Yeah, most people don’t understand, I managed to work my way up to management.
I understand where you’re coming from, believe me. I used to have a ‘high status’ white collar job years ago. For various reasons, I left that job and eventually wound up a few years later working in the restaurant field. Now when I see people who knew me back then and tell them where I work now, I’m more embarrassed for them than for myself because I get this overwhelming look of pity from them - lol. Funny thing is, I really like what I do now, even though it pays less than my old job.