GagBase Logo Explore

After Surviving COVID and AI, Oil Price Ruins Good Salary Job

This is a two-panel relatable economic meme using the popular 'reaching for a goal interrupted' format. In the first panel, a happy gray cartoon character excitedly reaches for a large yellow ball labeled 'Good Salary Job', after the caption notes this is after surviving COVID-19 and AI-related job disruption. In the second panel, a large pink character labeled 'Oil price' pulls the gray character back from the goal, so only a smaller ball labeled just 'Salary' remains. The meme jokes that after overcoming multiple major crises (pandemic, AI job displacement), rising oil prices and resulting economic inflation still ruin the chance of landing a well-paying job, leaving workers with only low or stagnant pay.
Make

Text content

After surviving COVID and AI, a person reaches for a good salary job, but rising oil prices pull them back, leaving only a low standard salary

Overview

This is a two-panel relatable economic meme using the popular 'reaching for a goal interrupted' format. In the first panel, a happy gray cartoon character excitedly reaches for a large yellow ball labeled 'Good Salary Job', after the caption notes this is after surviving COVID-19 and AI-related job disruption. In the second panel, a large pink character labeled 'Oil price' pulls the gray character back from the goal, so only a smaller ball labeled just 'Salary' remains. The meme jokes that after overcoming multiple major crises (pandemic, AI job displacement), rising oil prices and resulting economic inflation still ruin the chance of landing a well-paying job, leaving workers with only low or stagnant pay.

Origin notes

This meme originates from Reddit as indicated by the source information, with the original title given as 'Still waiting to get married'. It uses a common pre-existing two-panel meme template where a character reaching for a goal is interrupted by another force, repurposed here to comment on modern post-pandemic economic struggles.

Similar memes

This is a two-panel metaphor meme. The top panel shows a man in a yellow t-shirt labeled 'Global economy' straining to push a large truck tire labeled 'AI' onto a heavy truck wheel hub. The bottom panel shows the tire suddenly bursting in a cloud of smoke, sending the man (still labeled 'Global economy') flying backward violently, with one of his shoes knocked off by the force of the blast. The meme visualizes widespread discourse about an overinflated artificial intelligence investment bubble, where the global economy is recklessly pushing to expand the AI sector despite the high risk of a severe, damaging collapse.

Global Economy Hit By Bursting AI Bubble Meme

This is a two-panel metaphor …

This single-panel meme uses the classic 'fork in the road' decision meme template, showing a young boy standing at a split path. Both paths lead to dark, ominous castles under a stormy, lightning-filled night sky. The left path is labeled 'AI succeeds, massive job losses' while the right path is labeled 'AI fails, economy crashes', with the situation labeled 'The AI future' at the bottom. The meme jokes that no matter whether artificial intelligence succeeds or fails at its intended goals, the end result will be a negative outcome for workers and the global economy, capturing widespread public anxiety about AI advancement.

The AI future

This single-panel meme uses t…

A two-panel meme using stock business photos. Top panel: A woman in a gray blazer and white shirt speaks to a man in a dark suit, explaining, 'The starting salary is $40k and later it can go up to $80k.' Bottom panel: The man, now facing the viewer with a broad smile, responds, 'Ok, i'll start later then,' misunderstanding 'later' (referring to future salary growth) as a request to begin working at a later time for the higher salary.

Salary Negotiation Misunderstanding Meme

A two-panel meme using stock …

A meme featuring a dialogue between an employer and employee about minimum wage dynamics. The text at the top reads: 'Employer: Pays minimum wages', 'Employee: Gives minimum effort', followed by 'Employer:' with no additional text. Below the text is an image of Pikachu, a yellow electric-type Pokémon, displaying a surprised expression with its mouth open and ears perked, implying the employer's shocked reaction to the employee's reciprocal minimum effort response.

Employer-Employee Minimum Wage Meme with Pikachu

A meme featuring a dialogue b…

A vertical comparison meme with two columns. The left column contains four text labels in black font: 'Gas prices', 'Gold prices', 'Electricity', and 'Salary' (top to bottom). The right column features corresponding animal images: a cheetah (fastest land animal) for gas prices, a galloping horse for gold prices, a leaping hare for electricity, and a slow-moving turtle for salary. The meme uses animal speed as a metaphor to humorously criticize the rapid increase of essential living costs compared to the stagnant growth of salaries.

