>Most humans working today can't quit their job without another job already lined up. Some people (like those in the later stages of their PhD) can't quit at al

>Most humans working today can't quit their job without another job already lined up. Some people (like those in the later stages of their PhD) can't quit at all. They would end up losing potentially years of progress. I was in the later stages of my PhD. It was rather easy once I got over my ego. >This situation has absolutely nothing to do with what you were responding to. Changing career tracks in your early 20s isn't a big deal if you have fungible skills that are in high demand. Not everyone is in their early 20s or has high-demand skills, and that doesn't mean it's suddenly their fault that they're being abused. There are plenty of unskilled jobs you can move to and you'd be no worse off than the 50% of Americans who work in them. >Your single anecdote where you were a brave hero who wasn't "living in a fairy tale" doesn't give you some special insight or authority to tell other people they're stupid for trying to push through the early stages of a bad situation. No one knows whether or not it'll get worse or how long it will last. They do know there will be potentially severe financial and career consequences for leaving. You sound extremely defensive, may I suggest you objectively review your situation?