I think that a good education is very important. I believe that it makes you more valuable. I know that many people become very wealthy and successful without a good education, which leads to my poll.

I really want my wife to go to school, study hard and get a good education. But she keeps pointing out that she could make good money working retail. Now I worked retail for about 4 years (give or take a year). This was about 7 years ago when I worked my last retail job.

My salary was $8.50 plus cost of living which came to about $10 an hour. Position was retail sales/shift manager for a software retail store. The store manager made about $15 max (I don't think it was that much though.

My wife tells me that the assistant manager at her store just got hired at a shoe store as the store manager bringing in $30 an hour without a college degree. It seems rather high to me, but maybe that's the going rate.

He's making $10,000 more than my youngest brother who just started working at Deloitte & Touche after graduation from Cal. Something doesn't add up. So then I'm told that many store managers make $90,000. So now I ask myself... am I in the wrong profession? Was college a waste of my time?

Oh yeah... the poll part.
How much do you make in retail or how much did you make retail?

 

yeah many ppl view retail as a dead end job and generally it is, however u got to realise that retail has changed over the yrs and the fact that someone makes more in retail then ur graduate brother isn't too hard to believe.
in Oz graduates get paid jack but this increases as they stay within the "rat race" while retail won't see such dramatic increases.
also being the boss in retail is a helluva lot betta then being a worker in retail, also u gotta see if commisions r linked to the pay structure.
but store managers getting $90k US, very hard to believe even when i convert it to Oz dollars but u never know.
plus ur wife may love the customer interaction side of retail which some ppl don't.

 

For you, it's all about the money . You really need to think about her needs and wants a little more.

right, I tried that shit. It didn't work for me. My wife wanted the MEDICAL field. I told her she could make more doing .... Now after 4 years, she's of the medical field

 

it isn't hard to believe that a retail store manager for any of the larger chain stores can make $90,000+. Some of the well run stores make a TON of money and much of that is attributable to the management in that store. Over the last several years, perhaps even the last decade, many retail organizations have realized that and pay their managers accordingly.

As mentioned above there is typically performance bonuses that are included which helps to drive the compensation up.

 

I think I could see $50K or $60K even...but $90K? There are a lot of top engineers that aren't making that much.

I can see the manager of a GROUP of stores making that, but a single store? Not seeing it.

Tell you what - show me more than a handful that are making that and I'd believe you. Otherwise, I'd have to say that they're a very rare group of individuals and that kind of money isn't generally to be found in a retail store.

 

You have to see how long it takes your youngest brother to get to 90k and how long it takes someone to be a retail manager.

Schooling is great for the reasons you mentioned, but it isn't for everyone.

Making alot of money does not = happiness. It does make life easier and hence different, but of course that's at a price. In the end it's happiness that matters.

 

s2k fan, like you've said, your brother just started working at DTT and look how much he's earning. I doubt the shoe sales manager would go any further than his $90k at the moment unless he or she chooses to fully utilise the skills learnt so far.

I don't know where I've heard this before. "money isn't everything. A guy with $10 million isn't any happier than a guy with $9 million".

Making a lot of money of course does not bring happiness, but some people unfortunately equate lots of money means longer working hours, etc. It doesn't have to be 'at a price'.

Hope I can put my theory into practice when I finish my damn postgrad!!

 

I think the retail industry is so broad it's hard to get a realistic answer to your question. A salesperson or even just store manager isn't going to make near $90k in most stores. However, there are car salesman that make boatloads of cash. There definently is a demand for good salespeople ALL the time. If she has good sales skills she doesn't necissarily have to stay in retail either. All companies need people to sell what they are providing. If she likes selling, she probably is good at it, might be worth it to see where it goes. People have different strengths and it takes a braver person to go against the norm and go with your strengths. It just so happens that I didn't go to school and took a chance on starting my own company a few years back, it worked out for me. When I was deciding whether to discontinue school and start the company the deciding factor was my lack of family. While it is possible to take chances later on in life, I wouldn't feel responsible if I had taken such a risk with a kid and family. While my dreams do include being successful, my number one priority has always been family. In the end money was an issue, but there were more important factors involved with my decision. Getting your priorities in order is always a good idea when making career decisions if you ask me. I revisit mine often.

Just my thoughts and good luck to you and your wife no matter what you decide.

Rice

 

Retail can be great. Our highest paid manager made $300,000 Canadian last year, and our company is still fairly young.

 

For some it is all about the money... for argument's sake let me pose this question: If you won the lottery, would you still feel obligated to gain a good education, and go to college/university, or would you say "Well, I already have enough money to last me the rest of my life, there's really no point"...

For me, knowledge is an asset that cannot be measured by $ signs, but to others, you don't necessarily have to be booksmart to be successful, which is true in some ways... I'd still advocate going to college because it opens so many doors and oppurtunities that weren't there before...