and identified some wisdom that might inspire others.

GAME OF THRONES LEADERSHIP LESSONS

By James Meadows • June 29, 2024
The earliest days of this series present fundamentally significant leadership content.

FIDELITY TO SCIENCE

By James Meadows • August 22, 2023
What we should expect from fidelity to science.
Honesty, honest, honestly

A BETTER WORD THAN HONESTY

By James Meadows • August 9, 2023
We explore the overuse or inappropriate use of the words "honest," "honesty," and "honestly." Much of the overuse or inappropriate use of these words is in contexts that intrinsically message the audience that the speaker is not trustworthy. I call the overuse or inappropriate use of these words in this context HONESTY VALIDATORS because the speaker believes they validate the truth being spoken. We need a solution to this problem. My solution is to replace these honesty validators with CLARITY VALIDATORS. Instead of trying to be honest, try to be clear. Replacing "honest," "honesty," and "honestly," with "clear," "clarity," and "clearly," produces significantly more benefit to the speaker and to the audience.

WHEN THE ORIGINAL IS NOT THE BEST

By James Meadows • August 7, 2023
It's the real thing alright!

MY 30-YEAR PC SAGA

By James Meadows • May 30, 2023
Reflecting on 30 years as a PC user.

GRAVELY EXPENSIVE YET UNDENIABLY VALUABLE TRAINING LESSONS

By James Meadows • July 26, 2020
What the Boeing 737 Max crashes teach us about training, corporate culture, and communication.

MILLENNIALS AND GENERATION Z FAVOR HIGHER EDUCATION

By James Meadows • August 13, 2019
Although anyone can and will criticize higher education, millennials are evidently smart enough to know its value. In spite of the horror stories about student loan debt, academic disasters, and wrong career turns, millennials have boasted one of the highest graduation rates of any generation to date. Generation Z may soon surpass them too as Laura A. Scione, managing editor of eCampus News reports : “ Despite growing questions around the value of college and return on investment in tuition, just 25 percent of Generation Z students say they believe they can have a rewarding career without going to college, compared to 40 percent of millennials. Eighty percent of Generation Z respondents and 74 percent of millennials agree that college either has a fair amount of value, is a good value, or is an excellent value. Only 20 percent of Generation Z students and 26 percent of millennials said college has ‘little value’ or ‘no value at all.’ ” Good for them! The statistics remain on their side—and the side of anyone who pursues higher education. Anthony P. Carnevale is the director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Based on his research, that trend will only continue (Gillian B. White “Those Savvy Millennials” The Atlantic , May 2015, p. 38): " In 1973, 32% of jobs did not even require a high school diploma, 9% required a bachelor’s degree, and 7% required a master’s degree or higher. It is projected that by 2020, 12% of jobs will not require a high school diploma, 24% will require a bachelor’s degree, and 11% will require a master’s degree or higher. " Derek Newton wrote an article entitled “Please Stop Asking Whether College Is Worth It” in which his opening declaration gets right to the point: “ Colleges and universities are still the best, most direct path to a good career that pays well. ” In addition to those insights, the unemployment figures consistently reveal the enduring value of higher education. The seasonally adjusted July 2019 unemployment rate for persons not having a high school diploma is 5.1% ( Bureau of Labor Statistics ). Having a high school diploma drops that rate to 3.6% and some college or a two-year degree drops it further to 3.2%. Pretty good trending, would you agree? Finally, if we look at people having a four-year degree, a graduate degree, or a doctoral degree, the unemployment rate is a low 2.2%. Higher education’s edge is especially clear when you consider the range of these numbers over the education level. Look at the two ends of the spectrum: less-than-high school (5.1%) versus a four-year degree or higher (2.2%). Consistently, regardless of the measured time, the unemployment rate for a less-than-high-school-educated worker is two to four times larger than for the college-degreed worker. This is why, when people seek my counsel about career planning, higher education remains one of my most significant emphases. Education pays. Degrees still rock. Regardless of how good or bad the economy is, regardless of how many individual academic and career disasters can be cited, and regardless of how loudly the antidegree crowd howls, you are still in a better position having a degree than not having a degree. The good news for the millennials and Generation Z is that they have arrived at the same conclusion and now they will enjoy the benefits.