Thus Buzzes the Babylon Bee

[Bear Ribs]

One cause of degree inflation I haven't seen mentioned yet is the rise of automation in HR departments.

During economic downturns, there's usually widespread unemployment, and thus lots of people applying for each job, so HR departments have to pare down very large lists of applicants, preferably without spending much time or money on tons of interviews. Further, they can't pare the list down in any way that might trigger a lawsuit or discrimination complaint. They hit on using AI to pre-screen, but the AIs need keywords or numbers that indicate why it should get rid of a person. So, outrageous requirements for education and experience far more than what the job should reasonably need can give the AI a concrete standard that lets it quickly trim five thousand applicants down to a more manageable number and it's relatively lawsuit-proof.

Notably, requirements for jobs dropped way down and beginning wages went up during COVID, when most people were getting helicopter payments to not work and companies were competing fiercely for the few workers available.

 

[bintananth]

Back when I was looking, even the entry level positions wanted people with at minimum 4+ years of prior work experience. This was well over ten years ago though, so maybe the job market has changed since then.

Someone with a BS in Computer Engineering and 4+ years of experience is not entry level. They're elligible to take or have already passed the P.E. Exam. At a small company they're a project manager or department head.

Ah, HR ... how clueless you are.

 

[Terthna]

One cause of degree inflation I haven't seen mentioned yet is the rise of automation in HR departments.

During economic downturns, there's usually widespread unemployment, and thus lots of people applying for each job, so HR departments have to pare down very large lists of applicants, preferably without spending much time or money on tons of interviews. Further, they can't pare the list down in any way that might trigger a lawsuit or discrimination complaint. They hit on using AI to pre-screen, but the AIs need keywords or numbers that indicate why it should get rid of a person. So, outrageous requirements for education and experience far more than what the job should reasonably need can give the AI a concrete standard that lets it quickly trim five thousand applicants down to a more manageable number and it's relatively lawsuit-proof.

Notably, requirements for jobs dropped way down and beginning wages went up during COVID, when most people were getting helicopter payments to not work and companies were competing fiercely for the few workers available.

There were also cases where the job offering wasn't serious. As in, for one reason or another, companies would post fake job offers. One job offer I tried applying to in person, on the recommendation of my parents who thought that would somehow make a difference, ended up leading me to a nearly vacant single-story office complex; with the only person working there having never heard of the company (which did actually exist) I was trying to apply for a job at.

 

[Bear Ribs]

Yeah, ghost jobs are either posted when they already have the candidate lined up via good ol' boy network and just want to make sure they have the appearance of fairness, when they want to give the impression to stockholders that the company is on the rise and experiencing heavy growth, or sometimes when they want to have a list of candidates available in case they need to hire a person immediately after firing someone.

 

[Emperor Tippy]

I've often wondered how accurate THIS scene was. On the one side, you have a university professor teaching the class. On the other a student that runs a company.

Incredibly accurate. Business is not a hard science where you can have a definitive link between theory and practice.

Classes, especially business and finance classes, tend to teach idealized theory - with the better Professors throwing in real world examples - but the reality is that what those classes teach are , at best, guidelines.

---
The job market in the US is incredibly employee friendly right now. Boomers retiring is freeing up a lot of openings.

Of course, for tech you are competing against everyone being booted by Silicon Valley as the established tech companies rationalize their employee numbers and business lines.

Best way to get an 'in' in tech is (as always) personal connections/word of mouth. You would be amazed how many people don't even bother to ask a college professor for a recommendation or introduction.

Someone just out of college is a risky hire. Someone a professor teaching a relevant programming class in an applicants senior year recommends? That is someone very often worth a chance.

Oh, and the job requirements that you see for online job listings are almost always pure bullshit. There is all kinds of regulatory BS that goes into hiring and there are basically always more applicants for a job than openings so the public requirements are just jacked up.

Even if you don't meet them, still send in your resume/application. Sure, you will probably get rejected but you stand a much better chance than if you don't apply at all.

Then there is the dirty little secret that everyone actually knows. Most jobs beyond entry level are filled either via word of mouth/recommendation or recruiting service.

Hell, a lot of the job openings you see on line aren't actually available in the first place. Several states require that all open positions (with some exceptions) he publicly listed and open to the general public for applications. Even if the reality is that a slot has been earmarked for a current employee being promoted or transferred.

Current hiring/job hunting/recruiting practices are farcical and ripe for someone to disrupt because no one is actually happy with the current system. Employers don't like it and applicants don't like it.

 

[bintananth]

Best way to get an 'in' in tech is (as always) personal connections/word of mouth. You would be amazed how many people don't even bother to ask a college professor for a recommendation or introduction.

