The issue with me being the reality checker is that I am considered 'negative', 2 years down the line after I'm long gone and reality bites, I look like some sort of messiah. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.
Doing my SEO volunteer work with small shop owners in the UK during lockdown opened my eyes. As you said the average business is hammered with SEO, PPC, growth tips (snake oil) to the point you have to try it. But they don't have the time so it's half baked mostly and they feel disheartened. Honestly, ad-tech is nothing more than going to the casino and thinking you can win against the house.
This is something I will ponder on as it can potentially lead me down the path of improving digital marketing without banging my head against a wall! Less talking more doing as they say.
Selfishly, I hope you do stay in digital marketing, and be the change I want to see. Ad-tech needs some sanity and reality checks, and I hear a rumbling in the deep around ethical advertising practices.
Ad-tech is not just feeling more manipulative by the year, it's also feeling more and more like snake oil to your average business. I feel like there's a niche opening up for honest feeling, more simple online advertising networks.