Woman who left her 'big girl corporate job' with 8-hour shifts claims she earns more working at Domino's

The pay gap between college graduates and high school degree holders has been a topic of debate. While most research points towards college graduates getting paid more by a mile, a woman on TikTok is going viral for claiming the opposite. The user, who goes @c0rynne shared a short clip breaking down how she’s earning more than her corporate job that needed a bachelor’s degree while working at a Domino’s restaurant.

Earning $4 more at Domino's than a corporate job is real

In the six-second clip which has now over 1.4 million views, the creator is seen in her Domino’s uniform, while a highly distorted U.S. anthem mixed in with hawk screeches plays in the background.

In the overlay text, the user wrote that she left her “big girl job” that required a bachelor’s degree to work at the popular pizza chain Domino’s. Sometimes, it's different than this story, as people work on minimum or below-par wages in these corporate chains, like this McDonald's worker. 

The text further reads that Domino’s pays the creator almost $4 more an hour plus tips, and the superiors there aren’t bullies, indicating some kind of bad behavior in the previous job. In the caption, the creator revealed that the previous job was at NBC where she worked 8-hour shifts. The user wrote they learned more at Domino’s than at NBC. "The way I earned more in four hours on a slow day delivering pizza than I did an 8-hour shift working for NBC."

The anthem in the video is supposedly used to mock the job market and wages in America. To this, a user (@star_dust888) added saying that “America is cooked”.

 Meanwhile, the video garnered comments from people with similar experiences in several jobs. One user (@amabearbear) said that their friend left their job as a dental hygienist to work at Amazon because it paid $6 more with raises to follow.

However, some users did point out that the situation was not the same all year. The user (@hallieoopsie) said that they make more than ever while working as a Pizza Hut delivery driver, but the only problem is consistency. The user said it was like “playing a lottery” indicating that there are slow days and good days at the job.

On the other hand, a large number agreed that tipped jobs pay more than the corporate. The comments even influenced some users who said they were rethinking their job situation. One user, (@nobunsbrie) said they work at a nursing home making $11.25 per hour but the comments are making them rethink their “whole life”.

The reality of the pay gap in America

Last year, Axios reported that the wage gap between college grads and high school degree holders has widened more than ever. Citing data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the report found that college grads aged 22-27 working full-time earned $24,000 more per year than their peer age group with only a high school degree.

This gap was $15,000 in 1990 as per the NYFed’s data. Furthermore, the wage gap goes on to double over a worker's lifetime, according to research conducted by economist David Deming which was also published last year.

Despite this, confidence in college education is dropping among Americans according to a survey conducted by Gallup and the Wall Street Journal. This sentiment was evident in the viral TikTok video and its comment section.

For more such lifestyle and entertainment content, follow @c0rynne on TikTok.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on May1, 2024. It has since been updated.