This is something I'm worried about. I actually have a decent-paying blue-collar job, but I want to be an engineer and expand myself. A lot of entry engineering positions pay less than what I currently make. I'd be happy breaking even, but pay cuts are a hard decision to make.
If you can keep the roof over your head, the goal is to look at longer term earning.
This is a painful trap that keeps a lot of lower income and skill folks down, life forces them to take the short term earning to stay fed, thereby missing out on longer term opportunities