History Main / HappinessInMinimumWage

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', working on Planet Express's interstellar delivery crew is a bottom-of-the-rung situation not far up from Fry's previous job of delivering pizzas. Fry being a FishOutOfTemporalWater though is thrilled to have a job that affords him everyday access to space travel beyond the wildest dreams of his 21st-century self, as well as allowing him to spend his days with his TrueCompanions. When he briefly has ownership in the company and its stock rises enormously, his fellow employees, who all own shares, urge him to sell so that they can all be rich, but he's actually relieved when the stock plunges again, since he prefers to live simply if it means he can work with them. This eventually creates conflict in his relationship with Leela, since she dreams of moving forward while he doesn't want to change a thing.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': TheTeaser of "The Artful Dodger" features a janitor in a U.S. Navy building who is very proud of what he does, and encourages his son to do good work, no matter what type of work it is:
-->'''Janitor''': People call this kind of work "blue collar." I don't care what color your shirt is; you bring pride to the job, people notice. And even if they don't, ''[[WhatYouAreInTheDark you'll]]'' notice.

** [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E12IMarriedMarge "I Married Marge"]] shows that, when Homer and Marge were still dating, Homer had a job at a mini-golf course. He enjoyed his work, mostly because his boss didn't mind/notice his incompetence, and thought the incredibly small chances for advancement made it "a job with a future". Only after Bart is born does Homer go for a better paying but more grueling job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant--which he specifically gets by promising Mr. Burns he'll be a huge doormat.

** In "Lisa's Wedding," while it's implied that Bart will go on to a RidiculouslySuccessfulFutureSelf in line with the DistantFinale of "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie," he's getting a huge kick out of being a wrecking ball operator who crushes cars on the side.

** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E15BartTheFink Bart The Fink]]", Krusty the Clown gets busted for tax evasion and has his salary heavily garnished by [[IntimidatingRevenueServe the IRS]]. This leads him to [[FakingTheDead fake his death]] and adopt the alias "Rory B. Bellows", working as a salvager at the Springfield Docks. Krusty as "Rory B. Bellows" insists he is a lot happier as a salvager. It isn't until Bart and Lisa bring up his (fake) friends and the amount of respect he used to get as a clown [[StatusQuoIsGod that he finally agrees to go back to being Krusty]].

* Deconstructed in ''Film/GoodWillHunting'',

* Ed from ''Film/GoodBurger'' is a KindheartedSimpleton who loves working at the eponymous restaurant. He's acts as a foil to Dexter, who hates his job and only has it to pay back his parents for damaging their car in a joyride.

* At the end of ''Film/OfficeSpace'', Peter quits his SoulCrushingDeskJob so he can spend his days as a construction worker just like his neighbor Lawrence. He appreciates the physical exercise and being outdoors all day. [[spoiler:A DeletedScene that expands the epilogue subverts this, though, by showcasing that Peter's boss at the construction company [[MeetTheNewBoss is a perfect clone of Peter's previous and highly annoying boss Bill Lumbergh, down to the exact same way of talking]]. [[HereWeGoAgain Meaning Peter traded his old white-collar hell for a similar blue-collar hell]]. The scene cuts just as Peter starts to feel depressed again as he processes this revelation.]] Granted, construction jobs generally do pay a fair bit more than minimum wage.

** Similarly, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E13AndMaggieMakesThree And Maggie Makes Three]]" shows Homer cleared his debt from his house and first two kids, [[TakeThisJobAndShoveIt quit the power plant in a grandiose fashion]], and happily moved to a much lower paying job at a bowling alley. Shortly afterward, he found out Marge was pregnant with Maggie, [[CrossingTheBurntBridge which forced him to beg for his old job back]].

* ''Film/FlamingBrothers'' revolves around a pair of BloodBrothers who joins the mob and becomes highly-ranked killers, but the younger of the two (played by Creator/ChowYunFat) decides to bail, where he went from a wealthy triad mobster to a simple convenience score attendant. Nevertheless, he's actually ''happy'' to leave his killing days behind.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', [=SpongeBob=] enjoys his job making Krabby Patties at the Krusty Krab despite the rude customers, his surly coworker, and his greedy boss, even willingly taking on all the extra jobs Mr. Krabs gives him without expecting extra pay. Whenever he faces the prospect of being fired, his consequent distress isn't due to him potentially losing his income, but rather due to him not being able to work for work's sake; he even dislikes taking vacations because they keep him from his job as a fry cook. In one episode, it's even implied that [=SpongeBob=] pays ''Mr. Krabs'' to work there.[[labelnote:*]]This would be illegal in real life, and a later episode to that has [=SpongeBob=] offer to work for free to avoid being downsized (so [[TheScrooge Mr. Krabs could save a nickel]]), but Mr. Krabs says it's [[AirQuotes "illegal"]] and he'll lose his vendor's license.)[[/labelnote]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', [=SpongeBob=] enjoys his job making Krabby Patties at the Krusty Krab despite the rude customers, his surly coworker, and his greedy boss, even willingly taking on all the extra jobs Mr. Krabs gives him without expecting extra pay. Whenever he faces the prospect of being fired, his consequent distress isn't due to him potentially losing his income, but rather due to him not being able to work for work's sake; he even dislikes taking vacations because they keep him from his job as a fry cook. In one episode, it's even implied that [=SpongeBob=] pays ''Mr. Krabs'' to work there.

** In "Lisa's Wedding," while it's implied that Bart will go on to a RidiculouslySuccessfulFutureSelf in line with "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie," he's getting a huge kick out of being a wrecking ball operator who crushes cars on the side.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', [=SpongeBob=] enjoys his job making Krabby Patties at the Krusty Krab despite the rude customers, his surly coworker, and his greedy boss, even willingly taking on all the extra jobs Mr. Krabs gives him without expecting extra pay. Whenever he faces the prospect of being fired, his consequent distress isn't due to him potentially losing his income, but rather due to him not being able to work for work's sake; he even dislikes taking vacations because they keep him from his job as a fry cook. In one episode, it's even implied that [=SpongeBob=] pays ''him'' to work there.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', Spongebob enjoys his job making Krabby Patties at the Krusty Krab despite the rude customers, his surly coworker, and his greedy boss. He willingly takes on all the extra jobs Mr. Krabs gives him without expecting extra pay. In one episode, it's even implied that Spongebob pays ''him'' to work there.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', it's revealed that Sid's became a garbage man in between the events of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 1'' and ''3''. He takes on his job with newfound enthusiasm, listening to music, scatting to himself and drumming on the garbage cans while dumping the garbage. It just goes to show how much CharacterDevelopment he's gone through after being scared straight by Woody (and, if one interprets the ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' comics as canon, Mike and Sulley).

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', it's revealed that Sid's became a garbage man in between the events of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory 1'' and ''3''. He takes on his job with newfound enthusiasm, listening to music, scatting to himself and drumming on the garbage cans while dumping the garbage. It just goes to show how much CharacterDevelopment he's gone through after being scared straight by Woody (and, if one interprets the ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' comics as canon, Mike and Sulley).