Why does every entry level job listing ask for 3-5 years experience?

I've been hunting for a junior dev role in Austin for 2 months now and I keep seeing postings that say "entry level" but then demand 3 years of React or AWS experience. How are we supposed to break in if nobody wants to train fresh grads anymore? Has anyone found tech companies that actually hire people with zero professional experience or am I missing something?

2 comments

2 Comments

caleb_ross125d ago

Yo I read this article from Hacker News that basically said companies are writing job posts for their perfect unicorn candidate instead of what they actually need. It's wild how they slap "entry level" on something that's clearly mid-level work. I know a guy who got his foot in the door by filtering his search to only look at job postings with less than 10 requirements. He said most of those 3-5 year experience listings are just wish lists anyway, not actual dealbreakers. Found a decent junior role at a boutique agency that way.

evaallen5d ago

I used to work at a startup in San Antonio called CodeUp that ran a junior dev program, and they told me straight up they'd rather hire someone with a bootcamp cert and a good attitude than someone with 3 years of experience who's just going to leave in 6 months. The problem is most companies write job descriptions based on their "ideal" candidate from five years ago, not who's actually applying today. Maybe try looking at companies that are under 50 people or ones that just got funding, because they're usually more willing to take a chance on someone fresh. Have you checked out the Austin Tech Slack group? I've seen a few smaller shops there skip the experience requirement entirely.