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Woman shares her $37.90/hr wage working at Costco and people are rethinking their choices

"So getting a college degree is a scam?"

Canva Photos & Open Grid Scheduler/Flickr

A woman shares her stunning Costco paycheck and has users rethinking their biases.

Some misconceptions just won't die. One of the biggest is that retail and fast food jobs don't constitute real "careers," and are temporary dead-ends meant only for teens or seniors. Let's face it: There's a stigma against what are viewed as lower-level jobs, so much so that working fast food is often used as a PR stunt by politicians to show how "normal" they are or a punishment for criminals.

It really doesn't have to be this way. Imagine a world where an entry-level retail job could turn into a real career, steadily rewarding loyal employees with more and better pay, strong benefits, and advancement opportunities. Imagine if you could get on-the-job training and new certifications that would help you move up the ladder and earn even more money, all with the support of your company. Shouldn't working hard at a job, any real job, give you the right to a pretty good and comfortable life? Is that so crazy?

making money, employment, working, costco job, work Season 2 Money GIF by Sony Pictures Television Giphy

Well, it's not common, but one woman's story shows us that it is possible.

A woman has gone viral on TikTok for sharing exactly how much she earns as a loyal employee at Costco and people can't believe their eyes.

The young woman, who goes by Joce on social media, shared a video breaking down how her pay has changed over the years she's worked at the bulk-retail giant.

According to the video, she was hired in 2018 at a meager but respectable $14 per hour. In one video she jokes she always said it was "just a summer job."

But she stuck around for seven years and counting, and it's not hard to see why. Steady raises each year brought her to a whopping $37.90 in 2025.

This number doesn't even account for Costco's twice-a-year bonuses, benefits, and time-and-a-half pay on Sundays, and would put Joce at just under $80,000 per year assuming a full-time schedule. Not bad for a "summer job."


@thelifeofjoce

loyalty really paid off #costco #paytransparency

Nearly 11 million people watched the video. Commenters were in shock that someone could make so much at a so-called dead-end retail job.

In particular, people who'd spent a lot of time (and money) on advanced degrees just to be struggling with debt and burnt out in their careers were absolutely shook by the revelation:

"just looked at my masters degree and sighed" one user joked.

"Does Costco need nurses" quipped another.

"THIS is why I left teaching after 8 years with a masters degree and never looked back" someone said.

"So getting a college degree is a scam" another person added.

costco, working at costco, good wages, work, employment People are enthusiastic about working at Costco. Giphy

Others shared their own stories from their lives or from people they knew:

"True story.. RN working with me full time and keeping her part time work at Costco since she got paid same or maybe little more. eventually she went back fulltime working for Costco."

"I had a friend who worked [there] over 20 years, her 401K, was set for life. Costco employees, stay forever. Their pictures on the wall. They treat employees great"

While impressive, $37.90 per hour doesn't quite tell the full story. No, the full story is even cooler.

Joce breaks down her pay even further in another video, explaining that she's able to make so much at Costco because she moved into the optics department and became a licensed optician.

In addition to her base rate of $31.90, Joce gets a premium added to her wages. Certain specialist positions get premium pay and some store locations offer additional premiums as well. She also makes $56.85 per hour on Sundays, making for some pretty beefy paychecks.

But lest you think that Joce's optician's license should take away from her success story, think again! In responses to comments on her videos, she explains that Costco helped support her as she worked to get certified as she had no prior experience or training:

"It’s all on the job training and they give you time to study while working!" she writes. "They give you 3 months to study for the first exam (ABO), then up to a year or so to pass the second one (NCLE) to get fully licensed"


@thelifeofjoce

cleared up the confusion and my astigmatism #newglasses #costco #faq

From a young age, many of us are fed the belief that we need to spend four years in college and take on crippling debt just so we can get a degree and give ourselves a shot at a proper "grown up" job.

You know, like an engineer, doctor, generic business-person. These are the careers you're supposed to aspire to have. But there's no guarantee that achieving that dream is going to make you happy just because it's considered respectable.

Over 42 million Americans have student loan debt and the average comes out to just under $40,000. For many, it's impossible to pay off, which can be especially grueling when you find out the career you were chasing isn't as fulfilling or well-paying as you thought it would be.

It doesn't have to be this way. People like Joce are proving that there are other paths to success, and she's not alone. More and more of Gen Z is turning to "blue collar" work because it's viewed as more balanced and stable. If more companies would take care of their employees and pay a fair, living wage the way Costco does, people would have a lot more options.

