Work Text:
Let it be known that Quirks are a staple among most jobs.
Heroics is usually the first thing you think about whenever you hear “Legal Quirk Use,” but big corporate companies advertise Quirk services all the time. Not only because of the credit it earns with customers, but because it saves them some pocket money on other potential fees.
I mean, if you’re being offered hundred bucks, what’s stopping you from taking it?
However, just like with heroics, people need some sort of license or legal jargon that allows Quirk use.
It's not as extensive as a hero license, not by a long shot. In heroics, lives are always on the line. It requires a specific skill set for whatever field a person works in. That's why you need years of on and off hands on experience to become a Pro or sidekick.
But with, say, cleaning Quirks used on buildings? You only need to provide proof that your Quirk does not lessen a product’s overall quality. Still, that instance of Quirk use would only be permitted in that specific work environment. Just because you can legally use a Quirk in one place, does not automatically mean you can use it in another.
A permit for wiping down floors does not apply to washing fresh produce.
These permits vary depending on the Quirk type. Emitter, Transformation, and Heteromorphic Quirks all have different safety protocols. People with Heteromorphic/Mutant Quirks generally have more leeway with that sort of stuff, considering they can’t really turn it off. Things that offer durability or strength are typically in high demand for construction.
Setting up a permit costs quite a bit of time and effort, but when looking at it long term, it is worth it. The pay for on-site Quirk use is 40% greater than working a job Quirkless. It's because certain Quirks cut the costs of some services by quite a bit. On average, expenses used for safety, time, and resources are lowered by 60%. Though, this varies from job to job.
…
Wow.
The odds are really stacked against him, aren't they?
Even if he became skilled enough for heroics overnight, looking at it from a practical standpoint, it doesn't make sense. Why waste valuable resources on a Quirkless when you could invest them into someone worthwhile and get a far better result.
It's simply illogical.
No person is equal. Everyone is a special little snowflake no matter how you slice it.
. . .
But people can always be a bit more special than others.
If you plucked three people off the street, gave all the same Quirk, and threw them into the world of heroics; statistically, one person would have a higher chance of succeeding than the others.
Drive, skills, and background need to be considered when determining who has potential—who can hack it.
But if you took those same three and made one of them Quirkless, their chance of success drops significantly. Even when given a head start, the Quirkless will fall behind eventually.
The Quirkless all have the same plateau. The same natural limits. But with the Quirked, the bar fluctuates endlessly.
80% percent of the population has Quirks, and 20% do not. Of that 20%, 6% are elderly and are therefore retired. So does it not make sense to just—invest into the better basket?
Even if some Quirkless is naturally talented, someone else could just waltz in, cut costs, increase revenue, speed up work time, and provide higher quality services just because of a Quirk.
The key to a thriving business is efficiency.
It's why the Quirkless unemployment rate is 64% and why the few lucky people who do have a job are paid minimum wage. The Quirkless don’t offer a whole lot to the table, so why give them that extra 40% on their paycheck?
It’s considered minimum wage because, in a Quirked society, that 40% is just standard pay. If you remove the Quirk use bonus, the base pay is just not enough to live a comfortable life.
On top of that, not everyone has a Quirk applicable for job use, so even Quirked individuals are subjected to a life of financial hardship.
Izuku is only living a comfortable life because of his father. He went to work abroad because Japan has way stricter guidelines for fire usage (seriously?). Izuku doesn't know the exact specifics of what he does, but he can guess it involves his Quirk.
The money he sends mum is nothing to scoff at either. He probably works multiple jobs.
Should his father ever stop sending money, they would be fine. Mum was always a bit of an obsessive saver.
Her area of employment is nursing, which offers good pay regardless.
Quirk use isn’t common there because medical Quirks are so few and far between.
.
.
.
He digresses. Where was he again?
Oh right. He's trying to fill out a page for potential jobs in case his original plan for heroics flops. (It's not in case. It's when.)
Aldera wants third-years to fill out a sheet of jobs they are considering. Those choices will be looked at by some professional career counselor to see which are attainable. Then they are cross-referenced with the student's grades, behavior, work ethic, skills, and Quirk to see what job is right for them.
That lengthy process all leads up to a list of high schools of recommended highschools.
Even if Izuku doesn’t technically need a job, bumming off his parents the rest of his life sounds like a sorry existence. He wants to be useful.
He wants to do something.
And he can’t just live with mum forever. He has to move out eventually.
Not to mention that without a job, he'd probably lose his marbles without some sort of mental or physical stimuli.
Izuku kinda got distracted from the task at hand. He’d let his mind wander and eventually found himself reading an article of some job info, which conveniently listed Quirkless statistics.
He'd read these statistics before when he was a lot younger. Back in elementary, Kacchan had helpfully pointed him in the direction of Quirkless success rates.
Quirkless “success” really meant living a lower-end, albeit mundane, life. The numbers before had slightly been in his favor compared to now, Izuku remembers. The specifics were lost to him, but he knows well enough that, the more time that passed, the harder it would be to get a good job.
All Might suggested working in the police force if he really wanted to save people without a Quirk, but Izuku knew that Quirk use was also permitted in that area. Albeit minor, but it was still there. People with Quirks that offer a sort of accuracy, durability, or physical enhancement, were used left and right.
