Unreasonable job qualifications

[Fritzo]

I get a daily feed from Monster.com listing jobs I might be interested in (I'm employed, but I like to be aware of what is out there). I got two listings this morning:

"HEALTHCARE IT LABORATOEY ANALYST" (that is how they spelled it)

Requirements: BA in Micro-Biology and BA in Computer Science.
Salary: $36000-$42000/yr

WTF? Two 4 year degrees for $40K a year. LOL, good luck with that.

 

[Codewiz]

I get a daily feed from Monster.com listing jobs I might be interested in (I'm employed, but I like to be aware of what is out there). I got two listings this morning:

"HEALTHCARE IT LABORATOEY ANALYST" (that is how they spelled it)



WTF? Two 4 year degrees for $40K a year. LOL, good luck with that.

I am willing to bet, they would be satisfied with a BS in micro-biology and a minor in CPSC.

People like that do exist. My wife has her BS in Chemistry with a minor in CPSC. She took as many CPSC courses as the people with a BA in CPSC.

 

[SagaLore]

Where was this located?

 

[DesiPower]

What kind of experience are they asking? Fresh out of college wouldn't mind IMHO. Btw, given that someone who cannot spell is posting, I am sure they don't know what they want and what the market demands

 

[rivan]

They should unionize.

 

[SearchMaster]

This is not uncommon. My company does data analysis of job listings and will often tell the listing company things like, "do you realize that there are approximately 5 people in the state that meet your job requirements?". Usually when we tell them the facts they loosen up the requirements and end up with a great candidate.

 

[Squisher]

You should be here in SE Michigan where employers want the world and want to pay nothing.

I've seen ads for Machinists where they want 10 years experience with a wide range of different computer modeling programs and tool pathing and cost assignments and on and on for $14/hr.

 

[ultimatebob]

I love it when people ask for experience in completely unrelated fields... like asking for a senior database administrator who also knows how to program in Java and administer VMWare vSphere.

Doesn't any employer with half a brain know that those are three different specialties?

 

[steppinthrax]

If this is in a hospital or some sort of healthcare related industry, I wouldn't be surprised. Hospitals pay the docs the money and everybody else gets shit money. I worked in a hospital IT enviroment out of college. The directory of the entire IT department made around 100. My boss made around 85. The Directory made the highest salary within a 30 man IT dept.

I would never want to work in a healthcare related field again. You deal with pompous ass know-it-all docs, who know jack about computers. Yell at you for every little fucking thing that they broke....

 

[purbeast0]

yea i've noticed that when looking at postings right now. im in software dev and some of the specifics "required" are ridiculous. i've seen the same exact postings listed for 3-4 months. gee, i wonder why?

not to mention, in this field, when you know how to develop you can be trained in any language pretty much. sure it may take a few weeks or months to get up to speed, but that is just part of the field.

 

[edro]

That's what you get when HR depts know nothing about what the hiring manager actually needs.

 

[purbeast0]

That's what you get when HR depts know nothing about what the hiring manager actually needs.

i applied for a job last week and received a phone call from the person who posted it (was a recruiter i believe) and she was like "i havent been trained yet in what Spring and Hibernate are - do you know what they are and could you tell me a little bit about htem?"

at that moment i kinda facepalmed a bit and explained to her what they were. that is the last phone call i will be having with her.

 

[steppinthrax]

yea i've noticed that when looking at postings right now. im in software dev and some of the specifics "required" are ridiculous. i've seen the same exact postings listed for 3-4 months. gee, i wonder why?

not to mention, in this field, when you know how to develop you can be trained in any language pretty much. sure it may take a few weeks or months to get up to speed, but that is just part of the field.

I've been on interview panels and have been on several interviews myself. I used to think when I didn't get hired for a job, that it was my fault or I should/could have done this or that to land the job. After being on the other side. I find that many companies simply don't know WTF to look for or how to ask the correct questions. They make weird asumptions of the applicant, and incorrect expectations. I believe the people hiring this person probably has very little understanding of IT....

 

[Saint Nick]

Problem is that companies are looking for direct replacements of baby boomers who are now retiring. What they don't get is that in order to do that, they just need to hire another 60 year old. Companies need to understand that the new guys are going to be able to do the job, and probably quicker and more efficiently.

 

[SP33Demon]

Idiots, I'd stay very far away from any posting like that.

 

[OutHouse]

yea i've noticed that when looking at postings right now. im in software dev and some of the specifics "required" are ridiculous. i've seen the same exact postings listed for 3-4 months. gee, i wonder why?

take a look at the IT jobs posted at USAJOBS.com they have jobs open to the public that unless you are already a government employee working on some obscure system that only that section of the Dept of Interior uses you are not going to get past the application phase.

 

[FoBoT]

maybe they are trying to get a OWS or H-1B and figure they work cheap?

 

[Stuxnet]

I see postings all the time for developers:

- 5 to 10 years experience
- MS in Comp Sci or equiv
- Expert-level in C++, Java, .NET, yadda yadda yadda
- 45 hour work week

$50k - $60k

Yeah. Good fucking luck with that LOL

 

[fatpat268]

Yea, I encountered a lot of that shit during my job search. Employers were listing stuff like masters degrees and 3-5 years experience for entry level help desk jobs with low pay.

And while you can get reasonable employers to look at your resume and application even if you don't "qualify" in their eyes, others refuse to budge. And you can tell, because you'll see the same job listing months later.

Problem is that companies are looking for direct replacements of baby boomers who are now retiring. What they don't get is that in order to do that, they just need to hire another 60 year old. Companies need to understand that the new guys are going to be able to do the job, and probably quicker and more efficiently.

