Company: McDonald-s
Date: 2014-11-12
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Junior

A Great First Job Experience, But Beyond That, Not Worth It
Pros: -Lots of hours. They'll work you to the bone if you let them, which leaves you with a nice paycheck every two weeks. 
-Depending on your shift (I worked the closing shift for two years, and the opening shift for two years) the team environment is amazing. Fun, high energy, competitive, silly. Our store was very laid back, and thought it was funny when we answered drive through orders in odd accents. 
-.20 cent raise every 6 months, along with a review of your performance
-Quality training and 90 probation period (plenty of time for you to get to know the place)
-Free food and endless coffee
-If you do well, you get promoted fast. Like 6 months in. You go from Crew, to Crew Trainer, to Swing Manager, and then possibly Assistant Store Manager or Store Manager.
Cons: -If you work over time, you don't get paid over time. They cut your hours for the following week and roll your over time hours into that week to make it look like it all evens out. We actually used to get penalized for working overtime, even though VERY OFTEN our managers would beg us to continue working 3 or 4 hours past our shift. 

-It's extremely difficult to change your shift. Almost impossible actually. I remember several of my coworkers begging to at least be on a rotating schedule, so that they didn't have to close every night, and there was no sympathy from management. I remember asking to be switched to morning shift, and i said to my manager, "I can't remember the last sunset I've seen that wasn't out that drive through window." and I was told, "That's sad." and dismissed. You have to really put your foot down to get your shift changed, and when they do change it, your hours shrink to almost nothing. 

-If you go on vacation, you get replaced. For a full year I worked the morning shift on the weekends. I went to Disneyland and was gone for one weekend, and I never got that shift again. It's that quick. 

-You get quick promotions, but i don't recommend going farther than Crew Trainer. It's just not worth it. Managers only get paid an extra dollar, and they put up with twice the stress of Crew Trainers. You could work for years and get your 6 month raises and eventually work up to a decent hourly pay, but you could also find another entry level job and start out getting paid that much. Great for the resume, great for the experience, bad for a long term career plan.