"...But major companies have also chosen to bifurcate their work force, contracting out much of the labor that goes into their products to other companies, which compete by lowering costs. It’s not just janitors and security guards. In Silicon Valley, the people who test operating systems for bugs, review social media posts that may violate guidelines, and screen thousands of job applications are unlikely to receive a paycheck directly from the company they are ultimately working for..."

This is the most salient point of this article, for me. The differentiation between what is done by an employee (and therefore has a career path) and what is done by a service provider (which is a dead-end job).

How does someone elevate themselves when they are working for a service provider, who is probably cutting every benefit and corner, to compete with other low-price providers? There's no access for you to get into the office that you are currently cleaning...

It's the way of business in America today... but that doesn't make it "right".