I've gotten this question more than a few times when involved in discussions or debates (mostly about politics) over the last 15 years that I've run the ol' burger shop.
And, I mean, what can I say? I am a burger-flipper. No point in trying to deny that or elevate myself above my stature. Better to maybe change the mindset about what it means to be a burger-flipper.
I've always thought of myself as being pretty smart. I did well in school mostly without really trying and goofing off a lot, yet I still got good grades through HS and college. I was always a little shocked when people would tell me how I was smart because I just felt normal. At some points in school, I tried to downplay being in AP classes or to hide getting a good grade from other kids because I worried they would think I wasn't cool. Silly, right?
I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after HS, from '87-'91. I graduated with a Political Science degree. My intention going into school was to study politics, which I was always interested in, as a precursor to going to law school, but at some point I lost interest in pursuing a career as an attorney.
Since I was enjoying my time at school and liked what I was studying, though, and since I didn't really know what I wanted to do, changing course halfway through didn't make a lot of sense, so I decided to finish up my four years, graduate, and then figure it out.
I worked a few restaurant jobs along the way and eventually, I ended up going to culinary school nights and weekends while working a day job and that's how I ended up here.
Flipping burgers. Managing burger flippers flipping burgers, at least.
The irony, of course, of a guy with a BS in Political Science flipping burgers for a living is multi-faceted. Is it a indictment of the failed liberal arts college educational system? Maybe. I've never held a job that I needed my degree to get or do. But I also wouldn't be the same person that I am if I hadn't gotten my degree. Most of my fiercely-held personal values come from what I studied during that time and all the thinking I did around everything I was reading; Voltaire, Vonnegut, Locke, Rousseau, Robbins, Kerouac, Kundera, Kesey, Plato, Socrates. I was grappling with the big abstract issues like human nature and the meaning of life.
Those formative years when I was doing all that Big Thinking informs every decision I make today and every process or policy involved in making the restaurant run day to day. How I treat people, the choices I make of what items to purchase, which vendors to use, how much time and labor cost I choose to spend on one task or another...all of those things contain thousands of tiny decisions made or options taken every day that draw from the institutional belief systems I internally wrote for myself back then.
That's a big part of why I love what I do so much. Because I have the opportunity to live my personal values and principles out through my work. It's a blessing--a luxury, even--that I do not take for granted.
The hackneyed cliche of citing "burger flippers" as the go-to example of minimum wage mindless drone entry-level workers and being a job that anyone with a working pulse can get and do isn't going away. I've made my peace with hearing it tossed out. And, sure, it's an easy 'dis in a debate about politics when things get heated with someone who knows what I do for a living.
I'll take it. Burger-flipper and lifetime seeker of knowledge extraordinaire here! Still grappling with and trying to understand the Big Questions of Life. I may not ever figure it all out, but at least I'll eat good while I'm trying!
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Just missed you there at U of I then! Maybe the Murphy Burger was an inspiration?
Hah! I always got the chicken sandwich at Murphy's!
I lived in Evanston while I was in medical school from 2009-2012. I loved going to Edzos and went whenever I could afford it. It was always a nice treat and always liked engaging with you when you worked the register. We were there often enough that you knew us and it always felt like you took good care of us when we were there.
I moved away after but I always told folks to take a trip up to Evanston when they traveled to Chicago to grab the best burger and fries in town.