- 'Job misery' index: 88.6 - Median pay: $17,800 - 'High meaning' score: 28% - 'High satisfaction' score: 48% There are plenty of reasons not to want to work in the fast food industry, least of all the way you smell at the end of a shift—like the food you have been cooking. Most fast-food places also don't give their employees, including cooks, time off for the holidays, nor do they receive benefits.

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