Work is not a wolf: why in America there are no shameful lessons - ForumDaily
The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
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Work is not a wolf: why in America there are no shameful lessons

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Work is the cornerstone of immigration, the measure of success in moving to a new country, what feeds, gives a roof over your head and allows you to respect your own reflection in the mirror. “What will I do there?” - perhaps this is the question a person asks himself first of all, when the thought of changing his permanent place of residence is just emerging in his head. The coveted green card is still oh so far away, but the frightening inevitability of the need to look for a new job in a new place - here it is, nearby. Forward-thinking people are trying to map out their immigration field long before they step off the ramp at JFK Airport. But in practice, few succeed. And not everyone is ready for the fact that their first American job will be very far from the one they dreamed of while at home. But the choice has been made, the Rubicon has been crossed, the immigration officer has already slapped a stamp on your passport about crossing the US border. Welcome to America – and look for a job now!

“America is the fairest country in the world!” This phrase, in the company of mutual friends, was uttered many years ago by my old friend who returned to visit his native Kharkov five years after emigrating to the United States. I remember well, with what surprise we looked at each other then. It took me two years to live here in order to understand exactly what he had in mind. The first work of the same friend in the United States was the construction. A financial analyst, owner of a small printing business at home, after moving to the United States for six months worked as a laborer in a team of builders. At that time he knew English very badly, he was not accustomed to work with his hands, so it was hard and could not do without incidents. So, once, having misunderstood the boss's order, he dismantled a completely new window in the house instead of an old one that had to be replaced. My friend was paid 20 dollars per hour - that was more than ten years ago, and he called his work fair for someone who just came to a foreign country. Over time, my friend found a job as a financial analyst in a large company, he earns about a hundred thousand a year, and is quite pleased with the way his career has developed in the United States. It was he who revealed to me the truth about which, in fact, this essay.

In America, there is no shameful work. There are jobs for which they pay more or less and which are more or less suitable for you. That's itas the Americans say.

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My first job in New York was the transportation of antiques. I remember very well the very first shift - I had to take a truck with pictures from Brooklyn to New Jersey and unload it there. The weather was beautiful, the pictures were light, and the boss paid 12 dollars an hour, including the time spent on the road. Then it seemed to me "easy money". And I didn’t even think that I, a TV journalist who was quite successful in the past, somehow had no need to unload trucks. Even with pictures. On the contrary, there was a certain courage from the need for such a “downshifting”, which was also very well paid. It was then that I learned the main truth of the American emigration. There is no bad work. About the same as there is no bad English. You understand what they say to you, you can explain yourself, even contrary to the rules of grammar - it's ok. You need money to survive under the American sun - you can earn it. And no one will reproach you with the fact that your work is not too prestigious. Yes, this world is cruel, but fair in its own way.

The inscription that I saw on a van of some plumber in Brooklyn - "your shit - my bread and butter". I am sure readers will translate themselves.

Emigrating is like starting to live again. Therefore, of course, most people want to receive from their new homeland not only a full refrigerator, a cozy house with a back yard, a good credit rating, but also professional recognition. Be it your own small business or a newly acquired profession. And on the way to this achievement, every step is a plus on your resume. Even if it is the work of a loader or plumber. It is no coincidence that in the mega-popular American TV series Friends, one of the characters proudly talks about the fact that he had to work as a bartender for some time, and he still remembers how to prepare some cocktails. By the way, bartending is a pretty good and respected job in New York. Tested for myself.

When I lived in Ukraine, the answer to the question “what are you doing,” when I met, almost everyone spoke about a person. Not without exceptions, but, as a rule, the occupation allowed us to clearly define the social stratum, degree of education, ambition, and even to some extent the character of a person. In the US, everything is different. Perhaps, because here they do not work in the usual sense of the word for the post-Soviet space, but “make money”. And the person is rather characterized by how much and how persistently he makes them. And not exactly how. Here, in response to "I am a truck driver," you will hear "cool, good work, good money," and not "hard, probably, well, well, it happens."

Here a waiter or bartender in a good restaurant can earn a decent amount and absolutely not consider himself a “servant”. And the owner of a cart with hot dogs in Manhattan provides for a family without any problems and sets aside children for college.

Here, in the order of things, even with a good and normally paid work, to earn a few hours a week in his spare time in a taxi or eatery. And such a person is respected for the ability to "spin" and the desire to "make money." Proverbs like “work is not a wolf, will not run away into the woods” or “work, do not be afraid of me, I will not touch you” in the United States even theoretically could not appear. Here “time is money”, “service calls” and the like. At the same time, I repeat, society respects the hard-working. Even if after a work shift, the shirt can be squeezed out, and under the nails there are black crescents. And this is true. First of all, in relation to those who ventured to buy a one-way ticket.

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Many years ago in Brooklyn there was a special place where the unemployed gathered in the early morning. There came people who needed labor for a day or a few hours, on the spot they agreed to pay and immediately went to work. Such a labor market in the literal sense of the word. Today, he was replaced by ads in newspapers, social networks, help groups for newcomers, and other scientific and technological advances. The main principle has not changed. If you really need a job here and now - you will find it. Doing it will have to sweat, but at the end of the day you will receive the promised "fee", and none of your relatives or friends will look askance at you. Yes, this job will not make you a millionaire. But she is at least a little step, but still bring the cherished American dream closer. And provide you with bread and butter. No shitas they say in america.

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All of the above - of course, not a dogma. But it is checked on itself and tested on personal experience. Looking ahead, I admit that I am as far from 100% professional realization in the USA as the vast majority of recently arrived immigrants. But I already managed to find something to do here, which I consider to be quite worthy, and which, apart from shelter and food on a plate, brings a certain sense of satisfaction. But this is another story. The story of how a professional journalist became a sales representative for a bread company. To be continued.

Miscellanea work in the USA loudspeakers Editor's Choice
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