Wait, so the system had you listed as 6 years younger and that somehow didn't throw a red flag sooner? Like, did your insurance ever send you a birthday card or a discount offer that just felt... off? I'm just wondering how long that mistake was sitting there before this kid happened to look at it. Must make you wonder what else is quietly wrong in all those other files, you know? Like, how many errors are just sitting there waiting for the wrong moment to blow up.

Man, same reason nobody gets anything done after lunch.

That "real gut punch" line from @averywright hits close to home. I had a buddy in the same spot, did extra networking work for two years at his company, got skipped over twice. He got so fed up he took a weekend HVAC course and started apprenticing at a local shop. Now he makes more than I do and says the only thing he misses is not getting his hands dirty, which is funny because he used to complain about cable management all day. The heat and the tight spaces are rough, sure, but he says at least no one asks him to fix a printer during his lunch break. If you can handle the physical side, I'd say give it a shot before you burn out completely.