Price Increases vs. Salary Growth Speed Comparison

A vertical comparison meme wi…

This is a two-panel Wojak meme illustrating that both employment and unemployment cause significant distress. The left panel is labeled 'Having a Job', showing a visibly distressed, crying Wojak hiding behind a neutral, slightly smug Wojak mask he holds up to his face, representing the pressure employed people face to hide their burnout, work-related stress, and dissatisfaction to keep their jobs. The right panel is labeled 'Not having a job', showing an openly distressed, crying Wojak with no mask, representing the unhidden financial anxiety, stress of job searching, and despair that comes with being unemployed. The meme plays on the relatable frustration that neither common adult life status provides relief from major stress, matching the original poster's question of why both options are hard.

Both Having A Job And Being Unemployed Are Miserable

This is a two-panel Wojak mem…

A four-panel comparison meme contrasting the idealized portrayal of quitting a job in movies versus the harsh reality of quitting in real life. Top left panel (movies): A smiling woman confidently carries a cardboard box of belongings, suggesting a positive, hassle-free exit. Top right panel (irl): A stressed woman rests her head in her hands at a cluttered desk, overwhelmed by the aftermath of quitting. Bottom left panel (movies): A man joyfully throws papers into the air, celebrating freedom. Bottom right panel (irl): A dejected man sits on stairs holding a handwritten sign reading 'NEED WORK!', highlighting the struggle to find new employment. The meme humorously exaggerates the contrast between media's romanticized version and real-life consequences of job loss.

Quitting Your Job in Movies vs Real Life: The Hilarious Contrast

A four-panel comparison meme …

This is a two-panel reaction meme featuring the animated character SpongeBob SquarePants. The top left text reads 'Me getting a job to afford video games', paired with an image of a cheerful, excited SpongeBob sitting at his Krusty Krab office desk answering a work phone with a big smile. The bottom left text reads 'Also me having no time to play them because of that job', paired with an image of a dejected, exhausted SpongeBob slumping at the same desk, looking glum next to a steaming mug. The meme conveys the relatable ironic frustration of taking a job to earn money for hobbies, only for the job to take up all the time that would have been spent enjoying those hobbies.

Getting a job to afford video games only to have no time to play them

This is a two-panel reaction …

A two-panel meme featuring cats to humorously contrast the claim of working under pressure during a job interview versus the reality. The top text reads: 'me at a job interview claiming I can work under pressure' (left) and 'also me working under pressure' (right). The left panel shows a white cat wearing a blue cap with a circular logo and round sunglasses, exuding a confident and cool demeanor. The right panel shows a close-up of a white cat with large, wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, appearing visibly stressed and overwhelmed. The meme uses the contrast between the two cat expressions to highlight the relatable discrepancy between self-assured claims in interviews and the actual experience of handling pressure.

Cat Meme: Claiming vs. Actually Working Under Pressure

A two-panel meme featuring ca…

A two-panel meme featuring a text conversation between an employer and an employee. The top text reads: 'Employer: "You're only here for the money?" Me: "Plus benefits" Employer:'. Below the text are two images of the same person, a real human, displaying increasingly shocked expressions. The first panel shows the person with wide eyes and an open mouth, appearing surprised, while the second panel intensifies this reaction with more exaggerated wide eyes and a shocked expression, emphasizing the employer's astonishment at the employee's honest response about working for both money and benefits.

Employer Asks About Money, Employee Adds Benefits Meme

A two-panel meme featuring a …

A meme featuring a screenshot of Peter Griffin from the animated TV show Family Guy, depicted laughing uncontrollably with tears streaming down his face. The top text reads ':AI will take your jobs Homemakers:' and the overlaid text on the image is 'When?'. The meme humorously conveys that homemakers are unfazed by the idea of AI taking over their roles, suggesting their work is either irreplaceable or not perceived as a 'job' AI would target, resulting in a sarcastic, lighthearted reaction.

AI Taking Jobs? Homemakers Laugh It Off

A meme featuring a screenshot…

This comparison meme uses the popular 'two men sitting on opposite sides of a train looking out different windows' template to contrast common perceptions of government jobs in the United States versus South Asian countries. The man on the left, whose window is labeled 'Government job in the US', looks out at dark, rocky terrain and has a stressed, unhappy, worried expression. The man on the right, whose window is labeled 'Government job in South Asian countries', looks out at bright, scenic green mountains and has a happy, relaxed, content expression, highlighting how much more desirable and secure government employment is widely considered to be in South Asia compared to the United States.

The answer is money! Government jobs US vs South Asia

This comparison meme uses the…