I could use some help on this one:
I have been with a company for almost ten years now, working my way up the ranks basically as far as I am allowed to climb. In those ten years I have been through 11 different bosses. My current boss, as well as the company president are udderly clueless and have zero knowledge in my industry. They cannot do their jobs without me. This will not change in the foreseeable future. President bought into the company, expectations fully on finding the right people to fix all the problems. We are far from that, and the company has been suffering dearly from the lack of knowledge and quality employees.
I am frequently tasked with doing other roles that are absolutely not my hired job, and doing my management's direct rolebtoo. I am a Quality Manager who gets stuck doing prototype design work, maintenance on equipment, art design, helping the sales team, and basically the role of a production manager as well.
I know I need out, for many reasons. They will likely beg me to stay no matter how I choose to quit. Do I try and collect unemployment for being pushed on work that I am not hired to do? ( Plenty of concrete proof) Just looking for advice on being an industry expert who is underappreciated and taken advantage of. Maybe it's best I start my own company, honestly.
Many thanks