In a country where bigger is better, you can bet your butt that minimum wage isn't ideal.

Minimum wage is the minimum amount you can be paid for most full-time and part-time jobs. As of 2015, the minimum wage set by the federal government (a.k.a. the dudes and dudettes in Washington D.C.) is $7.25/hour (or about $15,080 a year for someone working full time). States are allowed to do their own thing as long as they don't go below that number, so South Dakota pays $8.50/hour, California pays $9.00/hour, and New York pays $8.75/hour.

Minimum wage doesn't apply to everyone: the law lets students, seasonal workers (folks who only work during the summer, for example), and workers who get part of their wages from tips or commission be paid less than minimum wage.

Can You Make a Living on Minimum Wage?

With a name like "minimum wage," you'd expect that this level of income would allow you to pay for the minimum basics. Makes sense, right? You earn minimum wage, and you're able to pay for the minimum necessities of life: food, shelter, clothes, Xbox…

Well, the government came up with minimum wage, so you can't expect it to make that much sense. One of the big controversies surrounding minimum wage is that it pretty clearly doesn't provide for most people to get by. Most people who work minimum wage full-time jobs often have to work insanely long hours to make ends meet.

Here are a few other problems with minimum wage, according to the detractors:

• Many minimum wage jobs are part-time or come with no benefits.
• Some minimum wage jobs are hard or dangerous (like factory jobs).
• Some minimum wage jobs don't offer options for promotions.
• Some minimum wage jobs aren't very gratifying.

But even people who agree with all that don't agree on the solution.

Everyone has an opinion.

Why Work for Minimum Wage?

So, uh…why would you ever work a minimum wage job? Well, you might not have an option. Here are some reasons:

• You don't have the work experience to get a better job.
• You don't have the education or skills to get better-paying work.
• You just need a part-time job to pay for college or something else.
• Minimum wage jobs are the best jobs available where you live.

If you're in that situation, there are a few ways out—but of course, they're not all foolproof.

• Stay in school: the more education you have, the better your chances of landing a decent-paying job.
• Go to college.
• Learn new skills.
• Get work experience via part-time jobs or volunteering.
• Do a good job in the work you do have so you get good references.