How many people working minimum wage jobs do you think are going to “graduate” to something better? You think a janitor is going to get his doctorate in the custodial arts?
That's their choice! This is America, they can do anything they want! I started at minimum wage, I would say that 95% of the people I know did. Both my kids did and now both are in grad school.
Like someone even mentioned above, most companies start above minimum wage. I used to deal with electrical companies. Every week, I went in, they would ask me if I knew someone who wanted a job. Of course COVID has changed things but 11 months ago, if you wanted to start above minimum wage, show up to work and not do drugs, you could start out about $15 per hour.
I called on a customer at a quarry. They hired a young kid as a driver on the grounds. He was making $35/year. He worked one week and told them, "yeah, this isn't for me."
Dude, I started at the bottom of a large company in Louisville, worked my way up while going to school. I volunteered for every job and every opportunity for OT. Then after working my way up to middle management, my job was eliminated (2009). Gave them everything I had, promoted 9 times in 10 years. Gone, over. Married with 2 kids in a recession. Got a job that sucked!!!!!!! Working 15 hours per day, underpaid but it paid bills and I had insurance. Then started a whole different career in sales with ZERO experience. A few years later, knock on wood, I'm doing the best I ever have. Maybe some luck was involved, but most was hard work, working nights, weekends, doing what ever I needed to do. At one point I was working 40 hours per week and waiting tables at nights and weekends.
Go work hard, America is still the land of opportunity!