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Woman who moved from Ireland to Boston shares why the American dream is 'all a lie.'

"I have been bamboozled."

via Kayleigh Donahue/TikTok and Zeeshan Kundi/Pexels
Kayleigh Donahue explains the differences between the U.S. and Europe.

Living abroad is a dream many people have, whether it's spending a summer in a foreign country or packing up their entire life to make the permanent move. In fact, about a third or more of Americans would move to another country if they had the means, and many do. Some estimates show that between 4-5 million non-military US citizens live abroad.

But life is funny, and sometimes these ex-pats come back to the United States for a variety of reasons like family or career, which gives them an extremely interesting perspective when they begin their re-entry.

Take American-born TikTok user Kayleigh Donahue, for example. She's going viral on the platform because of her unflinching take on why it was a mistake for her to move back to the U.S. after spending 4 years in Ireland.

She moved back to the Boston area. Kayleigh moved back to the U.S. from Ireland to make more money, but that didn’t go as planned.

Even though she got paid more, the cost of living was so much higher that she saved less money than she did in Ireland. She also missed the generous number of vacation days she got in Europe as compared to America.

"I have been bamboozled," she begins in the now viral clip with over 600 thousand views.


@kayshaynee

popping off always #americanabroad #usavseurope #movingabroad #livingabroad #europevsamerica #fyp


Many people like Kayleigh move abroad, especially to European countries, for a slower way of life, better work-life balance, more opportunity for travel, or just to see something different. But America is the land of opportunity, right? For some, that promise always beckons, no matter where they go. So even though Kayleigh had an amazing life in Ireland, she wound up moving home to advance her career and make more money.

“Basically, I really got sucked into the American Dream way of living when I was abroad, which is funny because I loved living abroad,” Kayleigh said. “But you know, making more money, that’s enticing. Good job, that’s enticing. It’s not true. It used to be. It definitely used to be. You could come here and make a ton of money, make a great life for yourself. But the younger generation today, in this country — screwed. It’s literally all a lie that is sold to you. It’s such a struggle, and the older generation doesn’t seem to see how much of a struggle it is for the younger generation here.”

In the end, who wants to work harder for a lower quality of life?

“Needless to say, I will most likely be moving back to Europe where 20-plus days of paid vacation a year is literally the law, and I will make less money, but somehow, you know, the cost of living is lower there and I can save more,” Kayleigh concluded the video.

Viewers applauded Kayleigh for coming to the realization:

"Yep, I made the same mistake. Then I realized that people and quality of life are more important than income. Enjoy life!" one wrote.

"Get that. We moved back to US and it was horrible. We moved back to the UK. Happier now was 6 weeks off a year" said another.

"I think there are actually very few people who derive their enjoyment and self-worth from their job. Quality of life is so much more important," another user added.

@kayshaynee

so lucky to live this life🤍 #movingabroad #americanabroad #thenetherlands #europetravel


Kayleigh made good on her promise. As of January 2025, she now lives in Amsterdam with her Dutch husband, and they seem to be loving their life abroad.

A Mercer survey in 2024 put Amsterdam as the sixth best city in the world for quality of life. It's a place with rich culture, amazing public transportation, and a reasonable cost of living to earning potential ratio.

@kayshaynee

I guess I live here now??? #movingabroad #dutchtiktok #amsterdam #americanabroad #internationalcouple

Young Americans really aren't asking for that much. They just want to be able to afford and enjoy their life, and they're willing to work hard for it. America should be giving them those opportunities instead of losing more and more talented young people to other countries.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Gen X is the 'most stressed' generation but studies show they're also the toughest

The 'Coolest Generation' is dealing with the rigors of middle age with their trademark adaptability.

via Wikimedia Commons

Gen X is the most stressed generation, but also the best equipped to deal with it.

It's official: People are more stressed out than ever. Technology, a wildly unpredictable economy, political division, and changing family dynamics have us all on edge, and it's doing a number on our mental health. But there is one group that, for at least the past decade, seems to be taking on more than their fair share of the stress.

Generation X, people born between 1965 and 1979, are America's goofy middle children sandwiched between the much larger Baby Boomer and Millennial generations — both of whom get a lot more press. Gen X prides itself on being individualistic, nonconformists committed to a D.I.Y. ethic whether that means writing a punk 'zine or launching a tech start-up.

