The Corporate Ladder

Nickel and Dimed was one of the first nonfiction books that I couldn't put down. Wrapped in some poetic notion of getting a waitressing job, living in a shack, and reading novels for the rest of my life, I was shocked to learn the impossibility of this, that people working as waitresses, housekeepers, and Wal-Mart clerks were not making enough to buy food for dinner and lunch let alone novels to read in their spare time. In fact, their spare time was probably spent collapsing in exhaustion in little apartments where heat and air conditioning were less than adequate.

After reading the book, I realized that I'd been groomed for college, for graduate school, and for a successful job since pre-school. For most semi-intelligent, middle-class family members, college is the next step after high school, and students feel confident that what lies in store for them is a copy of their parents life, middle-class comfort, reputable work.

But Bait and Switch unmasks this myth. The book shows the difficulty of those who thought they were living the corporate dream. Unemployment, desperation, and dissatisfaction with themselves.

I felt guilty, before reading this book, that I didn't plan on ever having a "real job" after college, but now I've realized that I took the best course--investing in myself, not the corporate world.

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