What are positive reasons to work at McDonalds?

If you stick with it and move up, you will do well financially.

I have seen video’s of their training, the way they treat employees, the way they promote. It seems to be a great company to work for.

Seems silly to me to knock any job, it’s a job. Work is hard to find and any job is a good job.

There is opportunity to demonstrate one is a good employee and get promoted. There is a pretty good advancement and training track. Plus, because it is known, if you get any advancement at all, the next company you go to work for will see that as a bright spot on your resume.

Exactly what @DigitalBlue said.
It’s a job. You just have to make the most of it.

I don’t think anyone should knock down any job. It is a respectable job and hard work. The corporation is huge. You can work your way up to management, to corporate, to be a franchisee. Or, you can flip burgers if that makes you happy. Anyone who does their job well with integrity gets my respect. Unfortuneately, just to acknowledge what you have heard, some people do look down on working at fast food, it depends where you live, your specific community. But, who cares what they think! Try the job, see if you like it. There is always someone looking down on someone else, it is their own weakness and insecurity that makes them do that so they feel better about themselves. It isn’t nice.

It gets you up, showered, shaved and out the door every day. It gives you responsibility, a regular pay check, a small community of people with whom, perhaps, to make friends, and a sense of purpose. A job well done is just that…no matter what the job.

(“To knock down” is not the same as “to knock (a job),” which means “to find fault with.”)

I think it might help you with your people skills, communicating with other employees and customers. And there might be room for a promotion later. Plus, it’s good to have that work experience.

I think having a job that you enjoy and can do well is fantastic for your self-esteem. Plus you would learn about team work and if you work hard, you can take your career further with a company like McDonalds.

You get free fries.

I get a little annoyed with those who knock (as @gailcalled notes) “burger flipping” jobs as unworthy of consideration as “real” jobs. While an entry-level job at McDonalds may not appear to be as sexy as an entry-level job at, say, NASA or Apple, it’s a job.

A job at McDonalds requires adherence to processes (which, believe it or not, do include technology and added complexity as you progress through training and different jobs), quality, safety and health standards, working with other people and the public, and maintaining yourself to be presentable, as well as the workplace. If all you ever do in your life is McDonalds, then maybe it’s not so great (it’s still nothing to be ashamed of!), but working and succeeding at McDonalds will prepare you for all kinds of other jobs, including NASA and Apple, if that’s where you’d rather end up someday.

And the fries are pretty much unbeatable.

My youngest son was offered the opportunity to train for a management position after his second week on the job. He had a years experience with Dairy Queen before the McDonald’s job. Show up for work and do what is asked of you and you’ll be rewarded.

I’ve worked there. They give good hours… They’re very systematic… (for instance, one person will be scheduled to do French Fries all day, while another might be doing burgers and nuggets, while others will be on register all day, etc)

A classic All-American job the harder you work, the faster you’ll rank up.

Prepare for nightmares about all the sounds and timers that go off and all the complaints that will be made and all the crap you will get from supervisors.

God damnit, bob.

Stole my answer.

McDonalds has a reputation for treating their employees well and offering outstanding management-training.

I think every McDonald’s is different because they are franchised and owned by different owners.

I worked at one when I was about 16–17 and had a pretty negative experience. I worked with some very nasty, trashy older women who were just awful bullies to the younger employees. Tried to speak to the manager about it and she was no help. I ended up leaving.

Also this doesn’t necessarily reflect on the company but be prepared to catch hell from customers sometimes if you’re taking orders. Pretty much every type of person goes to McDonald’s from time-to-time and some of them think it’s okay to treat someone like dirt. I was usually on register and drive-thru and I had some 400 lb demonic woman threaten my physical safety and throw her food at me when grill accidentally put pickles on her burger. Not cool, and in retrospect I wish I had called the cops on her fat a**.

Also if I had the choice, I wouldn’t work there again because I don’t believe in the product they sell and I don’t enjoy looking at obese people all day. The one I worked in was in kind of a lower-middle class small town so a lot of people depended on fast food as an actual source of food. I’ll probably get flamed for saying that but I wouldn’t want to be an enabler of the global obesity epidemic in any way.

Having said that, @DigitalBlue made a good point. A job is a job.

I would say that if you’re a people person than McDonalds isn’t a bad place to work, as some of those reasons were mentioned above by others. Distance and convenient locations can be another good reason to work there, considering the price of gas these days along with the fact that there’s likely a McDonalds close to your place of residence.

@FutureMemory Suck it, beeyatch! I’m sure you can come up with other answers.

Directly from there website:
The Benefits
Competitive starting rates plus regular wage and performance reviews to promote skills growth and earning power

Free uniforms

Discounts on McDonald’s food at your restaurant ALL the time

McDonald’s Platinum Card membership, exclusive to McDonald’s employees, for discounts on great merchandise from top national, regional and local retailers and food discounts at your own restaurant

Additional benefits are offered to full-time employees, including group insurance, profit sharing, MCDirect Shares Stock Purchase Plan and more.

@Inspired_2write To add a small annotation to your otherwise excellent answer it should be noted that they don’t discount dollar menu items and you’re limited to a certain number of orders a month. ;)

At least that was the dealio when I worked there almost 10 years ago.

@LeavesNoTrace
This was taken off the Canadian site, maybe it is not the same in U.S or other countries?

@Inspired_2write Canada would likely be more generous than the stingy US. :p

Something else to consider about McDonalds. A McDonalds is rarely prone to shutting down (more likely in a mall) but McDonalds typically buys out a franchise that is struggling and fixes it that way. (In case you were thinking of job security)