Perhaps they chose to have children ahead of being able to afford them and haven’t attempted to find a better job. People tend to create their own traps. Sure, the game is hard right now, but there are plenty of winners. I had a really bad job once and learned a lot from it about being a better boss than he was. Before that, I was an on-the-road consultant. Made great money doing that, but couldn’t establish a social life. Was all about finding the right fit. Starting out at my corporate gig wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. I had cubicles outside the HR office and hear people get yelled at my the hostile person in charge. What I learned though was how to win people over and find a mentor. The mean HR lady became my ally and watched out for me. She was nice, but had a hard exterior. Still perfecting my social skills. I’m a beast at what I do, but I wouldn’t get very far if I wasn’t nice to people. Finding out all the time that people like to talk about themselves and feel useful. I read a lot of books on everything and regret whenever I consider having a defeatist attitude. Just finished a Ulysses S. Grant biography. That dude packed, so much into a short period of time and had a lot of my eccentricities. He’s a testament to how you can learn to be the best at something by applying yourself fully and valuing relationships.