Bro if you want to command higher pay you will need a skill that is in demand

You can go to trade school, learn welding, electrical working, carpentry, metalworking, crane operation, truck driving, and more, they all pay nice if you play it right

You could also get a higher education and get an intellectual skill like engineering, medicine, business, scientific research, creative arts, programming, among other things

Or, you can do what I did, and teach yourself a new skill through work experience and reading books, that turned out well but it was an uphill battle without a degree

Just find something that you are passionate about and make it work, if you have to do something else just to pay the bills then so be it, just take control

The truth is that retail and service workers hold up the first world consumer economy on their backs, which churns the global economy

It's not a highly skilled profession or anything, but it is honest work and people who do honest work deserve honest pay

I told everyone to fuk off after 26 years on 12/31. I managed to stay retired for 6 weeks before allowing myself to be dragged back into a very similar position. I fuking hate it. I doubt I am going to last long.

Also yeah your boss sounds like a dick, little kingdoms bro

That is my number one thing for jobs, if the boss tries to degrade me or treat me unfairly

Then I just leave, if they were really bad, then I give them a piece of my mind

No amount of money is worth your dignity, not for a wage or a 36 million dollar account

Life improved substantially after leaving those jobs and seeking something better

Can you imagine if I just took it like a bitch and was still working those jobs?

I once had a job, boss paid under minimum wage, hired West African workers just to exploit poverty

I once told him that it's not okay to pay under minimum wage, I'm an American just like you

He was like, "you should calm down and do some yoga" and then condescended me

It also turned out his businesses was failing and tight on money, asking *me* for sympathy

Did not have any sympathy, maybe your business sucks because you treat ppl like crap

Nah phuck that, you deserve better bro, every worker deserves dignified treatment

Alot of positive and supportive responses itt. Appreciate it I needed it honestly.

My gf and family have been super supportive, I mean they will regardless but I think they've seen my mental health just degrading over the past few years and they know I won't last much longer in this work cycle.

I used to never let work bother me outside of the job but lately it does, I find myself restless at night thinking about how much I dislike my job now and how I've wasted so much time.

Software engineer is where the money is at nowadays

First thing I thought of. I would be sure to understand the actual source of your stress prior to making life decisions.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/...ing-salary.amp

I would consider this if I had nothing else going on

You’ll be done with school by 38-40 and have over a 20 year career. **** that **** job srs I worked at hertz cleaning cars and I felt stuck I know how that feels never again will I do a job like that, if i do blue collar ever again it’s gonna be from a very select few options like truck driving or construction union

Does she know about your graffiti work? I think it's time to draw on her body a little if you know what I mean. "Do you wanna see who I am?"

yOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU GOT THIS!!!!!! TRUST ME AFTER HIGH SCHOOL I ENDED UP WITH A 1.4 GPA I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA WORK AT MCDONALDS FOR 40 YEARS NOW I AM 3 WEEKS AWAY FROM A BACHELORS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT ESPECIALLY WITH THAT SUPPORTIVE FAMILY AROUND YOU

Just be a lineman in CA. I heard it's so easy to get in.

This.

OP what industry are you in? Because long gone are the days of staying at ONE job for 20-30 years and retiring. You're actually doing yourself a disservice staying at one place that offers literally pennies for an annual raise. Its best to hop jobs every few years while adding the skills you learned from that job to your resume. with the added experience and skills each subsequent job you apply to pays you far more.

These places don't care about you. they can fire you on the spot. They'll chirp out cringy phrases like "you're family" but thats a load of bullchit. Don't feel like you have to be "loyal" to a company.

There is no reason not to do this.

Life is way too short. That boss situation is the kiss of death for most companies but remember, they put that person in charge so let them fall on their own sword.

Give your notice and dont tell them its because of her. If you do they might fix the issue which will sort of defeat the purpose of your quitting. Revenge is best savored.

You will have to work somewhere, no one ever said it has to be at a job you cant stand or that treats you poorly. Its time to move along.

Enjoy the off time.

I wouldn’t waste energy on beating yourself up for staying so long.

What’s done is done.

Focus on moving forward not looking back.

Never to late for anything thug romeo.

Bill gates didn't get rich until later on, elon musk didn't.

Takes time.

Doesn't costco pay really good? Why not try to become a manager there I'm sure they make 100k+.

Hell, a store manager at walmart makes six figures.

Really wanted to quote this, thought this was interesting and spoke to me a bit tbh. I'm 26, work in cyber security, make good money - $85kish base, $120kish gross, work from home all the time. If I want to level up in a real sense it could mean something like getting a Master's, and joining a more advanced team that is extremely higher higher pressure dealing with stressful heart-racing cases, complex projects, working with people that are higher up in the company's hierarchy including C-suite. It sounds like so much more work, hassle, and anxiety, than if I just stick to my current kinda gig. Is it bad to be content and not grow more than I already have? Because I think I am content. My therapist makes fun of me for it tbh lol, tells me I don't want more responsibility in a funny whiny tone.When I was reading your earlier posts I was worried you were still making below $20/hr, glad that's not the case at least lol. TBH you hear about those stories all the time of someone who used to be a custodian/janitor and then stayed at a hotel/business/company for decades and eventually got into the C-Suite. Based on your timeline of 15 years, current position, and attitude/thoughts about things, you're not going to be willing to do what it takes to climb that hurdle and level up in the organization/company, if you'd even want to do it.

TBH if I were you I'd try to get a career going that can lead to lower stress, especially in terms of physical stress, higher pay obviously, maybe even zero commute Work-From-Home, and you actually are somewhat interested or intrigued by the subject matter or enjoy doing it in general. Although it sounds boring at first, IT/Security/Programming/Cloud/Networking can actually be fun and rewarding to learn, implement the materials you learned, and exceed expectations.