This is one of the biggest mistakes we're collectively making right now, intentional or not. Ideally, every job should offer the opportunity to learn more and/

This is one of the biggest mistakes we're collectively making right now, intentional or not. Ideally, every job should offer the opportunity to learn more and/or move into better-paid roles eventually-- and even if that's too much to ask, we could still be doing far better than we are. I showed a lot of promise in a field I was interested in early in life, but there was nowhere to go to level up in it without going back to college (which I couldn't afford either the time or the money for). Now I'm staring down a dead end at middle age with no idea what's next, other than that both my pay and my workload will be miserable compared with what I should be capable of. One apprenticeship at the right place & time would have dramatically changed my life, and I'd be contributing to the economy on a whole different level. When all the entry level jobs are dead ends, everybody loses.