Current Events > Job Market is fucking joke

(+) Yeah! (+)

I think this is mostly people going into tech stuff. There are millions of tech people around the world, and it is saturated, just like graphic designers and nurses became.

ThisIsAKnoife posted...

Is this a meme at this point? Unless its some highly niche market Im unaware of, I have been getting interviews in Seattle area tech/IT with just an associates and 4 years experience paying $70k+

That's where I got my start. 55k a few years ago struggling in Seattle. Now with around 6 years of experience and a bachelors, I can get a 120k+ job in under 2 weeks anywhere in the country cause remote. Currently at 190k.

My roommate's company is having a hard time finding reliable people to work and they pay 25/hr with benefits in Portland to start. But I know so many that still do amazon flex and delivery and uber and I'm like... why? You can make more and have stable income but people want to feel like they own their own time even if it means they live in poverty.

Yo_D_oY posted...

That's where I got my start. 55k a few years ago struggling in Seattle. Now with around 6 years of experience and a bachelors, I can get a 120k+ job in under 2 weeks anywhere in the country cause remote. Currently at 190k.

My roommate's company is having a hard time finding reliable people to work and they pay 25/hr with benefits in Portland to start. But I know so many that still do amazon flex and delivery and uber and I'm like... why? You can make more and have stable income but people want to feel like they own their own time even if it means they live in poverty.

Some people dont need money to be happy. The freedom they have is more valuable.

Yeah, I remember back when I was looking for a job a bunch of engineering positions wanted 2 years of experience, bunch of software and possibly a master's for an entry level job at $80k. These companies are insane if they think someone that qualified will agree to such low pay.

StealThisSheen posted...

When I was in college, after my freshman year, they began showing us how to look up open positions and job outlook and so on, and if you were English or History, you basically had to move to Texas, New Mexico, etc., and speak Spanish, or they didn't want you. Math and Science had a slightly better outlook. And regardless, they were very up front about the idea that... It was all about who you know, at the end of the day.

Seems mad to me. But casting your net wide is a good idea in teaching. I moved nearly 6,000 miles for my current job and it was a great decision. Been really good for both my lifestyle and career progression.

Yo_D_oY posted...

My roommate's company is having a hard time finding reliable people to work and they pay 25/hr with benefits in Portland to start.

Any remote non-customer-facing positions?

Nobody likes working, suck it up and deal with it

BlockAddition posted...

Nobody likes working, suck it up and deal with it

you didnt even read OP did you?

I demand that @SocialistGamer posts a link to this made up job description that started the topic

you're supposed to be using your free time to get whatever skills you can through the internet! use online courses to teach yourself how to make a website! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! never stop the grind! keep learning skills even if you won't use them!

it's just like dating

you may not have work experience but at least you have the skills to run your own blog! XD

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


I dont want to be mean-spirited but it does sound like you might not be as qualified as you think you are, or that youre not selling your qualifications, skills and experience well enough.

When we put out a job advert there are always a ton of applicants with the qualifications that we listed, but those are the bare minimum. The ones that only have those tend to get sifted out at the first stage because theres always other candidates that have a lot more to offer beyond the basics and have made it clear in their applications.

haha! take some photography classes and you can use that for your hobbies! you will look interesting XD
go hiking!

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


I dont work tech, but I have worked and hired in a number of professions and I would say that if youre consistently not getting called back, its simply because your application isnt stacking up compared with other applicants. Its always a competition.

As Ive said, that could be either because youre lacking as a candidate compared to the people youre up against or because your application isnt making the best of selling your skills and accomplishments.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Checked and replied.

Im not sure how directly helpful I can be, as its not a field I have any experience of, but Ive tried to explain what I mean.

You couldn't find a single job listing to support this claim TC?

Prismsblade posted...

You couldn't find a single job listing to support this claim TC?

I could, or I saw one a couple years ago that was hilarious. Receptionist at a go kart business. Requires an Office Administration degree and 3 years experience: Paying: Minimum wage.

My first job out of college required a masters' degree and paid $23 an hour. Which, sure that was livable, but with a masters required you'd think it would be paying a lot more.

LameFAQs posted...

My first job out of college required a masters' degree and paid $23 an hour. Which, sure that was livable, but with a masters required you'd think it would be paying a lot more.

I know that some places have a trial period of 3 months, where they purposely offer a lower amount and see if you fit well with the team. Then they bump up the pay to something more reasonable. An IT company tried to do that with a buddy of mine, who just told them "I make more at Wal-Mart and I get benefits. You guys need to adjust your pay scale for new hires".

Euripides posted...

I demand that @SocialistGamer posts a link to this made up job description that started the topic

I demand he doesnt

the_pika posted...

I demand he doesnt

Cool, because his job description sounds made up

Euripides posted...

Cool, because his job description sounds made up

he may not be able to find one with 100% match, but there are many, many ridiculous ones out there, with the common theme of
being entry level yet asking for several years of experience and very specific degrees, while offering true minimum wage pay or close to

StealThisSheen posted...

This isn't the "gotcha" you think it is.

I went to college for something completely unrelated to what my career ended up being. After working mostly minimum wage jobs due to the lack of actual available work in my chosen career (teaching), I ended up taking a 6 month course to learn to become a computer coder/mobile and web app developer. The company that ran the training then hired me, and I worked for them for almost 7 years.

