"Go to college or you'll end up flipping burgers for the rest of your life."

For some reason, there's always been a stigma surrounding fast food workers. Often times we become the punchlines of jokes or an image of a future nobody wants to have. However, I've learned a lot from working in fast food that will help me with whatever career I work at in the future. It's time to crush some of these stereotypes and realize that fast food workers deserve a lot more credit than people give us.

1. We're not stupid.

Apparently working in any sort of fast-food restaurant makes you stupid. Contrary to popular belief, a lot of us have years of education behind us, and we may even be working towards more. I work to pay for college, and I know I'm not the only one. Mistakes happen, so please don't blame your incorrect order on our supposed stupidity. Believe it or not, the customer is not always right.

2. We're not lazy.

After working in fast food, I don't fully understand how this ever became a stereotype. Rarely do we ever get time to sit down and eat or even go to the bathroom. There's always something to do, whether that be cleaning or serving customers.

3. For a lot of us, this isn't our end game.

A lot of people who work in fast-food are high schoolers and college students. As I mentioned before, we're working to pay for our education. Our life plan doesn't include working at a McDonald's or Dairy Queen forever. But to get to where we want to be, we need to start working somewhere. This is simply a stepping stone to our future. Even if it is as far as some people go, there's nothing wrong with that either. A job is a job, and at the end of the day, fast food workers are ahead of the people who don't work at all.

4. We deal with a lot.

From cleaning bathrooms to handling rude customers, there's always something to deal with. Not all customers are rude, but the ones that are rude sure are good at ruining your mood. We get belittled and talked down to. If we can't hear or understand a customer's order, some people talk slower and louder as if we're illiterate. Please keep in mind all that we handle on a daily basis before you decide to snap on us.

There are different circumstances that bring people to work in fast food and reasons that they stay in it, but that doesn't leave room for people to judge us as lesser people. If we didn't deal with all that we do on a daily basis, you couldn't have your quick cup of coffee on your way to work or a cheap meal on your lunch break. Be a better customer and show us some respect because there's a lot more to working in fast food than just flipping burgers.