(If you just asked yourself "What's a 'zine?" you're clearly not a member ofGen X.) It's a generation marked by an aloof cool where any personal slight can be written off with a "whatever" and one that's deathly afraid of taking anything too seriously. It's a generation that was so put off by the corporate, commercial culture of the '80s it rebelled by wearing second-hand clothes and ironically embracing low-brow '70s culture.

gen x, gen z, millennials, generations, generational differences, culture, 1980s, 1970s, 1990s, childhood, adulthood Gen Xers are a particularly proud generation. Giphy

It's the generation of hip-hop, Tiger Woods, Quentin Tarrantino, the re-birth of punk rock, John Cusak movies, and Atari. Not a bad resume at all!

A big reason Gen X is so self-reliant is that it's the generation hardest hit by divorce. According to a 2004 marketing study it "went through its all-important, formative years as one of the least parented, least nurtured generations in U.S. history."

Gen X was the first generation that experienced both parents working outside the home. But, unfortunately, at the same time, childcare centers and afterschool programs had not yet emerged to a significant extent. That's why you hear so much folklore about 80s kids being allowed to run feral throughout the neighborhood or even the whole time. This is the "come home when the streetlights come on" generation, and it shows.

Now, the "Coolest Generation" finds itself somewhere between 42 and 56 and is hitting middle age. Unfortunately, that means it's now the most stressed generation in America.

Although, in true Gen X fashion, many refuse to let anyone see they're stressed.

An extensive study by Penn State showed that stress began to hit Gen X sometime in the last decade. The 2012 study discovered that Gen X had an average stress level of 5.8 (out of ten) while Millennials (3.4) and Baby Boomers (4.4) were a lot calmer.

gen x, gen z, millennials, generations, generational differences, culture, 1980s, 1970s, 1990s, childhood, adulthood For such a chill group of people, Gen X has to deal with a lot.Eric Nopanen/Unsplash

It's not just the anxieties of hitting middle age. An even more recent study shows that the trend hasn't changed in the last decade as all of the generations have aged. In 2021, 22% of Gen Xers admitted to daily struggles with stress followed by Millennials (17%), Gen Z (14%), and Baby Boomers (8%).

The APA's Stress in America Report from 2023 indicates that Gen Z may be coming for the throne soon, though, with major financial and loneliness issues weighing them down.

gen x, gen z, millennials, generations, generational differences, culture, 1980s, 1970s, 1990s, childhood, adulthood Watch and learn, Gen Z. Giphy

A big reason for the stress is having to take care of multiple generations. Many Gen Xers have to care for their aging parents as well as their children who are just starting to make their way in a world that's become much harder to afford. And that's to say nothing of Gen X's own money worries. Even though they're starting to reach retirement age, many members of the generation are woefully far away from having enough money saved up. One estimate says the average Gen Xer is about $400,000 short of what they'd need to comfortably retire. Talk about a stressor!

Gen X may have aged its way into the most stressful part of its life, but things could be a lot worse. There's no group of people better equipped to deal with stress.

When executives at Nike studied Gen X it found the generation's hallmarks are "flexibility," "innovation," and "adaptability." "They have developed strong survival skills and the ability to handle anything that comes their way," the study says.

Gen Xers may think that's just a bunch of corporate B.S. However, it's true. Gen X grew up during the AIDS epidemic, the end of the Cold War, the Challenger disaster, the late '80s and early '90s crime wave, 9/11, the Great Recession, COVID-19, and managed to survive after "My So-Called Life" was canceled.

gen x, gen z, millennials, generations, generational differences, culture, 1980s, 1970s, 1990s, childhood, adulthood It was a very sad day when "My So-Called Life" was pulled off the air. Giphy

We've survived tough times and we'll make it through these as well. Just got to follow the advice of Gen X's poet laureate, Tupac Shakur: "And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but please, you got to keep your head up."

We can also look forward to grabbing a big box of popcorn and enjoying the massive Millennial meltdown that happens when they hit middle age. It's not going to be pretty.

This article originally appeared four years ago. It has been updated.

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"We need help": Real mailman shares his huge paycheck to help recruit more postal workers

The big number came as a huge surprise to viewers.

Photo credit: Canva
Mailman reveals his massive paycheck to recruit others

People often overlook the "people in our neighborhood" as Mister Rogers would call them. Their presence is so common that we don't always notice them until they're gone for a day or two. These are people like school bus drivers, sanitation workers, delivery drivers, and postal workers. Of course people know they exist and that they're there to do a job but because their presence is sort of in the background of daily life we may not give their jobs much thought.

