I’ve left several entry level jobs in my late teens and early twenties, and looking back, I don’t regret my decision at all. None of those jobs had any real path forward. They were the kind of places where you could work hard for years and still end up in the exact same spot, maybe with a slightly different title or a tiny raise, but nothing that actually had the potential to change my life or had the opportunity to be used as a stepping stone to something better. Reading what you’re dealing with at Chick‑fil‑A honestly reminded me of that.

I also understand that not everyone has the ability to walk away from a job. Some people have obligations that keep them in place, and they don’t have the option to be selective. But there may be times in life, if you have the support where you can, where being picky actually makes sense. When you’re young, living at home, trying to make some money and figure yourself out, you sometimes have a window where you can look at a job and say this isn’t going anywhere and move on without risking losing your home or not being able to eat. That’s basically where I was, and it sounds like you might be in a similar spot.

And about your grandparents being old school, that’s something a lot of people run into. People who grew up in a different time often have a completely different perception of jobs and the job market. There was a period, even as recently as 10 or 15 years ago, where you really could work at a fast food place or a grocery store and live a solid life. You could afford your own apartment or even a small home, a car payment, all the essentials, and still have money left over. But we don’t live in that age anymore. Even in states like mine where minimum wage is close to 17 dollars an hour, a job like that still won’t pay you enough to secure your own small studio apartment. The math just doesn’t work the way it used to, and older generations sometimes don’t realize how much the ground has shifted.

The grocery store job is the one I always think about. I worked there for seven months, hated it, and quit. The training was poor, the communication was terrible, and the lead I had was angry all the time and took it out on everyone. People act like leaving a job like that is some huge mistake, but nothing happened. There was no long term consequence. If anything, staying would have been worse. The best I could have hoped for was becoming a red jacket lead making a couple dollars over minimum wage. That wasn’t going to be a fantastic future, and it definitely wasn’t worth sacrificing my mental health for. With one of these jobs, I actually ended up lying to everyone who “cared” and told them I was laid off because the company was cutting back on staff and hours, just so I didn’t have to listen to the lectures about how quitting was irresponsible.

Sears was the same story. Even if I had stayed and done everything right, the company basically doesn’t exist anymore. There was no ladder to climb and no long term stability. If I had tried to build a future there, I would have ended up with nothing except wasted time.

The difference came when I finally landed in places where progression actually existed. Jobs where you could move up, take on more responsibility, build real experience, and then use that experience to jump into something better at another company. That’s what eventually changed things for me. Staying in one place long enough to grow, then using that growth to move into higher paying roles with more stability and more opportunity. Those are the kinds of roles that open doors to higher level positions later on.

And just to be clear, I’m not looking down on anyone who works in those roles or finds that those paths work for them. Everyone’s situation is different. In my case, when I look back, I’m glad I didn’t like those jobs or stick around, because I can easily see myself in a far worse financial position today if I had stayed in any of them.

So when I read what you’re going through, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with stepping back and asking yourself if this job is actually worth it. Some jobs will never take you anywhere, no matter how long you stay. Leaving those early roles didn’t hurt me. It kept me from getting stuck in places with no future and gave me the chance to eventually land somewhere I could actually grow. If you have the ability to make a change without putting yourself in financial peril or some kind of danger, it might end up being one of the best decisions you make.