As the tech industry took a hit, work dried up. I was laid off. Since then, I've tried to find a new job. I ultimately keep getting passed over, since, despite having 6+ years of actual on the job experience, I don't have a computer science degree.

Is that fair? I don't know, you tell me.

You can get a degree for 2 grand in two years if your down for that.

Makeveli_lives posted...

You can get a degree for 2 grand in two years if your down for that.

a STEM bachelors?

the_pika posted...

a STEM bachelors?

Associates. But a degree is a degree. You want the bachelors itll cost 4. From university of the people.

sounds stupid but its legit and accredited and all online. About 2 grand for associates and 4 for bachelors in 3 fields, computer science being one of them.

mach25687 posted...

And that is why Trade schools are the way to go.

Trade schools can still cost a lot of money and often people take out student loans to pay for them.

On top of that almost every trade job out there has a median salary range of like 50-60k. Which is not bad for some people but its not the mythical "electrician who makes 150k" that everyone always talks about.

Shadow_Don posted...

Trade schools can still cost a lot of money and often people take out student loans to pay for them.

On top of that almost every trade job out there has a median salary range of like 50-60k. Which is not bad for some people but its not the mythical "electrician who makes 150k" that everyone always talks about.

No but from a time/cost perspective they make alot more sense for people who want to enter a decent paying career in very little time. And they're job security also is second to none due to how essential they are.

The rest is just a matter of location, exp, and luck. Which is the same for all other jobs pretty much.

Euripides posted...

Cool, because his job description sounds made up

Shhh, youre supposed to just be angry and not question how exaggerated the criticism is.

Prismsblade posted...

No but from a time/cost perspective they make alot more sense for people who want to enter a decent paying career in very little time. And they're job security also is second to none due to how essential they are.

The rest is just a matter of location, exp, and luck. Which is the same for all other jobs pretty much.

Sure. I'm not knocking on trade jobs, I think for some people it's a good decision to pursue that kind of work and its perfectly possible to be financially successful with trade jobs. I just don't think it's the magic bullet people keep making it out to be. Ironically, its similar to how people may have had very unrealistic expectations of what their 4 year degree with get them in the job market.

And it doesn't really matter how essential the work is if the labor pool becomes oversaturated with trade workers, which could happen if everyone believes being an electrician is the ticket to a 6 figure salary.

Makeveli_lives posted...

Associates. But a degree is a degree. You want the bachelors itll cost 4. From university of the people.

sounds stupid but its legit and accredited and all online. About 2 grand for associates and 4 for bachelors in 3 fields, computer science being one of them.

thats really cool

Compared to my job

No experience technically
No degree needed

$35 an hour

A regular BA usually doesn't give you any actual valuable working skills outside of just the ability to learn. But Master's Degree actually does teach you valuable theories about the work you'd be doing, esp cuz you don't have some cringe base education requirement to deal with and only focus that subject. Depends on where you go though, since lower tier college Masters are kinda trash, as much as people might cope to be otherwise.

A Master's Degree person being offered min to low wage is an insult. People who apply to those shouldn't even have Master's. Just apply and a few months after the job posting, they'll probably reach out cuz reasonably, they couldn't find the 1 sucker who are way overqualified for that position.

I've had a nightmare of a time finding work, and I hate it.

I struggled finding anything out of college, so I turned to freelance writing and online tutoring with a contract based company.

That setup isn't really ideal for me any more, so I'm looking at moving into traditional work again, but employers won't give freelance or contract work a second glance. Even if it's not traditional, I'd think that my experience counts for something, but...nope. It's been a sea of quick rejections, getting ghosted entirely, and the occasional outright scam. I'm not even aiming particularly high, just at jobs that aren't retail/fast food/manual labor and ideally use my degree in some capacity. I'm lucky to get a single phone interview every few weeks, and those never go anywhere.

It's immensely frustrating and totally demoralizing. I feel super stuck, and I hate it.

AlBundy33 posted...

Compared to my job

No experience technically
No degree needed

$35 an hour

whats your jerb?

You guys aren't even touching on how many fake jobs and scams are out there nowadays.

Just got three spam calls right now and several fake interview e-mails in the past hour.

Euripides posted...

Cool, because his job description sounds made up

Really? Go look on job boards and check for so called "entry-level" positions.

It's insane that I'm only a driver and I make more than a lot of college graduates

Meanwhile, public sector jobs are desperate for candidates in most states...

Xenogears15 posted...

Meanwhile, public sector jobs are desperate for candidates in most states...

Probably because they're too picky as to who can even apply. Unlike private industry, the requirements for public sector all have to be met. If a position lists a specific degree, then you need that specific degree where in the private sector, degree requirements are more a suggestion. This ends up pigeonholing growth of candidates and diversity of the workforce in those departments.

Using myself as an example, I have a degree in psychology but have been working in public health for years. The state and county public health departments in which I reside will not be allowed to hire me despite my research background, as well as being a statistician and computer programmer, because my degree doesn't fit the exact degree or set of degrees they're allowed to use as part of the education requirements. Every research team I have been on has been happy to have me due to my math and comp sci background but the public sector won't even let me get my foot in the door just because of my degree.

Having mentored grad students that come through my lab, it's obvious that they have little to no knowledge of how research is even conducted. Their knowledge of stats is very basic, barely going past what is an ANOVA. In undergrad, all the public health students need to know is mean, median, and mode. Beyond that, they're just expected to know how to use R Studio. Despite their limited knowledge, they'll be more likely to find a job in the public sector for public health than I would.