A lot of our job problems are related to baby boomers not retiring as well. A tough economy is raising the retiring age, and there's simply very little room to grow in some fields for new people.

 

[Tiamat]

wow, thats pretty rough. I remember 3.5 years ago when I was looking for a job on Careerbuilder and monster.com, the job qualifications for a nanotech firm called for an electromechanochemical engineer (or an engineer with a bachelors or higher degree in each of electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering) - starting salary 62k$.

PASS!

 

[SunnyD]

I get a daily feed from Monster.com listing jobs I might be interested in (I'm employed, but I like to be aware of what is out there). I got two listings this morning:

"HEALTHCARE IT LABORATOEY ANALYST" (that is how they spelled it)

WTF? Two 4 year degrees for $40K a year. LOL, good luck with that.

I see postings all the time for developers:

- 5 to 10 years experience
- MS in Comp Sci or equiv
- Expert-level in C++, Java, .NET, yadda yadda yadda
- 45 hour work week

$50k - $60k

Yeah. Good fucking luck with that LOL

wow, thats pretty rough. I remember 3.5 years ago when I was looking for a job on Careerbuilder and monster.com, the job qualifications for a nanotech firm called for an electromechanochemical engineer (or an engineer with a bachelors or higher degree in each of electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering) - starting salary 62k$.

PASS!

And yet there are scores of unemployed people that squarely fit each of those listings' criteria. The question is how lazy/entitled those people (think they) are.

If it weren't for unemployment, you all wouldn't be bitching about listings like these.

 

[Stuxnet]

And yet there are scores of unemployed people that squarely fit each of those listings' criteria. The question is how lazy/entitled those people (think they) are.

If it weren't for unemployment, you all wouldn't be bitching about listings like these.

You don't have a clue as to what you're talking about. I can't speak for the other two you quoted, but the one I quoted is extraordinary rare, and the ones that do exist are worth six figures... and they'll get it without getting out of bed in the morning or having to commit to giving up their lunch hour every day. IT/IS is one of the few fields that are still a seller's market - demand is through the roof.

 

[SunnyD]

You don't have a clue as to what you're talking about. I can't speak for the other two you quoted, but the one I quoted is extraordinary rare, and the ones that do exist are worth six figures... and they'll get it without getting out of bed in the morning or having to commit to giving up their lunch hour every day. IT/IS is one of the few fields that are still a seller's market - demand is through the roof.

Given I'm in that exact field (though I don't have a master's), yeah, I do know what I'm talking about.

After I was laid off in 2001, I don't care WHAT qualifications I had, I would have taken just about anything (and did) to put food on the table.

It seems you're far more out of touch with reality than I am. You're talking about a career path that is literally flooded with highly experienced individuals and fresh (cheap) graduates alike. It's a buyers market, ESPECIALLY in IT. That's why pretty much ever job fair around lately has had lines around the block for people to drop off resumes. Given the sheer volume, employers get to be picky.

And lastly, learn to understand listings. Almost all listings will seek an exactly qualified "perfect" candidate. Will they get one? Probably not, but they're going to get a couple hundred resumes that will fit ~85% of the criteria. The example you posted will likely be more than happy with a competent programmer that knows C++ and .Net, with a BS in Comp Sci and 5 years of experience that's willing to take a lower salary.

 

[coloumb]

maybe they are trying to get a OWS or H-1B and figure they work cheap?

That's exactly what I'm thinking -

Why pay someone who thinks they deserve a lot more when you've got starving well educated people in other countries who won't mind being paid such a low salary by USA standards...however, they'd be considered a millionaire in their country...

 

[Stuxnet]

It seems you're far more out of touch with reality than I am.

I am a Software Architect and just left a position where I managed the hiring for an IT operation of 100+ developers. I'm well aware of the current market, which skills are in demand, and how difficult it is to find good developers. I have contacts with every recruiting firm in my area. Finding developers isn't hard. Finding good developers is next to impossible. If you're a developer in today's market and cannot find a job, you either suck and can't differentiate yourself from the hacks, or you're living in the wrong part of the country.

You're talking about a career path that is literally flooded with highly experienced individuals and fresh (cheap) graduates alike. It's a buyers market, ESPECIALLY in IT. That's why pretty much ever job fair around lately has had lines around the block for people to drop off resumes. Given the sheer volume, employers get to be picky.

No, it's not flooded with highly experienced individuals. It's flooded with mediocrity; standing out from that mediocrity is the key.

College grads can't get jobs precisely because they're fresh and inexperienced. Then there's the Indian population, who migrate to the US after procuring a doctorate at some degree mill in India. In most cases, I'll take the inexperienced college grad over them; given the option, I'd prefer to pass on both - but, as I said earlier, it's rarely an options. Most companies have to settle for mediocre developers because the good ones have landed cushy jobs and aren't moving around.

If you're good at what you do in this field, you'll have no problem getting a job and you can almost name your price. Just because there are a lot of developers doesn't mean jack shit. It is almost impossible finding qualified candidates, and when you do find one, the ball is almost entirely in their court.

And lastly, learn to understand listings. Almost all listings will seek an exactly qualified "perfect" candidate. Will they get one? Probably not, but they're going to get a couple hundred resumes that will fit ~85% of the criteria. The example you posted will likely be more than happy with a competent programmer that knows C++ and .Net, with a BS in Comp Sci and 5 years of experience that's willing to take a lower salary.

The obvious implication in this thread is that some companies AREN'T flexible in their unrealistic requirements. Learn to comprehend before telling others the same. We're not talking about the companies that are flexible with their requirements.

edit - and I'm talking about TODAY (2012), not 11 years ago