[thackney]

Hm, do you have any advice for us "young `uns" who're basically being shit on, entry-level jobs requiring "X years of experience"?

Be willing to take an undesirable job, for low pay to get some experience that you can sell to future positions.

I went to work Yemen in the oil patch early in my career. When I begged for the chance to go with little increase in pay, the more experienced guys on my team were angry with me. They wanted everyone to hold out for higher pay. My point was, if they had to pay a lot, they wouldn't send a youngster like me.

In my opinion, I got 5 years of experience in 14 months. At least it felt like 5 years in that miserable desert.

[Mr. Lucky]

Let's see. As near as I can recall, I've held the following “entry-level” jobs during my life:

1. Potato peeler
2. Paper boy
3. Lawn boy
4. Farm hand
5. Garbage man
6. Warehouseman
7. Private (USMC, retired)

Each provided valuable experience.