Entry-level jobs requiring years of related experience

[Hawthorne]

or paying the difference with a masters degree.

explain this phenomenon. i do not understand.

what am i missing.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

Just a way to cull the applicant pool.

There are major issues in how hiring is done today that interfere with job placement. I talked to one guy who had completed 9 rounds of interviews for a position with a megabank, but still was not hired.

Few jobs even need the B.A., let alone the M.A. Decades ago such was unnecessary. But then the modern HR department was born and everything sucks.....

 

[ceecee]

or paying the difference with a masters degree.

explain

Other than teachers, I know no one who would benefit from a masters degree, in pay or advancement. I would say experience wins every time. I didn't get my bachelors degree in my field until I was working - I didn't need it for entry level health information positions and coding - I needed an AAS. I wasn't going to pay for the bachelors entirely, nor was I paying for all but one of my required credentialing exams (which are several hundred a piece). But tons of jobs want at least a bachelors and a couple years experiences - even entry level in a lot of fields. It makes no sense.

 

[Yama]

Need job to get experience
Need experience to get job

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[/DG/]

Need job to get experience
Need experience to get job

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The way around that is connections.

And then when you don't have none of the above, then you're screwed.

 

[/DG/]

Other than teachers, I know no one who would benefit from a masters degree, in pay or advancement. I would say experience wins every time. I didn't get my bachelors degree in my field until I was working - I didn't need it for entry level health information positions and coding - I needed an AAS. I wasn't going to pay for the bachelors entirely, nor was I paying for all but one of my required credentialing exams (which are several hundred a piece). But tons of jobs want at least a bachelors and a couple years experiences - even entry level in a lot of fields. It makes no sense.

That's great for you, but this isn't going to work for every field.

 

[Hawthorne]

perhaps it is my field of interest. things involving statistics. data or business analytics. or research assistant positions. anything really.

but the point is, there are no stats related internships in my area and i am unwilling to go further out unless i'm assured it's paid or has a stipend because i am a broke college student with an gasoline coated crush on loaners. the power balance of the relationship is un-ideal but it is what it is.

and even then, some are asking for prior experience. for internships. how even.

the point is, other than continuing to beg for a volunteer position in someone's lab, how am i going to satisfy this requirement.

do there exist analyst positions on the eastern coast of the united states of america that do not require 2 years experience or a masters degree that someone with a bs in math can apply to with the expectation of some domain related on the job training.

logically, there would have to be since the minimum requirement of 2 years of experience would not be able to be satisfied unless someone out there was hiring people with 0-2 years of experience. but that assumes that hiring departments are in tune on this matter

so the ultimate question is

where

are they hiding

and yes i am in contact with the career center. they are recommending internships. i am senior. i would prefer to just graduate.

also, see line #2

 

[Beargryllz]

Because your degree isn't needed and they want someone more desperate than you

One time I had a job. I hated that job so much that I actually worked like crazy trying to get out of it. I've never worked so hard in my life. Employers should kill to have that kind of motivation and also provide me with the things that I want.

 

[iwakar]

or paying the difference with a masters degree.

explain this phenomenon. i do not understand.

what am i missing.

Nothing. It's as absurd as it sounds.

 

[Hawthorne]

Nothing. It's as absurd as it sounds.

This is simultaneously troubling and reassuring.

 

[/DG/]

Why even call these entry level jobs if the barrier to entry is so great?

 

[Metamorphosis]

While I do think that this is ridiculous, typically when a job has a minimum experience requirement as low as 2 years, it isn't a real requirement. It's something that they put to try to weed out those people from applying but it's definitely worth applying for because those places do tend to higher people with 0 experience. This is obviously going to be more true for jobs that are going to tend to attract fewer applicants and require at least some education.

With that said, statistics doesn't seem like a field that has a ton of undergraduate opportunities with no higher levels of education (although that's pure speculation on my part). Although the debt could crush you temporarily, you can always think about working to get into a higher tier MBA or a graduate level statistics program and use that business analytics background in consulting (I realize that is your whole complaint, though).

The sad reality is that undergraduate degrees are not worth as much as they used to be worth because it is becoming more of an expectation than a differentiator (like graduating high school). I underestimated the value of internships when I was in college and, looking back, I can see what a huge benefit they are to people that do them. Although, I do also think that they are partially B.S. because you essentially volunteering unless you get a good paid one. Maybe try looking for opportunities that allow you to use your skills/knowledge virtually even if it is unpaid just so you have something to put on your resume.

