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I think that a lot of people, of both sexes, are more able to make changes to their careers than they think. Three examples from my life: My parents divorced when I was a child. My mother had essentially no marketable skills. She started off doing temp receptionist work and gradually moved her way up and through various companies, eventually getting to a head of IT role, with significant remuneration. My wife grew up in an area that seemed to have not-so-bright employment opportunities. Was working menial jobs like McDonalds/call center. Was laid off, decided to take a one-year HR program, has already worked her way up to a director role. For a male example that is kind of extreme, I knew a guy who got an engineering degree, decided he wasn't doing enough to help people, so he became a nurse. Eventually decided that his passion was pig farming, so he up and did that.
EDIT: Fourth example: I knew a guy who was selling cell phones to businesses. Decided he didn't like it; went to night school for a year or two or however long it took (I don't actually know) to become a barber. Now owns a couple barbershops.
There's a regular stream of folks who comment here asking specifically about this - how do I make a switch in my career to something that isn't so dead end? Something that's not just stuck due to a dumb career decision I made when I was 18? Hard questions are things like: what percentage of people who are in this position get serious about trying to make a change? Is there a differential between rates along the lines of sex? Why is that? Tough questions, and I'm sure folks will be quick to jump in with conclusions, but without data. In any event, I imagine that a significant number of them could make significant changes.
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