Thanks that's helpful : o
But seriously, enlighten me, I didn't put those question marks for decoration.
If you're "low payed" and over-exploited, why not change jobs ?
It depends on person to person, but here are few reasons that someone might not do so:
1. Lack of career prospects in other arenas. Often, the experience you get in the game industry doesn't really help you with other jobs. So if you are an "unskilled" laborer (usually, as in not having a college degree), but you have worked for a few years at one company, it's advantageous for you to stick with that company, as your cache of loyalty/experience in the company is worth more there than it would be elsewhere or in another industry.
2. Difficulty moving jobs. Changing jobs in any industry is difficult. Going through an application process, working on a portfolio (which is very common among game industry professionals), tons of paperwork.......... and often you have to keep it a secret from your current place of employment. Also, considering the smaller amount of game companies compared to some other industries, often a move to another company also includes a real life move, which is a whole other can of worms. It could involve having a spouse change jobs too, or pulling your kids out of their school. It's a MASSIVE life change that's often very expensive.
3. The "dream job" thing. Now, this is probably an overblown theory, because I haven't really encountered it in the games industry as much as people outside the industry would think. But there are people who want to work in the industry no matter the cost. Yes, they know they're being exploited, and they know that they're underpaid, but they cannot or will not do any other job, because working on games is their dream job. This also applies to a lot of entry level workers (like QA) trying to move their way into the design sector.