Dealing with a job you hate?

[StarryNightshade]

I'm in college and I receive monthly financial aid that, not only pays for my classes, but also gives me a tiny bit of extra spending money. About 14 months ago, I got a part time job in retail to earn more spending money. At first it was fine, I enjoyed going to work and never had any issues.

Then January 2012 came around.

I was hired as a seasonal worker and was trained as a sales associate. I got about 16 hours of overall training, with maybe less than 1 hour of that being cashier training. The rest was sales floor training. After the holiday season was over, I was hired permanently; but it was as a cashier. I NEVER get non-cashiering shifts anymore, even though that was what I was trained in.

Then there are my supervisors. I have made some mistakes that were 100% my fault and I understand why I got in trouble for them. However, I have a feeling that they think I'm functionally retarded. One example is sometimes hearing them say things like "You don't need to turn on your lane light when requesting change" under their breath. Even though the computer screen says "turn on lane light".

Then there was the time I clocked in and they told me to take lane 6. I did, but there were almost no bags at my lane, so I went to another lane to take a few. Then I heard my supervisor say "No Chris, I said take lane 6" and she said it like a person would scold a two year old. There are other instances, but these are the ones that come to mind.

I don't know; I technically don't NEED this job, but it is nice to earn your own spending money. It's gotten to the point where I'm actively looking for a new job, but no one is hiring. I want to quit, but I don't know how it would reflect on me. I've thought about taking a Education leave of absence or maybe applying for a temp agency.

It also doesn't help that I make only $7.50 an hour and get NO benefits (no sick days, no vacation days, health coverage, etc).

 

[MysticSang'ha]

The sad truth is that most part time work out there is no fun. You'd be hard pressed to find part time jobs out there that doesn't include annoying supervisors, doing work you weren't primarily trained in (but did get some training in), or where your "training" is on-the-job.

I worked in food service for many years. More than a few jobs I was hired to do had no training at all, but I was given a menu, an apron, and whatever shirt I had as my uniform, told to put them on and serve their customers the first day. Consider that as much as you would have liked to receive training for your current job, that you've gotten hands on experience and had to figure much out on your own and/or with your co-workers and supervisors. That also speaks volumes on a resume.

As far as I'm concerned, if you're talked to like you're 2 years old, that's all together not that bad. It's when you're asked to stay more than 40 hours a week on a consistent basis, shortening your breaks (or not letting you get lunch at all during 8-hour shifts), and not paying you what you've rightfully earned is when you ought to raise hell.

 

[Pastadamus]

To be honest, it doesn't sound like it's worth it for $7.50 an hour. When I was in college I worked as a cashier in the cafeteria, and made $8.50 an hour and that was over 10 years ago. I suggest finding another job if you can, and then turning in your resignation.