Low Pay for MS

Somewhat of a vent here, but I can’t believe I saw a serious job posting from a university for a MS preferred candidate with >1 first author publication offering $14-$16 an hour. For working on applied biotechnology research and having a masters, I would think that anything under $50k per year would be quite low. $33k as the high end of the pay spectrum just seems so belittling for someone working in a field so technical and with a graduate level education. Just seems like a punch in the gut when you can make the same money doing a menial job or more money working a tip gig.

I’m curious what other people think about justified pay and their experiences seeing or working in these low-paying research positions.