Company: McDonald-s
Date: 2014-11-17
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Junior

McDonald's is not as bad as one would expect. Work hard and everything else will work itself out.
Pros: (I worked for a corporate McDonald's, so this may not all be true for franchises).
First off, you will get a paid orientation time (which will result in back pay on your first check). You are automatically given 2 shirts and 1 pair of pants for free when you start. One of their main goals is to put the crew first, this means that crew is given mandatory breaks after working a certain length of time, crew gets a flexible schedule so they can change their availability as needed and they can take off when enough notice has been given (typically at least 2 weeks). There is also raises every 6 months that can vary from 0-35 cents (depending on your work ethic). The more flexible your schedule, usually the more money you will start out making. Another pro is you are always busy, you are never bored. There is always something that needs to be cleaned, a customer that can be helped, or something to stock. It is a great first job, and it will get you customer service experience and cooking experience.
Cons: The biggest cons I saw while I was employed here was McDonald's is open on every holiday, and it is very very difficult to get any holiday off. Only 4 crew people are guaranteed the day off out of 60+ people. Which if you're a manager, it is very unlikely you will be given any holiday off. Also, if you're looking to get a paid lunch break, you are out of luck. You are required to be off the clock for at least 22 minutes if you work 5+ hours. If the shift is short handed, each person working will need to work to compensate for the missing people. When the shift is short handed, customers typically become angry and will yell at the first employee they see. This can make the job very stressful. Also the place is never clean, no matter how hard you work to keep it clean, it will always end up dirty again within the hour.