Photo: ArTono/Shutterstock/Reddit
Would anyone want to work for free?
By Sanika Nalgirkar — Written on Feb 04, 2022
A Reddit users have been posting ridiculous job advertisment on the "Choosing Beggars" subreddit and asking how these "beggars" can be so picky!
One such advertisement included an offer of a so-called "reduced room" in San Diego at just $600 a month — but there's a catch.
The ad wants someone to pay rent while working for free as a live-in nanny.
The post states that the renter "must be able to care for my 7 year old."
The person would be required to clean the home, pick up the child from school at 3:15pm and babysit them until 2:30am. All while still somehow managing to scrape together $600 for rent.
As many commenters pointed out, rent is at an all time high in San Diego so the advertisment appears to even further exploit desperate renters.
The post also says that single mothers are eligible to take the room — another thing people on Reddit took issue with.
"I'm sure there will be a desperate young single mom willing to take this. That's what bothers me the most about this post "single mama okay" they know who they are trying to target," wrote one person.
"Agreed. Especially with those hours they are asking," another responded.
"And they throw that ‘single mamas ok’ because it’s like killing [two] birds with one stone, 'might as well raise my kid since you’re already caring for yours.'"
Another similar, and equally ridiculous, job posting was shared on the Reddit thread.
It's a job advertisement about a person wanting a caretaker. However, the potential employee should have a source of income.
The person is unwilling to pay the employee for their service as the ad says, “MUST BE SELF FUNDED” and “MUST BE SELF CONTAINED”. If that wasn’t clear enough, the advertisement further states, “NO WAGE”.
In other words, the person wants someone to work for them for free. However, the person is willing to offer the necessities, that is “power, water and bathroom”.
After reading this post, internet users had many questions about it. The Reddit user has specified a few things in the comments section.
“Judging by the "must be self contained" It means must have your own accommodation. Also self funded, meaning you have to pay to take care of someone lol!”
They further mentioned they called the number listed on the advertisement and found out more about the job.
“Called the number, Old lady lives on a farm, wants someone with their own accommodation like a van or caravan and own income to do tasks for them and look after them and the land.”
The old lady wants someone to take care of her but is unable to pay them. Assuming the lady is quite old and lives alone, it would make sense that she is unable to pay a living wage.
Some internet users are surprised at the advertisement.
Many users are stating how desperate the lady is and how this is an unfair agreement for the employee.
One user said, “Does it never occur to them how even the most desperate people will not take up this kind of offer???”
Another user wrote, “If they offered to let them live in the house I'd say this was a reasonable offer but you have to provide your own housing. She is basically offering a parking spot and some utilities.”
There are also many users who understand the lady and are justifying her requests.
As she is an old lady, many people can see where she is coming from. She might not have many options and is probably desperate to find help.
One user wrote, “I think so many older people are in this position, it is sad.”
One user mentioned how parking for RVs or vans are quite expensive and this deal isn’t too bad for them.
“Suits someone who. Lives in an rv/van fulltime and just needs a place to park it. Rv parking can be hard to come by in some areas, and a few hours work in exchange for something that costs $600/mo + isnt a bad deal or a choosy beggar.”
Some people also wrote how this kind of arrangement is common in some places. One user wrote, “This isn’t really a choosing beggar, this is someone offering a place to park an RV for some chores, which can be common in some communities.”
Another user wrote, “It’s a caretaker not a caregiver. They’re not being asked to look after a person. Essentially the ad is “watch my property while I’m away and you can live on it for free”. Very common. Not a choosing beggar.”
Sanika Nalgirkar, M.F.A. is a writer and an Editorial Intern at YourTango who writes on entertainment & news, lifestyle, and pop culture topics.