The Insanity of “Entry Level” Jobs

It’s incredibly frustrating to be a recent college graduate with little to no experience in the field I eventually want to work in and have to figure out how to somehow get there. Why do entry level positions require 2+ years of experience? Isn’t entry level the lowest level? Where are jobs for people with zero years of experience? I guess you could say that internships count as experience to enter “entry level” jobs, but the vast majority are unpaid and/or for college credit. 

There are so many problems with this system we have in place. 

First of all, what happens if someone tries out many different internships when they’re in college to explore their interests before figuring out what they’re specifically passionate about? Should they be punished for not figuring it out immediately? How is someone to know for sure what they genuinely like at such a young age? By the time they graduate and look for a job, they’re forced to start from essentially zero. And then, what do they do? Start by looking for more unpaid internships? 

Or, better yet, what if someone can’t afford to do an internship that pays practically nothing because they have no safety net? Most internships are unpaid or paid very little. If someone cannot afford to work for free because they don’t come from a family who’s financially stable, how are they supposed to gain this experience? This system is set up in such a way that it puts everyone at a disadvantage besides the wealthy. 

Just logically, this doesn’t make any sense. There has to be another way. Why does a college degree in something not count as sufficient experience to enter an entry level job? Why do you need more on top of this? What’s the point of spending thousands of dollars on a degree certificate and paying off your student loans for the next 10+ years of your life if it has such little significance in the hiring process?