Is it easy to get out of poverty?

[SpaceyGirl]

Do you think it's easy to get out of poverty? As in, you were born poor, so don't include people who were not poor. It's a yes or no question, but I'd like to hear your reasoning for it. Even better, please share your stories! Your hardships and successes!

One of my friend's brothers was talking about how "if you just work hard, anyone could get themselves out of poverty."

I was about speechless.
To me, this isn't like the 1940s where working part time at McDonalds can pay for a years college.
One bad health incident can put someone behind decades of earnings.
If you're in a competitive field and you're not attractive or have enough experience, how do you get more experience??

I got out of poverty. I wasn't homeless growing up, but I'm pretty sure the reason we moved every 2 years was because we were getting evicted. My parents were in super debt. Every month was a battle between buying food or saving every dollar for rent so we don't get kicked out again because the current place was the absolute cheapest on the market. I didn't get my license or a car until I was 22. I had $0 for college. Plan B was to become a stripper.

But I f*ing lucked out. A college accepted my sad sob story and my average GPA. I was able to get some loans.
I managed to get a job at a sandwich shop on campus after checking in with them everyday for a month until they had a no-show, that took care of food.
I worked full time while going to school full time with extra units so I could graduate early and not get even more buried by loans.

But after I graduated, dangit, I didn't do internships and every "entry level job" required at least an internship.
4-5 more years working at random food shops, since that's all the experience I had... I had no car but walking ~4 miles to work everyday was fine. My bike got stolen 3 times, ugh.
But then, a lucky break! A friend recommended me to a grunt position in a company and I got accepted. From there, I got some experience, got moved around from company to company a few times. One year, the company I was at was near bankruptcy and let go of a lot of the company. I survived, I was cheap to keep. But then everyone needed to do more and, wait! I had a degree in this field! They created a new 'junior' position for me. Finally, 8 years later, I managed to get hired for a position I thought I would have out of college.

Getting out of poverty was not easy for me. At any point, my life would be very different; if I didn't get a lucky break getting accepted into college, if I didn't get a job to pay for school and food, if I didn't have that one friend who got me that one position, if my mother got sick, I would've moved back to take care of her. I also know there were a couple jobs where I was chosen over another, more qualified applicant because I am a not-bad looking female. Yes, I worked hard and yes, I made it out, but on my journey, I've seen so many people who've worked as hard if not harder than me and is still making minimum wage. It completely breaks my heart. I will also note that "out of poverty" for me is not living paycheck to paycheck and you have like 3-6 months of emergency funds.

Sorry for the long intro, I guess the question is just: Do you think it's easy to get out of poverty? Why or why not?
Also, I live in the USA if that changes anything.