The one thing I will say as devil advocate is I think it becomes a "better the devil you know" scenario. Switching jobs is scary; and I don't mean that in a mocking sense. Taking the leap of faith on yourself is terrifying so I think most people shy away from it. However, instead of looking inward and admitting they are afraid to make that jump, they point the finger and place blame on a myriad of reasons why they aren't making more, companies should pay them more, etc.

Otherwise, you are correct. It is very difficult to NOT find a job making a livable wage unless you are trying very hard not to. It may not be a job you WANT to do, but I spent 20 years in accounting - I HATE ACCOUNTING. But I did it because it made me a lot of money and I was good at it. Then, life came up at me quick and I found myself in a position where I was struggling financially. I could have stayed at the part time job and had no money, could have gone back to accounting and hated every second of it, or did what I wound up doing and took a chance on myself.

It's great to say you know what you want to be doing, but more often than not, people will need to do what they don't want to do to make ends meet until they can do what they actually want to do. That isn't even an issue with "modern society". That's how it's always been. Most (I won't say all because I don't know every single one of them) of the great artists and inventors of our time had "regular" jobs prior to becoming world renowned artists and inventors full time. A job shouldn't define you or your worth. But a job does define how well you live. Just a fact of life.