"So, what else do you do?"

The older I get, the more I get people asking me this question when I am serving them. Usually while making idle chit-chat as I am boxing up their leftovers.

"So, do you do anything besides this? Are you in school or anything?"

This to me sounds like: "You know waiting tables isn't a real job, are you in the process of getting into another field or are you just a gigantic loser?"

Well back in the day I was able to say "Oh yes, I am in school" and then "oh, I just recently graduated and I'm just taking some time to save up some money, then maybe more school."

Now, it has been almost three years (Oh.my.god) since I graduated with my bachelors degree in social work, and here I still am, plugging away at the Italian Restaurant. Sure, I have moved cities three times, so at least I am not a townie, but still, I am not impressing anyone. Even many of my coworkers have asked "If you have a degree, why do you work here?"

Ah, the age-old question "why would you want to be a server in a restaurant when you have a degree?" I was actually pondering this last night at work as I sat around for two hours and did absolutely nothing (literally, nothing) because it was so slow. I had a conversation with a coworker who also has a degree and just still works at the Italian Restaurant.

Not to burst the bubble of those of you who are in school and serving, but you aren't going to be able to make more money, or even as much money, after you graduate and get a "real job" unless you are really really lucky. Take my major, social work. This is one of the most overworked and underpaid professions around. If I were able to find an entry level job case managing, I would be making probably around $11 or $12 an hour, compared to right now when I get between $15 an hour on a really slow night and $50 an hour on an amazing night. I wouldn't be able to pay my bills with the money I would make at a "real job."

There's also the flexibility. you can generally work as much or as little as you want. Don't want to work your shift tonight? Text everyone and there is a pretty good chance someone will pick it up for you. Need extra money? Pick up some more shifts. If you really bust your ass and work 35-40 hours a week (keep in mind serving shifts are only 5-6 hours so that would mean working about 7 shifts, so either 7 days of work or multiple doubles), you could be making up to 40 grand a year. That's a pretty sweet deal, especially if you are single and just have yourself to worry about.

There are of course, the multiple multiple downsides. People treat you like crap every day, if you want to make good money you need to work nights, which means your friends or significant others with "real jobs" don't hold the same schedule as you, you always have to work weekends, no one respects your job, they think it's lame, you have times where you bust your ass and don't make good money, it's a bit unpredictable.

However, bottom line is that a lot of us would be taking a MAJOR pay cut, like possibly half of our annual salary, if we went and joined the 9-5 work force. I still wish I could do it. I would take the pay cut if I could still make ends meet. Have dinner with my man every night. But it's just not in the cards for now.

So the next time someone asks you "what else do you do?" tell them you are a secret agent for the FDA cataloging the ratio of waistline expansion to bread stick consumption, and that they have given you some excellent data, fuck you very much!