I thought you were saying that growth or mobility was inherently impossible for a janitor. Maybe because you describe being a janitor for 40 years as a mistake rather than as a failure of the system. Anyway, if you meant it the other way around then consider my reply some extra support for the idea.

I was just using the parent comment verbiage. Perhaps I should have quoted it.

I meant a mistake by society, i.e. it's a mistake to put people in a dead-end job, functionally ever.

Gotcha. Maybe it could have been worded better but I understand what you mean now, so it's all good.