15 Pros and Cons of Working at McDonald’s

Working in fast food has its ups and downs.

On one hand, it is a fun environment but also can cause you much stress when dealing with customers or employees.

Learn more about the pros and cons of working at Mc Donald’s (a.k.a. Mc D’s).

Pros of Working At Mc D’s

1. On-The-Job Training

Even though some restaurant positions may require some experience, you can usually start immediately with some on-the-job training at McDonald’s.

You can usually earn money as you learn how to take customer orders, develop sales skills, and keep the place cleaned and stocked.

Although taking some college classes, especially ones in business, could help, you do not necessarily need them to get an entry-level job at McD’s.

By the way, you do not have to always deal with people when working here either.

What is more, you maybe could become a maintenance person or train for management after your employee probation ends (30-90 days).

You can learn how to cook on the job without schooling too.

Your position working on a McD’s grill might inspire you to become a chef. 

2. Flexible Scheduling

Usually, you just have to give your manager a couple of weeks to let you change your work hours if necessary.

For instance, you might need to alter your schedule every semester while in college if your courses are not always on the same time and day.

Likewise, you can arrange your schedule around times when you need to study, want to participate in volunteer activities, or pursue your hobbies.

Some people who have children also pursue fast-food jobs because it leaves them with chances to arrange their work hours.

They can make time for their children’s baseball practice, school concerts, and teacher conferences, for instance. 

3. Advancement Opportunities

If you get a job at McDonald’s, just show up and do not miss a day of work.

Then, take on as many chances to learn as you’re given.

For instance, maybe you will become a shift supervisor or assist other co-workers with monthly inventory counts.

Eventually, you could work your way up to becoming a restaurant manager, especially if you already show signs of fostering teamwork and can delegate tasks.

This usually starts with you showing new employees what to do even before you officially become a trainer.

4. Develop Leadership Skills

Task delegation and teamwork become second nature if you spend some time working in a restaurant and learn your job well.

In the future, you will perhaps either gain management experience or eventually run your own business someday just by working at McD’s.

This starts by realizing as an employee that you cannot do it all on your own, which causes you to learn how to ask other people for help.

When you take this initiative, it shows a sign of leadership because you can see the abilities of other people.

Another way to develop leadership on the job, by the way, is just performing tasks that need to be done without your supervisor telling you to do it, such as restocking the soda cups.

5. Learn Organizational Skills

Your Mc Donald’s restaurant position may teach you how to stay organized both on the sales floor and at your back office or service station.

After all, you might end up having to stock the backroom after the supply truck arrives.

This experience teaches you that every item at a store has its place. 

The same applies to when you work on the grill or when cleaning the lobby, and it especially applies if you are a store opener or closer.

Learning how to stay organized will help you set up and shut down the restaurant in as little time as possible.

Organizational skills also refer to making lists and keeping track of store transactions.

You may do more of this as a supervisor, but you also might have instances at the register of this or when taking supplies for the grill.

Sometimes, you need to record coupons or document how many items you took from packaging material shelves, for instance. 

6. Improve Interpersonal Communications 

Working at McD’s teaches you how to interact with both customers and co-workers, and you can transfer this skill to just about any other job you have in the future.

A restaurant trainer job, for instance, could even land you in a teaching position someday if you spend time training new McDonald’s employees now.

Working in fast food also can help you come out of your shell if you always wanted to make new friends but never had the nerve while still in high school.

You might discover you do not want to sit at home all the time after all even if you originally thought of yourself as an introvert.

Spending time in a position where you have to work with others you would have to do at McDonald’s can be the best thing for you.

It helps both professionally and personally.

7. Develop Sales Skills

Pay attention to the sales campaigns a company uses both in-store and online.

You can later apply those techniques to a future commission-based position that may earn you percentages of every sale.

Maybe you could eventually move to a corporate sales position after spending enough working in and running a McDonald’s restaurant.

This could even lead you to open your own Mc D’s franchise someday.

8. Benefits to Employees (ex: Meal Discounts or Insurance)

You might have different benefits as a full-time Mc Donald’s employee than you would a part-time one, but both types of workers usually have them when working here.

Both full-time and part-time employees usually get meal discounts, for instance.

Some McD stores also might offer paid holidays to part-time workers after they have accumulated a certain number of hours.

Full-time employees might get paid holidays from the day they start or at least as soon as the prescribed time set by corporate.

Full-time employees also usually get health insurance.

