The plight of the working poor who experience harsh treatment on the job and barely subsist is recounted by sociologist Barbara Ehrenreich who took various low-paying jobs to research her best-selling book.

Although armed in her real life with a doctoral degree in biology as well as being an esteemed journalist, her inconspicuous approach as “everyperson” in finding and maintaining a job shed new light on the reality of rigid management hierarchy, extremely hard work, and what truly is a living wage.

I was trying my best in these jobs because the question was could I support myself doing them?”

—Barbara Ehrenreich