There's the thought that "someone has to do it" when it comes to the service they provide but sometimes that "someone" is you. Or at least it could be you, especially after hearing how much one of those jobs pays. It's a common misconception that work like sanitation or postal service is menial and low paying, but the truth is that this essential work can be quite lucrative in the right circumstances.

A mailman that works for the U.S. Postal Service decided to share his paycheck with social media in an attempt to help the post office recruit more mail carriers.

The post office continues to have a shortage in mail carriers in certain areas, especially in rural settings. This shortage causes delays in receiving mail and longer hours for current mail carriers. While the post office has been working to fill in the gaps by doing more hiring, it still isn't enough with the large number of USPS workers that are nearing retirement. It seems to be a constant struggle to keep an adequate amount of mail carriers throughout the areas that need them most.

mailman paycheck, mail carriers pay, job market, job hunting, mailman shares check, pay transparency, jobs, economy The pay is good and you get to drive this sweet truck around! Photo by Joel Moysuh on Unsplash

One of the barriers to people applying to the Postal Service may be that they don't know they're hiring since some people may see mail carriers as background characters.

Another concern may be that people are not sure if they can make a livable wage working for the post office, but that's where Lukas' video can help fill in the blanks.

In response to viewers not believing he actually made six figures, the Missouri mailman and TikTok creator shares a screenshot of his paycheck showing he brings home $4,423.09 every other week, which averages out to just over $100K a year.

Being fully transparent, Lukas shares that his paycheck includes 23 hours of overtime due to the extra hours he has to work from being short staffed.

mailman paycheck, mail carriers pay, job market, job hunting, mailman shares check, pay transparency, jobs, economy Nothing warms the heart more than a mail carrier being truly embraced by their community. Giphy

"On one of my previous videos somebody said, 'prove it' on one of my checks, so here's one of my last checks. As you can see, the overtime hours, plus my normal pay all equals up to $4,423...so, and that's for two weeks of work. I'm working too much but if you were to multiply that by 26 weeks that's over $100,000. We need help and the post office pays well," he says.

Lukas reiterates throughout his video that the post office is hiring and they need help desperately but the comments were mixed on if working at the post office was a good move.

@lukasthegiant

We're Hiring and Yes, We Pay Well. In some cases, over 100k!#greenscreen #werehiring #paidwell #tallestmailman #needhelp #getpaid #100k #usps #apply

"I mean he’s technically making 25.00 hourly and $38 for each hour of OT. You’re forgetting the minimum wage in majority of states is 7.25," one person writes.

"Post office is recession safe. Been there 30 years," another commenter shares.

Someone else chimes in, "been working at the post office for 5 years just made regular. it is not easy when you start but once you know how to do it it's a BREEZE."

mailman paycheck, mail carriers pay, job market, job hunting, mailman shares check, pay transparency, jobs, economy US Mail is not for sale, says the postal workers union. Photo by Ethan Hoover on Unsplash

A former postal worker reveals, "I worked there 6 years and had no life. Worked 12 + hrs for 7 days a week. I wasted most of my 20s working. NO THANK YOU!!!!, before adding. "When I started years ago it was $15 an hr when I left it was $25."

To be fair, while Lukas is doing well for himself (and working quite hard for the money), a lot of the mail carrier shortages are being caused in part by wages that don't cover the cost of living in certain areas. So there's definitely room for improvement, and the American Postal Workers Union is fighting for higher pay and better hours all the time.

Did you know that the postal service is a staggering 250 years old? For a good chunk of the last several of those years, politicians and corporations have been obsessed with the idea of privatizing the whole operation and siphoning as much profit out of it as possible.

Just imagine how many billions of dollars private companies could make by charging way higher prices for shipping! The idea may be salivating to investors and billionaires, but not to regular folks who just want to be able to affordably and reliably mail letters and packages.

The American Postal Workers Union has been actively and aggressively fighting against this potentially catastrophic change. Not only would it hurt regular Americans, but mail carriers like Lukas who have carved out a solid and honest career doing essential community work.

The post office seems to be much like any other job. Some people have a great experience working there while others do not, but if someone is looking for a chance at a new career that offers retirement benefits, it sounds like USPS could be a place to land.

This article originally appeared in January. It has been updated.

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