After college I got an internship as I had no prior industry knowledge and started as an intern. At the time this was fine. I was living back home with my parents and actually able to save. $14/hr was twice as much as I've ever made at my minimum wage jobs. After a little over a year I was hired into an exempt position for 2 well0% more pay.
Five years later I was stagnant after repeated empty promises of promotion and more pay. I found myself one of the go-to people that leadership would ask for financial, operational, and tech questions yet I was paid far less than anyone I was sitting in meetings with. I was turned down for a promotion that fit my experience perfectly because they hired the VP's daughter who didn't even have a business degree or experience. I thought I was going to be stuck forever. I decided to get my masters and then things changed. New leadership that actually cared about qualifications and I got the promotion I was previously turned down for.
Everything was good until I realized how much more the VP's daughter was making than I was. I figured I would be here forever stuck with my intern level pay as setting the stage for my entire pay regardless of how often I was promoted. I finally had enough and I found a job that paid what I was worth. Now I've been at two other companies since getting getting large pay bumps each time. I'm starting a new job next week since I didn't receive an increase during record inflation.