“IT places offering $11/hr”? LOL!
You can be a school bus driver in Fairfax County, Va for $22.91/hr + $3000 sign on bonus. Not bad for a retiree and the right neighborhoods basically have Stepford kids so not many issues there.
It’s just a customer service job, but I used to make double than that awhile ago doing similar jobs. Part of it is being cheap and most of it because Indians have taken over IT in this area and suppressed IT wages.