I was a dispatcher/expediter for a large industrial service company towards the end of my career. I worked from 7:00AM- 4:00PM five days a week, no lunch breaks. I made about $65K a year, medical and dental, 401K. Eventually I was laid off at the age of 61 and from what I gather, replaced by a younger worker who was paid less than $65K.
My resume must still be out there somewhere, even though I am now retired. I received an email request from an employment agency to apply for a job as a dispatcher.
For the position I would communicate with a team of service employees who are on the road and assist them with any problem resolution while on route for business services they provided. I would handle incoming service orders, direct drivers, and resolve service issues. I would also have to interact with customers service sales and operational route managers mechanics etc. No, the skills required to complete the tasks do not require a college education. However, they do require multiple skills; organization, time management, customer service, employee management, crisis management, communication, and so on.
Here’s the punchline: Starting salary $17 an hour or $36,000 a year.
At a quick glance, a one bedroom apartment in the area is about $1,500, or half of your wages.
And no doubt the “liberal” media and this employer will report that there is a “labor shortage” and “nobody wants to work”.
The first thing that concerns me is no lunch breaks in your previous job.
Yup, While I was not forbidden to take a break, if there was a customer service issue that went unresolved or any delays as a result of my break, I would be “spoken to” and told to “manage my breaks more carefully”…all code speak.
You should have been assigned a break time and other coverage arranged unless it wasn’t necessary to always have coverage. My experience has been the opposite. I’ve actually had supervisors tell me explicitly to take all 30 minutes of my break even if it takes me only 20 to eat.