They might also have the chance to get dental or life and vision insurance.

Cons of Working At Mc D’s

1. Inconsistent Hours for Part-Time Workers

This does not necessarily apply specifically to McDonald’s but any restaurant.

In case you are wondering, the internal Revenue Service defines full-time as working 30 or more hours per week as of November 2022.

When the Affordable Care Act was first passed in 2010, many restaurants and stores cut employees’ hours to about 24-29 per week.

You would have to accept a full-time position to put in at least 30-40 hours every week.

Even then, you may not always earn overtime during slow periods, such as in the winter, unless the Mc D’s you work at delivers.

Even full-time employees have their hours cut, but they don’t usually work less than the minimum of 30-40 hours required for health insurance purposes.

2. Threat of Closure

The chance of a McDonald’s closing is probably far less than for some lower-rated local restaurants that most people in a city never even heard of.

However, it is not entirely impossible.

It depends on where the restaurant is, such as in the middle of downtown or outside the city’s borders where not many people travel.

You might want to look for a job at a McD’s near the highway or on a busy road if you live in a smaller community.

3. Possible Burnout

Reports across the nation indicate that low pay, lack of opportunities, and no appreciation from people in charge are some reasons people left their positions between 2002-2022.

The financial support received from the U.S. Government after 2020 made this possible—it is like the Great Recession from late 2007, only in the reverse.

You cannot expect the Great Resignation trend to last forever though.

You might have to return to work when you do not want just like you may have had to do in the past.

This includes possibly going back to working nights, weekends, and holidays if retail places end up resuming the hours of operation they had before the pandemic.

Working extra hours also might make you feel tired all the time, and you could end up with back or foot pains.

If you are already working in a fast-food restaurant, and you are tired of it, the Great Resignation may be the best time to change careers.

Do not wait until this period in history ends, or it could be too late – jobs could become sparse again just like during the Recession.

4. Unreliable Co-Workers

A problem that did not just start with the pandemic is unreliable co-workers.

Fast food has always been an industry with a high turnover rate, so guess who gets stuck working all the shifts that the people you work with miss?

You could end up being the one, especially if full time or a manager.

Even as a part-time employee, you might not mind the extra money until you feel obligated to work every shift that someone else misses.

If you do not want to be the next one to become burnt out and quit, you will have to set boundaries and not work more than you can handle.

Besides, everyone should be allowed to see their families or have a life outside their jobs.

5. Questionable Security

A McDonald’s might have security cameras.

However, it is tough for busy employees to pay attention to it during a lunch and dinner rush.

This might feel less safe than an office that requires a keycard, password, or handprint entry.

On the other hand, you could work in the corporate building instead of one of the stores, which has high-security detail.  

6. Crowded and Noisy Environment

McDonald’s can be crowded and noisy, especially during peak hours.

This might drive you crazy after a while.

Once you are done with your shift, you might not even want to talk to your spouse when you get home – probably not at least for an hour.

What is more, hearing your children’s screaming might sound unbearable because of all that time hearing other people’s children at work.

7. Potentially Stressful

In addition to physical burnout, you also may become mentally stressed out.

This may cause migraines and nervous breakdowns.

Make sure you do not take on more hours than you can handle when working at McDonald’s or any other fast-food food job.

Pros and Cons of Working at McDonald’s – Summary Table

Pros of Working At Mc D’s	Cons of Working At Mc D’s
1. On-The-Job Training	1. Inconsistent Hours for Part-Time Workers
2. Flexible Scheduling	2. Threat of Closure
3. Advancement Opportunities	3. Possible Burnout
4. Develop Leadership Skills	4. Unreliable Co-Workers
5. Learn Organizational Skills	5. Questionable Security
6. Improve Interpersonal Communications	6. Crowded and Noisy Environment
7. Develop Sales Skills	7. Potentially Stressful
8. Benefits to Employees (ex: Meal Discounts or Insurance)

Should You Become a McDonald’s Employee? 

It is not uncommon for people either in high school or who have recently graduated to work at McDonald’s.

For them, it may be their first experience learning how to deal with people in a professional environment. 

Not everyone who works at McDonald’s makes a lifetime career out of it.

However, if you become a general manager, you could make an average yearly salary of $55,410 without ever having to attend college. 

Other perks of Mc D’s management positions include profit and commission sharing, stock options, and cash bonuses.

Some managers end up generating more than $200,000 per year of revenue after putting in enough time.