Once making $115,000 a year as an IT worker, a TikToker said she now works at Chipotle for $15 an hour and has learned a valuable lesson about setting boundaries in your professional job.
The video came from creator @suburbconvert, bringing in more than 45,000 views over two days since putting it up on TikTok Sunday. In it, the creator sits in her car and shares details about her current situation.
She begins by saying, “I was part of the recent massive IT corporate layoff, and like many of us, I was a top performer that got let go with no notice.”
She then reflected, “All of my family vacations that I took while at that company, I worked while I was on vacation. I brought my laptop and worked because I felt like that would be rewarded in the end.”
@suburbconvert Went from making 115k to $15/hr. And you know what? I recommend babes. #laidoff #layoffseason #layoffvictims ♬ original sound – SuburbConvert
“All of this is to say that if you are so employed, set boundaries. What are they going to do? Fire you? If you don’t set boundaries, they’re firing you anyways.”
She then says, “And if you are a layoff victim, first of all, I’m sorry.”
Then, tugging at the Chipotle uniform she’s wearing, she adds, “And second of all, go get you a $15 [an hour] job rolling burritos. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to afford that luxury, do it. It’s worth it.”
She concludes, “Your mental health and your life is not worth the salary, or the accomplishment of a
Her accompanying caption read, “Went from making 115k to $15/hr. And you know what? I recommend, babes.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment. In 2021, Chipotle announced it would be raising its restaurant wages to an average of $15/hour.
The monologue brought forth some feelings from commenters.
“Insane that corporate trauma has us considering service/min wage jobs as a luxury,” one remarked.
“I love this,” another reacted. “I want to quit my corporate job who’s laid off tens of thousands. And I just want to bartend or barista at this point.”
The creator responded, “Ride it out sissss & get your side hustle and start preparing in the meantime.”
One person latched on to the section about working through vacation and being alarmed by that.
“Never, EVER, work on vacation or go above and beyond at all ever,” one advised.
Commenters also shared their stories about layoffs and their fears of pending layoffs. Since January there have been tens of thousands of layoffs in the U.S. each month, particularly at tech companies, according to TechCrunch.
“These jobs don’t care about you,” another observed. “I also work in IT and I know I can be let go any day now.”
