Seriously, help me out here. Is the absolute only way to filter out the publik skrewel ‘graduates’ and dimbulbs to add things that literally make people like me drop the job description and weep in frustration because we can’t even bother applying?MelonCollie on January 24, 2013 at 8:44 PM

Sad but true, unintended consequences rule. There are ways around it but more than I can cover here especially when I don’t know what you’re aiming for. One example is getting to the decision makers by networking. To whit, over the course of 30 years I went from aviation technology (glorified term for a&p mechanic) college drop out when I when I did the math for the cost of getting my 4 yr degree as opposed to leveraging my air force experience and contacts to get a job in aviation without it. Long story short, I’m now managing my second massive roll out of a SAP ERP multi-year project. Granted it took initiative to be in the right place at the right time to land here but hang in there and you can get there by letting your reputation speak for you.

Jeddite on January 24, 2013 at 9:13 PM

This is an extreme example of what I’m facing.

It’s ridiculous and it’s why I have very little sympathy for hand-wringing oldsters who keep complaining “We ken’t get any young’uns to apply here, goshdarnit.”

I have literally lost count of the times I’ve been looking at applying for a job and gone “can do that…can do that…an 8th grader could do that…need a little practice on that…a trained monkey could do that…wait – what the ****? How many years experience in WHAT? In an ‘entry level position’? What is this crap?!?”

I applied for a couple of openings this week – totally qualified, but damn if the experience didn’t make me think otherwise. And these are the “step 1″ positions!

Step 1: college degree + 1 years experience
Step 2: college degree + 5 years experience + certifications highly desirable
Step 3: college degree + 10 years experience + every applicable certification imaginable

Oy vey.

Blame DOL the EEOC and other agencies that force employers to inflate prerequisites, that and grade inflation from public education. Unintended consequences. The employers are not to blame.

AH_C on January 24, 2013 at 8:37 PM

So what, it’s a federal law or something that you have to add prereqs that make it utterly impossible for nearly anyone under 30 to even APPLY?

Seriously, help me out here. Is the absolute only way to filter out the publik skrewel ‘graduates’ and dimbulbs to add things that literally make people like me drop the job description and weep in frustration because we can’t even bother applying?

Still though, I’ve been doing office/Dilbert work for ten years since undergrad – the pay isn’t great, and the job satisfaction is non-existent.

~ oh hay, quittin’ time ~

Unless the work you’re doing requires an ungodly amount of skill and/or training, I really have a very hard time believing you unless the welfare mentality in your locale is really awful.

MelonCollie on January 24, 2013 at 8:22 PM

Believe what you want, but I’m not exactly over the hill myself. I’m 40. I have no trouble hiring older guys to do the same positions and some of them have went through the same training programs that I mentioned in another post. Upholstering furniture, cutting fabric and sewing all take training and a fair amount of skill, but this area has programs set up to move these people from training directly into work. Most of the guys that work for me make about $50,000 in a town where the median income is about $22,000. The work is piece-work, so you get paid for what you produce. A newly trained person may make less because they are slower or have more defects in their work they have to fix, but in a couple of months they’re usually up to speed.

“Besides, conservatives did win occasional victories at the polls, so the republic that our founders left us still seemed capable of self-correction. But even when conservatives won elections, the people who lost those elections taught our children the next day”

I have come to the realization that my real sacrifice for the Republic will be made in the class room. Finishing my degree and becoming a teacher is not what I want to do but… That is where the action is.

If you aren’t in a position to become a teacher think “Change the culture.” It is more effectine than pissing and moaning

Maybe. I think the entry level jobs paying $9 an hour where you learn the skills are “beneath” a lot of people, not just young people. I also think that in some industries, like construction, unskilled illegal immigrants tend to crowd out the field for the entry level jobs as well.
Timin203 on January 24, 2013 at 8:11 PM

Therein lies the dilemma. We’ve hyped and inflated the value of higher education as if every one has a right to college. No. And our litigitious society has forced shop out of the household. I hope someone gives you a chance. You need to get past the front desk and talk to owners or managers. If you have the knack and ambition you can talk yourself into a chance to learn and prove your worth, ie a 90 day probation. Try it.

I think that attitude is what drives people away from manufacturing and other work where you work with your hands.

Timin203 on January 24, 2013 at 8:16 PM

You might be right, but I live in a city of 40,000 people in the foothills of NC. I’m not far from the places that they show on that program Moonshiners. So, we’ve got a bunch of guys that hunt, fish and drive suped up trucks and cars. Kind of a place where people really do work with their hands. If this were Charlotte, I’d be more likely to believe what you’re saying is the case.

I have a brother that loves to work on cars and was even a mechanic when he was in his twenties, but won’t look for that type of job again because he thinks others look down on those positions. He’d rather not have a job than take one with a stigma attached to it, even though it is how he likes to spend his free time. I think a lot of others feel the same way.