How to change without going backwards

I hot my degree in Business Management in 2014. I chose that major because it was so broad I could potentially find any type of job. Mistake #1! I should have specialized in something. I was looking for a job for months, focusing my search on jobs were I could help people (HR, student advisor at a University, etc) but everything required either a Masters degree or 3-5 years of experience. With the help of a friend, I landed a job at a major banking institution, where I've been for the past 6 years. It's never something I really wanted to do, but nevertheless I did it really well and have been a top performer (operations, no sales or anything bonus related). I recently moved to another department within the company because I wanted to grow .... mistake #2!!! There was no growth, no salary increase, no challenging work, and to top it off, my boss and her entire team of managers are absolutely horrible. So I'm now, once again searching for a job. I want to go back to my original quest of something with a purpose, helping people in some way. But companies are still asking for years of specific experience for anything with a decent salary. If you don't have experience, then you can expect to make $15/hour. I can't justify going backwards like that.... I could go down to minimum $25/hour if I felt I could potentially grow and if I knew I would be much happier, but not down to $15. So how do people get into careers paths like HR, advising, etc without direct experience? I must add that I believe I could easily learn anything at a job and don't think its necessary to have years and years of experience to perform well.