Remember the time when you were in senior year in college, you started looking for jobs. You read job descriptions and searched for open positions of your dream jobs at dream companies. Then you scrolled down to the requirements…..this is where it gets annoying. Either you see that you have to have a Master’s/Ph.D. or a minimum of 8-10+ years experience. What really did it for me was the laziness of the HR team, they ALWAYS put Seniority Level: Entry Level for these jobs. Are you looking for a Benjamin Button?

Anyways, from April 2018 till April 2019, I had applied to 3000+ jobs in the USA (not exaggerating). I noticed and learned many things. But the one thing that really struck me was that companies wanted entry-level candidates to have qualifications that a traditional 22-year-old person wouldn’t have. Now here is where shit gets really interesting, most GRADUATE SCHOOLS HAVE FIELD EXPERIENCE/WORK EXPERIENCE as a requirement for Master’s programs. Do you see the cycle now? Are you spinning? If yes, then good, let’s take a spin together! 

As a 23-year-old, mind you, I already wasted my 22nd year scraping for a job and failed, I wonder how do I get into a Master’s program without fieldwork? Or a job without 10+ years of experience or a Masters’s? Just writing those two questions, I got confused, read it carefully again, it helps. Also, I still don’t have the answers and nor have I found the loophole, so if you have, please be kind and share it with me. I am just writing my thoughts out! Continuing…..

Given the horrible job market, biased selection of candidates, and overpopulation with limited jobs, where these are just some of the factors that make it challenging for a college graduate to even attain a job/master’s program. Companies are too busy making profits and writing their quarterly reports and Universities are too busy keeping their reputation intact. Due to this, both parties are unaware of what is happening at the individual level. They don’t realize that their expectations, requirements, and desires are irrelevant and almost impossible to accomplish for the majority of people.

DISCLAIMER: When it comes to the job market and universities, there is a concept of ‘The Lucky Ones’ who have access to resources that give them the easy way in. If you are one of them, please stop reading, this isn’t for you. Go back to studying/working. P.S I’m not saying all the lucky ones are privileged people and are lazy baboons, I am just talking about the other 3/4 of the population. 

There needs to be some sort of reform in the job requirements or Masters’s application requirements. We sure talk about it yet much isn’t being done. We need to break the cycle. Today, we as a community evolve at an hourly rate yet there are still century-old frameworks/methods/rules/etc that hinder our development and growth in complex areas. Superficial development/growth isn’t enough. We embrace change a lot more than previous generations, so don’t you think its time we work towards changing our job requirements and applicants’ requirements? 

Indian Chameleon’s Obiter Dictum for the Day
Hey Kid! Take a break from applying for jobs and researching for a Master’s program.