> pinging me multiple times a day for updates

It tends to be part of the job, though in your case it might be that your manager isn’t technical because git and continuous integration do the same thing without your manager pestering you

> expecting me to be on call outside of work hours

Part of the job especially when there are either tight deadlines or bad bugs

You need a degree. Fortunately, there are now many reputable and inexpensive online options especially via public universities

The other riskier option is to learn a very niche programming language with a small talent pool like cobal.

The best option is to do both uni and learning the niche programming language