If you don't have any of that - say you just relocated or are switching careers - do some research on the smaller companies in the area before sending resumes. A phone call plus resume to a department head or executive at a 100-ish person or smaller firm is much more effective than going through a big company's HR department.

 

[Doomsought]

Ignore the experience requirements in IT, 90% of resumes they get will be full of outright lies in that area anyways. Certifications are also worth less than the paper they are printed on. What really matters is your portfolio. Build a small app or home server to demonstrate that you can actually do anything.

 

[Rocinante]

Ignore the experience requirements in IT, 90% of resumes they get will be full of outright lies in that area anyways. Certifications are also worth less than the paper they are printed on. What really matters is your portfolio. Build a small app or home server to demonstrate that you can actually do anything.

Certs make a pretty big difference when you're being compared to a potential candidate who doesn't have any.

 

[Doomsought]

Certs make a pretty big difference when you're being compared to a potential candidate who doesn't have any.

Not as much as a portfolio

 

[Rocinante]

Not as much as a portfolio

Certs will get you into the interview. Portfolio will impress during the intervie

Can't honestly say I've interviewed someone who's taken the time to make something like that for network admin/ engineering stuff, or at least who's brought it up. Then again I'm interviewing for higher level positions and all those people have prior experience, so a home lab probably isn't worth mentioning.

 

[Bear Ribs]

Certs will get you into the interview. Portfolio will impress during the intervie

This. The AI sorting through the initial batch of applications will not look at your portfolio, it just checks buzzwords and certifications are usually at the top of its list of terms to OK.

 

[Zachowon]

Which is why smart people in the military can get ahead. They can get the certification and the college degree.

Yep, plenty do that to further themselves.
Getbthe experience as well

 

[Husky_Khan]

The Babylon Bee coverage of Aliens First Contact with Humanity has been top notch. Reports have it that the aliens are meeting with President Biden after the alien asked to "Take me to your leader."

'OK, Take Us To A Different Leader,' Say Exasperated Aliens After Trying To Communicate With Joe Biden

WASHINGTON, DC — An envoy of extraterrestrial beings stifled their frustration and asked to be taken to a different leader after their initial meeting with President Joe Biden left them confused and exasperated, sources say.

babylonbee.com

The meetings with the President and Vice President were shorter then expected for some reason, but the aliens were still able to discuss things with several high level Biden Administration officials.



I, like many of you, was worried the Aliens were coming to destroy our planet. Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case...

 

[PsihoKekec]

The Pentagon defended its position of promoting and funding abortions for servicemembers this week, saying that abortion provides the military with a valuable opportunity to become proficient in killing innocent people.

"Killing starts at home," said an unusually passionate Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby to reporters. "If we can convince our women in uniform to kill their own beautiful, pure, innocent children, there's no limit to who they will kill for the United States Government."

"This is just good training."

Sources confirmed that female servicemembers will be actively encouraged to kill their own offspring on the taxpayer's dime whenever possible. Women with the most abortions will be awarded with commendations, ribbons, and medals to recognize their willingness to murder babies for their country.

Pentagon Says Military Needs Abortion To Help Them Become Proficient In Killing Innocent People

 

[Blasterbot]

Pentagon Says Military Needs Abortion To Help Them Become Proficient In Killing Innocent People

 

[ATP]

Pentagon Says Military Needs Abortion To Help Them Become Proficient In Killing Innocent People

it is joke,right? for leftist unborn children are not people,after all.

 

[Scottty]

it is joke,right? for leftist unborn children are not people,after all.

It's the Babylon Bee.
So it's satire... but the problem with the Bee is that their satire tends to be a little too close to the truth... just ahead of time.

 

[ATP]

It's the Babylon Bee.
So it's satire... but the problem with the Bee is that their satire tends to be a little too close to the truth... just ahead of time.

In commie times we had good satire,and one dude who was making it,Pietrzak i think,joked that he is afraid of making new jokes,becouse our commies would made it true....


It seems,that leftists are doing the same.

 

[Bear Ribs]

So they found out somebody in the US government had obtained a spy tool that is so unethical and illegal they immediately had the FBI launch an investigation into who would buy such a thing.

It turned out to be the FBI.

The FBI just did the Spider-Man meme 😂

The New York Times reported on an advanced spy tool being purchased in the US and the FBI investigated it. Turns out it was the FBI behind it the whole time.

notthebee.com

 

[Bear Ribs]

With real stories like this, you have to wonder how The Babylon Bee is still in business

Meet the very feminine Muslim "Zahrah Bri-Zee Muharib":

notthebee.com