4 years ago I got in with a company willing to give me a chance, and I quickly worked myself up to a supervisor role, company truck, phone, and a good amount of raises along the way.
They were, and are, the most stereotypical red flag “we're a family” company that I've learned to know through this subreddit. Still, I persisted through everything. Longer hours, weekend work, secondshift work – doubles, etc.
About a year and a half ago they were bought out after having on and off issues with finances. The structure remained more, or less, the same, but the money came in from a 3rd party and they closely monitored expenditures.
I was skeptical, to say the least. Initially, things didn't change much, but this summer was the breaking point for me. Without getting into the nitty gritty, we did bull work. Serious labor. We've always had an on-call schedule, mainly for emergencies. They took advantage of this. Scheduling 2nd shift work for our standard jobs. Weekends. Sometimes multiples weekend jobs/2nd shift jobs. I saw the writing on the wall, they're squeezing us for everything we're worth. Fortunately, through contacts I've made on jobsites, and networking, I was able to quickly land an interview at another job. Still in construction, but something I've always been passionate about, and I actually went to school for.
I lost the phone and truck, but gained significantly higher wages, drive time, cheaper benefits, but so much better all around. I took a risk, but instead of killing my body, now I operate machinery that does the heavy lifting and use my wit to get the job done. For someone that was happy previously, it took a lot to push myself to this point, but I don't regret my decisions at all. Life is too short to be literally slave labor for someone that doesn't give a damn about you, they're just looking to use you for everything you're worth. I don't regret my actions one bit. I had the president of my last company calling me back to back, to back within 30 minutes trying to get me to stick it out even through the summer on top of a substantial raise. I said No thank you sir, have a good day. I could hear his anger through his tone, and I know I made the right decision. If you aren't treated with the respect you deserve in the trades in your current position, I promise you someone else out there will know how to treat a good guy. Take the risk.