A TikToker by the name of Katie (@youngmoneydickmoney69) racked up over 90,000 views on a video where she claims that finding an entry-level desk job is extremely difficult without a college degree.
In the clip, she explains the frustration in having to explain to her parents that “entry-level” jobs aren’t really “entry-level” and that she’s having difficulty in being seriously considered for the office job positions she’s applied to.
Katie stitches her video with another user on the platform, @.catmorning, who says, “Like the jobs that were once considered entry level no degree required, OK now those require a degree.”
The stitched clip then cuts to Katie’s own video, where she states she’s been looking for a desk job as opposed to a service industry job because she’s pregnant.
“Both of my parents have been on me like yelling at me, telling me that like there are so many entry-level desk jobs that I could get,” she says. “When my mom was in her twenties she got a job, no degree yet, like still in college, she got a job as a paralegal working in a law office, making like $25 an hour in like the ’80s or the ’90s.”
@youngmoneydickmoney69 #stitch with @.catmorning ♬ original sound – Katie 🤠
She continues, “You’re not getting anywhere near a law office now without a degree.”
Katie says that this insistence from her parents to find an entry-level office job without a degree is exasperating.
“And I’m like no, you literally don’t understand, they require degrees for like receptionist positions now,” Katie says, explaining how she has both customer service experience and experience with computer programs like Microsoft. She, later on, explains how she has been working since she was 17 years old and possesses many marketable skills.
“I feel like people in our parents’ generation think it’s so easy to get like a standard corporate job or a desk job or an office job with benefits and everything as like an entry-level position,” she says. “And that’s just not the case anymore.”
Katie vents that it’s super frustrating that she’s not able to get a more accessible position like something where I’m sitting working at a desk.
“And to think about people with long-term disabilities, not just like someone who’s pregnant temporarily, but like people who are living with disabilities who don’t have college degrees, it’s really really hard to make a decent living at a job that’s accessible for you to do,” she says.
There are several major corporations that purportedly don’t require applicants to have a college degree such as Apple, Google, Ernst & Young, Bank of America, Penguin Random House, and IBM. One example of an office job is a data analyst with a great understanding of how to manipulate and organize spreadsheet data efficiently. If applicants can demonstrate a deep, applicable knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Access or similar programs, there are many businesses that will accept applicants who don’t possess degrees.
A November 2022 article published by LinkedIn also stated that employers are looking for applicants with marketable and in-demand “skills” over degrees.
Viewers who saw Katie’s post echoed her sentiments, stating how ridiculous it was that many jobs were asking for applicants to have degrees for relatively low pay.
“‘Requires a masters. part-time. $15/hour,’” one TikToker wrote. Another remarked, “I have a bachelors degree and EVERYTHING WANTS like 2-3 years of experience BYE.”
Someone else said they were in the same boat as Katie despite having a degree, writing, “I have a college degree and I still can’t get an entry level office job!!!!!!”
Another viewer shared how a dog-walking agency required applicants to have a degree, writing, “I applied for a DOG WALKING AGENCY that required a BACHELORS DEGREE.”
“I saw an office job where all u had to do was answer phones and u needed a bachelors w 7 yrs of experience,” another said.
But there were some TikTokers who found ways to get around companies who required employees to have degrees.
“Only reason I ever had an office job in the past was because I lied about having a degree,” a user said. “I photoshopped one and everything.”
Someone else wrote, “my friend in new york has lied about having a degree for the past 5 yrs, they’ve never checked n she makes $80k :-)”
But for job hunters who don’t feel comfortable with initially lying to employers in a bid to prove that they’re capable of performing job duties, there was a TikToker who offered up a valid entry-level job suggestion that doesn’t require a degree.
“You should try hotels!” they wrote. “I’ve found that hotel receptionist jobs are easier to find truly entry level.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Katie via TikTok comment.
