I work in higher ed. Upon the last big promotion cycle, I was passed over for a Director position. This position was instead given to a less tenured person with only a high school education. No certs, just the best friend of the boss. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here with three degrees, enrolled in a PhD program at the higher ed institution I work at. ๐ง Higher education not valuing the higher education of their employees. Doomed.
Ha! Where I work, you can almost place an exact date on the promotion based on what they're driving. I bought my first new car in over 20 years back in 2024. People at work and in general immediately asking about my "raise."
When I tell them it was a necessary purchase after my 2008 Mazda with 257k miles decided to no longer be a car, they grin. When I continue telling them the investment was much more stomachable because I was able to use 3/4 of the $60k inheritance my parent's left me upon my mother's recent death (all they had to their name was our childhood house, which my brother and I sold, paid debts from, and split the remaining balance), the air leaves the Earth.