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From $14 Shifts to $25 an Hour in OKC · The 405 Payroll

• 0:13
  Twenty five million people.
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  That is how many visitors came through Oklahoma City last year,
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  according to a recent Visit OKC economic impact report.
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  And, uh, they spent two point nine billion dollars while they were here.
• 0:30
  Wow.
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  Two point nine billion?
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  That is, uh, that is a lot of hotel rooms and barbecue.
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  It really is.
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  But here is the hole in that headline.
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  If you are actually working those front desk shifts or serving those tables,
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  hospitality wages in the metro are still pretty much stuck between fourteen and
• 0:53
  sixteen dollars an hour.
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  Meanwhile, average rent in Oklahoma City is sitting right around eleven hundred and
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  fifty dollars a month.
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  Yeah, do the math on that.
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  Fourteen bucks an hour before taxes?
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  You are spending well over half your paycheck just to keep a roof over your head.
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  It, it does not add up.
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  It doesn't!
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  And, you know, there is all this talk right now about State Question 832,
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  which is a state minimum wage proposal that would raise the baseline to ten dollars
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  and fifty cents an hour in 2026.
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  But, look, waiting on a ballot measure to slowly kick in does not pay this month's
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  rent.
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  Man, I, I remember back when I was doing early morning radio,
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  working four hour split shifts at pre dawn hours, juggling two other part time gigs
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  just to survive.
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  You cannot wait on state legislation when your electric bill is due next Tuesday.
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  You need, uh, you need cash flow today.
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  Exactly.
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  Which is why you have to bypass the black hole of online job portals right now.
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  The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, or OESC, is running direct walk in
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  hiring events at local workforce centers across the city.
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  Wait, so like, actual real people hiring on the spot?
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  Not just dropping a resume into an algorithm?
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  Actual humans!
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  Right now, OESC has walk in events featuring Walmart fulfillment roles starting at
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  seventeen fifty an hour.
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  Plus, American Fidelity over on North Western Avenue is doing direct recruitment for
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  customer support openings starting at eighteen fifty an hour.
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  Eighteen fifty an hour with actual stability.
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  That is a massive jump over a fourteen dollar shift job.
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  Huge.
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  And the play here is simple.
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  Grab two forms of government ID, update a one page resume, and walk into an OESC
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  recruitment session this week.
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  You can literally lock in a same week interview slot without waiting weeks for an
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  email reply.
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  Okay, so getting to eighteen fifty an hour solves the immediate emergency.
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  But how do you push past that toward twenty four or twenty five bucks an hour
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  without spending four years in college getting a massive degree?
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  You use fast track career certifications.
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  Right here in town, Metro Tech at their Springlake Campus on Springlake Drive offers
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  short term technical training.
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  We are talking eight week programs in things like Clinical Phlebotomy or getting
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  your Commercial Driver License, your CDL.
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  Eight weeks?
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  That is, er, that is basically two months.
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  But what does tuition cost?
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  Because if you are earning sixteen an hour, paying thousands upfront is pretty much
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  out of the question.
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  This is the best part.
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  Through the Central Oklahoma Workforce Innovation Board, or COWIB,
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  there is federal WIOA grant funding available.
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  If you are an adult worker earning under eighteen dollars an hour,
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  COWIB can cover one hundred percent of your tuition.
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  Zero out of pocket cost.
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  No student debt.
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  Wait, serious?
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  Free tuition?
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  Why is nobody screaming this from the rooftops?
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  I know!
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  It is a totally underused resource.
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  You get trained in eight weeks, jump into an industry paying twenty four plus an
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  hour, and COWIB picks up the tab.
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  Man, that is huge.
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  Now, while you are in those eight weeks, you still need immediate cash coming in.
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  What is the smartest move for quick weekend income around OKC?
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  Targeted delivery gig work, specifically Walmart Spark in high volume metro zones.
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  On peak weekend windows, drivers are averaging twenty two to twenty six dollars an
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  hour.
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  Okay, but a quick word of warning on side gig money from my old hustle days.
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  Never, ever drop side hustle earnings into your primary checking account.
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  Route that Spark money straight into a totally separate account for rent and bills.
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  If it sits in your daily account, it just vanishes into morning coffee and
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  groceries.
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  That is such a solid rule.
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  Separate the cash streams.
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  And to make sure your household budget stays completely stable while you upskill,
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  tap into local community support.
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  The Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City offers LIHEAP utility assistance to
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  keep your light bill down.
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  And the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City on North Classen Boulevard provides
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  completely free one on one financial coaching.
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  So you stack the direct hire job today, use COWIB to get free Metro Tech training,
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  run a disciplined weekend gig, and lock down your bills with local resources.
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  That is the blueprint.
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  You don't have to wait on the economy to fix itself when you have concrete steps you
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  can take this week.
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  Amen to that.
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  Let us go get it done.