In order of importance for getting a job:
1. Know people
2. Be able to play the game
3. Have actual skills and knowledge

 

[Swivelinglight]

As far as I know a bachelors in math (or worse statistics) is not enough for most data analyst positions. A masters is the ideal for entry level. It's possible get an analyst position, but those accepting bachelors are far fewer. Aka it may take awhile.

There'd probably be more luck applying for programming positions with just a bachelors in math.


Regarding the general topic. No a masters is not necessary for entry level positions in all fields. Examples are accounting, computer science, engineering of all kinds, nursing, etc. You just picked a field that doesn't have that property.

 

[Magic Poriferan]

To sound kind of dramatic, what you are observing is as stupid as it looks, and it is so stupid because it is an element of a system that is irreversibly lurching toward obsolescence. There's going to be some real pain when the final collapse happens (whenever that will be).

 

[Poki]

As far as I know a bachelors in math (or worse statistics) is not enough for most data analyst positions. A masters is the ideal for entry level. It's possible get an analyst position, but those accepting bachelors are far fewer. Aka it may take awhile.

There'd probably be more luck applying for programming positions with just a bachelors in math.


Regarding the general topic. No a masters is not necessary for entry level positions in all fields. Examples are accounting, computer science, engineering of all kinds, nursing, etc. You just picked a field that doesn't have that property.

We have so many "old school" self taught programmers, all it requires is 7-8 years experience and that puts you above a bachelors with less experience.

 

[cascadeco]

What everyone else said.

The system is really messed up.

I think at some point we need to get back to the apprentice/journeyman concept, where formal education in order to GET a job is no longer needed. (I'm not saying education isn't valuable in and of itself, though)

Experience does always trump the degree, but, yeah, it's a terrible chicken-and-egg scenario. And there are so many people now with degrees, and potentially not enough 'professional' jobs to sustain all of those degrees (when I was right out of college looking for *part-time*/ temporary work in what I majored in, I was realizing people with Masters Degrees were applying for the same entry-level type gigs because there weren't enough full-time jobs in the field. That's when I realized I didn't have the energy to play that game so I just got a job outside my field,swallowing my pride and being a lowly mail opener database person in a company. Foot in door and from there anything was potentially possible). I'm not saying everyone should do this, I'm just sharing my decision, which I don't know if I'd do again, but you know . My alternative was continuing to live at home and be unemployed for who knows how long.

 

[Amethyst]

It really depends on the job. I can say a lot of corporate HR departments make up a lot of bull about what's actually "required" with corporate positions, but honestly asking five years of experience for a job that pays and says "Entry Level" to be put in the job posting you would think the HR person considering it would give it a second though. They don't.

The job I had now said a degree was required. They're hiring for the SAME exact position with a higher starting pay, and only a HS diploma is required now. It's a hot mess and thinking about the logic as to why this all is will give you a self-induced lobotomy.

 

[OrangeAppled]

I am not really sure of the requirements of the jobs you are seeking... How much "proof" do they need? What do you need to show to show you can do it?

With my kind of work, I used "freelance" projects for my resume to show "experience" and get my foot in the door.

My first job in college was as a cashier, and they wanted retail experience for a min wage, entry level position . I claimed to have done some work for my step-dad's business, which was true, but at the time it just felt like earning some allowance (I was not an employee...). The interviewer recognized the name of the business and made lots of positive assumptions, and I was hired! Prior to that, I had been on several min wage retail jobs and they all were skeptical of my lack of experience.

I did similar things after college when seeking design work, which usually requires a portfolio, degree and experience.
All of my prior work experience was conveniently done for family friends or family with different last names
Turns out those people make great references too!

Of course, working in design, having a tangible portfolio helps as "proof", and it is easy & even expected to claim freelance experience.

Basically, get creative with "work experience". If you can, invent a project, hire yourself, and produce some tangible evidence of this to back-up that experience.

I agree the expectation is unreasonable, which is why I have no pangs about working the system a bit.

 

[EcK]

To sound kind of dramatic, what you are observing is as stupid as it looks, and it is so stupid because it is an element of a system that is irreversibly lurching toward obsolescence. There's going to be some real pain when the final collapse happens (whenever that will be).

Are we talking about when the communists/sjws/well-meaning-fools take over ?

Yeah, that's sure to fix things.