He would just be at the bottom of the social hierarchy, and he had enough of that at school, thank you very much.
(Not like he has any control over that anyway)
He should probably go for a job that doesn't require a Quirk for good pay. Anything medical is still on the table, he could follow in Mom's footsteps and become a nurse. His biology grades contradict this, so no nursing. Izuku´s highest grade was English, his Father is the one to thank for that. Even if it's good for business, it never interested him. Better leave that as a last resort.
Something that actually interested him was Quirk analysis. It has been a bit of a sore spot for him lately, but if he was so insistent on becoming a hero before, he could easily throw that same drive into a better passion that´s attainable and safe. Aldera does not have specialized courses for Quirk analysis, that stuff was saved for high school, so he doesn't know if he is any good at the subject at all. It's really just random ramblings.
Well, can't knock it till you try it. Izuku tightens his grip on his pencil and jots down Analyst in shaky penmanship.
Izuku shifts uncomfortably in his seat. It felt so wrong to write that. It should´ve been Heroics. Analyst was supposed to be one of the follow-up jobs among the professions of his parents.
Why was he not applying to the UA Hero Course or Gen-ed? Why now were his knees buckling at a stupid job sheet? Where was all his drive from before?
It may have been a hard pill to swallow, but he just isn't cut out for Hero work.
Izuku's dream of becoming a hero since he heard that iconic booming laughter from his old computer screen. He’s dreamed for a decade.
But he never worked, did he?
As much as Izuku wanted to, he couldn't just flaunt his 13 notebooks, punch his fist into the air, and say he went Plus Ultra. Kacchan is the one who was entitled to that privilege. He committed hours of his day to studying and training for UA.
Quirk or not, it was undeniable that Kacchan was adept and sharp enough for the entrance exam, not to mention all that would come after. He aced all the mock exams and got the best score on the practical.
Izuku’s own were the exact opposite.
If Izuku wanted to move anything remotely heavy across the apartment, he'd have to ask Mom and they would both end up struggling together, before falling down and taking a five-minute breather. His biology grades lacked significantly, and Mom was the only reason he wasn't failing. Everything else was fine, but it was all average.
UA was known for its extensive courses, both academic and practical. UA students, when graduated, didn't even have to attend college following graduation, so long as they met certain requirements. The school was always above the curriculum and had advanced, optional, elective courses. If you completed a course, it acted as a degree. That paired with being a UA alumni, job options were never scarce.
There was a reason why there was a 0.2% acceptance rate. So, why did Izuku think he could compete?
The entrance exam was in 10 months. What could he really achieve in that sort of time frame? He was built like a twig and cracked like a dam in any remotely emotional situation; with grades only slightly above average against exams with complex problems above his current courses. Even if Izuku went Plus Ultra for 10 months, he would still remain way behind.
Cramming years of practice and study in such a short time frame would never work. He'd have to juggle endless training, that just wasn't healthy.
Izuku just wasn't meant for UA’s Plus Ultra motto.
Even if it hurt to have Heroics scrapped off to the side, he and everyone else knew that it would be better this way.
Izuku shook his head, he was missing the point of all this. He was supposed to set his life straight for once, take his eyes off the prize. Heroics was a rollercoaster he'd been loitering in the ques of for way too long, despite never being prepared in the first place.
A poor attempt to suck up his pride came in the form of a sharp intake of breath.
He followed analyst up with his other choices of business and healthcare, begrudgingly leaving them general to not exclude any possible subcategories he may consider. Analyst was also quite broad, he needed all the options there were. The Quirkless couldn't afford to be picky with anything. They were lucky to get anything as is.
Someone else out there in the world could always be less fortunate.
But Izuku should probably get more specific anyway. Analyst was definitely his first choice now that heroics were out of the picture, he needed to focus on his strength. That one strength has always been Quirk Analysis.
His notebooks were still amateur at best. The actual observations were nothing to sneeze at, but words were scrawled everywhere on the page with little to no order. The nicest way he could describe the formatting was your average six-year-old's crayon art project.
That was actually pretty accurate. A little too much money for Izuku’s tastes.
Whatever, there was no use in sulking about it now. It's in his best interest to fix it. Just leave the pity-bashing to everyone else.
Cleaning up the notebooks was mandatory if he chose Quirk Analysis as a profession, but it wouldn't hurt to sharpen his skills even more. Because Heroics was his first choice, analysis was always on the back burner, so he never really got to focus on it.
It's just another example of how unprepared he was for a career.
.
.
.
The hell happened to focusing on strengths? NO- uh. Strength. Just one.
Who can Izuku work with that would need his assistance?
What can Izuku throw a notebook at and expect to get decent results?
When could Izuku expect to get that job?
Where can Izuku mumble up a storm and not get weary glances?
Why can't he think of any that fit his description?
His face heated up from the frustration and things started to get a little hot. Can he just leave early and come back the next day with a fresh mindset? Because Izuku clearly isn't getting anywhere with this assignment. All that has been filled out was Analyst and his backups of business and healthcare.
And all were very broad.
He just wanted a job that would let him help someone with a smile on his face. A place where his analysis would be needed, muttering and all. Somewhere where the pay would be enough to live off of despite the lack of Quirk. Preferably a job where it wouldn't take too long to get, but with how specific he was and with the kind of pay he was looking for, it would probably take 8-10 years.
He feels lost.