It’s kind of interesting. When my sister graduated from college in 2003, the speaker mentioned it was the worst time ever to try and find a job. A couple years later in 2005, I heard the same thing when I graduated. I heard it at various other times over the years. And now today it is still the worst time ever to find a job.

After hearing the same line, fairly consistently, for nearly 25 years, I’m having a hard time taking it seriously.

Companies only hiring people with experience is far from a new problem.

Back in the late 90s, I struggled to get my first job that actually used my studied skills. Yes, I had a job - delivering pizza - but I was desperately trying to get a job _coding_, and in-between virtue-signallers only hiring people of a specific race and the vast majority of companies expecting years of experience, it took quite a while and I really only found a position because the place I studied at gets actively involved in the process.

Yes, the trend of trying to replace entry-level jobs with AI doesn't help, but this isn't a new problem. Few businesses have the foresight to train up employees, and a lot are understandably disillusioned by entry-level churn, where you train people, and the moment they have skills, they skip off to another company, usually for more money - when losing that person costs the company more than if they'd just pay them a market-related salary.

AI isn't helping, but it's far from a new problem - it's just exacerbated by the corporate greed chasing ever more profit, where the easiest way to see a short-term financial gain is to cut salaries.

There are three career stages. First you're not qualified enough, then for a moment you're overqualified, and at last you're too old. The last stage occurs few decades before statutory retirement age.

From my own, local experience: the job is there, they just don't have the money to hire someone to do it. But the need is there.