the lesson is employer loyalty is a waste of your time
explain like i'm five plz.
while these jobs keep rolling out with requirements that make it impossible for new grads to earn the position without having worked an unpaid internship and built a tight connection with the hiring manager, active workers qualify for mid-level positions with 5 years of work and senior with 8.
these positions are going unfilled, which means negotiating power is in the worker's hands once they have actually fulfilled the requirements (ideally by taking a job working for your 'friend' from your internship)
once you meet the experience requirement, dump your employer as often as you get a new opportunity. it will raise your salary rapidly.
my wife went from earning 36k in 2013 to 86k now, by changing jobs about every 1.5 years.
Have to be careful though, it doesn't look good on a resume when job hopping every few years. Many companies won't give those people the time of day because why invest in a job hopper.