Four years ago I finished college with a degree in Information Systems: Database Administration with a second degree in Computer Aided Graphic Design a couple years prior. The job market in my area for either of these fields is flat lined. And this seems to be the case with many other fields where a skilled worker might be able to find a decent entry-level position. Why is this?
Go to any online job posting site, any at all, and do a search for ‘entry-level information technology jobs’. Chances are you’ll come up with several results with requirements and skills preferred that looks something like this (Items in Bold will be explained below):
Entry level data entry clerk needed!!!!
Duties: Applicant will be required to convert hard-copy data to a digital format as accurate as possible. Other clerical work on as-needed basis.
Requirements: 2 year degree in computer science, information technology or related field. 2 years experience with Program X, App Y and Alpha, Beta and Omega programming languages. Certifications preferred. Must have drivers license, be willing to work nights, weekends and holidays.
Typing Test: Yes (35 wpm required)
Take note of the items in bold: The 2 year degree would be understandable for an entry level position. It would mean the applicant has a basic understanding of some of the programs or systems the company or office might use. It would also make sense that an entry level applicant may need training in how that office operates. For instance, while they may use a program or language you’re trained in, they may use it slightly different than the way you might be used to.
But the 2 years experience with the same programs is problematic when it comes to entry level because while the applicant might have that much experience with programs and coding in the classroom or maybe a few internships, there’s a very good chance they won’t have that kind of experience in the field. Job postings often fail to specify this, whether or not this is on purpose I’m not sure, but it’s hard not to connect that dot when you never receive a chance at an interview or a call back.
The next problem with this is certifications being ‘preferred’ (They really mean required. To say otherwise would be lying.) I can understand to a point why that would be the case, but these certs aren’t cheap. Worse, you may even have to be re-certified every 3 to five years. That’s a lot of money you’ll be shelling out over the course of your IT or computer-related career.
Then there’s the drivers license requirement. If it were for ID purposes, then a simple ID would suffice. The truth is, the employer may want you to work at more than one office, with those other offices having a longer commute than the one you may be working at.
Because of these things alone, entry into the field is near impossible. Even if an applicant does make it to an interview, the chances of being hired are next to zero. This makes it easy for these same employers to abuse guest worker programs or send jobs to countries where any concept of labor rights do not exist.
In my neck of the woods, the subject of retraining has come up yet again. This time my mother-in-law has suggested Cybersecurity, where supposedly employers are hurting to hire people. Sure, I could do that, but even if I were to become certified or even get a degree in Cybersecurity, I’d still face these same problems, as I have explained countless times when this subject comes up.
Many people my age also have to face stupid shit like being told we’re acting spoiled and entitled while in the same breath telling us they used to be able to get decent jobs simply by breathing, all while telling us we might just have to settle for that warehouse job at Amazon or that cashier’s job at Walmart. No disrespect to those workers. They work as hard as any other despite what the spiteful idiots say.
Or we hear worse: Employers are lucky to get people who can work for 5 hours a day paired in with the usual workers and the poor are lazy while those who work hard get promoted. We know better. Those workers who ‘work hard’ are used as an excuse to berate and overwork the rest. The erratic and on call scheduling doesn’t help either.
At this point, I only humor my employment specialist when she tells me there’s an opening that might be good for me. Or I help people with computer based needs to keep busy, but I’m finding it difficult to be motivated to participate in a system that is openly hostile to entry-level skilled workers, the disabled and other people that the ‘doing fine’ crowd simply don’t give a single solitary shit about.
If we want to solve the employment problem in America, we need to stop bashing the workers and look toward the top, at the hiring executives and the HR workers who enable their shitty behavior.
See ya around,
Homer