Exactly. I found myself in retail jobs after 20 years in tech and a large % of colleagues had 2-3 jobs and were in their late 20s-mid 30s. Managers tended to be

Exactly. I found myself in retail jobs after 20 years in tech and a large % of colleagues had 2-3 jobs and were in their late 20s-mid 30s. Managers tended to be in their early or mid 20’s and one GM left for academia. Nobody asked how I found myself there in my mid-30’s and seemingly inexperienced in retail, thankfully I pass as pretty young. There isn’t a clear path out for most. I’m educated but have other issues blocking me from getting another professional job. In theory anyone can start their own business with all the new tech available, but in practice few seemed to have the time to take care of themselves properly much less start much of a business while learning the tools as well. It would be quite an investment and few had the budget for it, so to speak. The kitchens especially were packed with career service people well into adulthood. Service is a career. Not meaning to sound judgemental, quite the opposite is true. Do mean to say that there aren’t many paths out and there is probably a lot to the business that even an educated person requires experience to learn and adapt to. Management usn’t for everyone either, like with coding it may not be the right career track for most but people do it for the pay bump or as a stepping stone toward corporate and IMO the whole team suffers.