I’m 28(m) and wasted 6 years of my life in contract security after dropping out of college due to indecisiveness and personal/familial issues. I barely made enough to get by and was constantly teased with promotions that never came. Last November my friend was promoted and he helped me get hired on as his replacement at an aerospace company for sub-assembly. It paid a couple dollars more an hour, after 3 months I was given a dollar raise, and then a few months later I was “promoted” to main assembly. I enjoy what I do, but the guys I work with who have been there for a decade barely make $40k/year, I’m currently making about $31k. I’m not sure how to make a career out of this job other than going for a manager position. I just know that I don’t want to get stuck assembling things for a decade at an hourly rate.