As manager myself it's hard to find people who are willing to put in the work or take on additional responsibilities to progress past entry level work. It's pretty sad.
I can't speak to your industry, but I will say as an employee in the technology world, the term "entry level" has been abused to the point where it's a literal joke, and most just completely ignore anything that has the term attached.
I've had an entry-level position, it required a 2-year degree in the field. Experience was helpful, but not necessary. It paid decent, you could live on it but you weren't getting rich, and it had some decent benefits. After 6 months, you received benefits and all the other perks at a decent cost.
I started with people that were looking for a change and had years in the field, and there were plenty of rank amateurs that just graduated. Almost everyone stuck around except for That Guy, and we all know him.
Now, when I get an "entry level" position contact, it's almost always advanced degree required with several years of experience in some pretty dedicated fields, and the pay is always less than my entry-level job from 30 years ago. (Or it's a bit more, but the Amazon Warehouse pays more. The local lumberyard pays yard hands more than some of these.) I'm sorry, no one is going to be an advanced electronics tech for $14 an hour, of if they are they're gone in 60 seconds the minute they find a new job.
The people that you may want may be like me, and just ignore anything that says "entry level," so you get the people that reply to the "Must be alert and well groomed when reporting to work" jobs.
I work in healthcare management. I'm talking about true entry level. We are supposed to require a HS diploma (per corp policy) but I tell my managers if they like someone without, go ahead and hire (no one checks this shit). Our entry positions would be housekeepers, kitchen workers, and nursing assistants. The nursing assistant is the only thing that requires a certification (government bullshit, but I get it), and that is only a two week course.
I don't start anyone under 10 bucks an hour, so we are already above min wage. It's hard work, for the money it really is, but if people put in effort and can actually show the fuck up for work, then there are opportunities for advancement. You could be a housekeeping manager and make 45k a year and not even have a HS diploma. You used to be able to make upwards of 60k a year without education as a kitchen manager but the Feds passed a bullshit law requiring a certification for that position (score one for the education lobby).
What you are talking about in the tech world, which I don't know much about, is a big problem with education in general. It is bullshit to think people with a two year degree are going to work for $14 an hour. Shit Target down the road from me pays that. Aldi's starts at like $16.
We have lost people to Amazon as well, although that is a shitty job, there is a reason they pay what they do.
We have a similar problem with LPNs, it's not a long course, but still and then we can only pay them 18 an hour... It's a joke given the amount of pressure the Ohio Department of Health puts on that position. Don't ever let anyone you know get an LPN, get RN or just forget about it. Ok, now I'm just ranting...lol
Our education system is fucked up.
Oh boy, when you're being limited by the United Emirates of Ohio's ORC, that really does put a damper on what you can do. But it is nice to see some place that actually looks for those without experience for the entry level jobs.
You are correct, the "everyone needs a degree to work here, even the toilet cleaner" has really messed up the system. It's just crazy. There are plenty of places around me that are constantly burning through people because they want (as an example of a place north of me) technicians with a degree and experience in chemical handling (industrial coatings company) but refuse to pay more than $10. I've had plenty of electrical positions offering wages that were just stupid - $25 an hour sounds decent until they say it's in Hillsboro, OR or even worse, LA...
It's just a mess. But I agree with Sanders on one point, the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation. Beyond that, he's an idiot.
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