I dropped out of my PhD as soon as I felt it was clear I wasn't on trajectory to land in a tenure track role. It was a stressful and confusing time in my life and not an easy decision, but one based on a clear-eyed view of the economic realities ahead. I don't understand why people soldier on for literal decades in a job when there is no hope of ever gaining reasonable pay, benefits, or recognition. On an hourly-adjusted basis many of these people would be financially better off doing just about anything else.