Be me.
Can't get a job in college so I start my own freelance. Get small gigs but good enough. Built a portfolio.
Graduate, but can't get a decent job because I don't have the experience. Take what I can get, all jobs I hate with toxic work environments, but I need the money.
12 years later, I have an outstanding portfolio as a writer and content manager. Not happy with current pay, so I start looking again.
Every single job I apply to passes on me for people who are “more qualified”, read as “asked for less pay”.
The jobs I do get interviewed for are for industries and products that are very new – last interview was for the metaverse and Facebook/meta. This literally just started. Got turned down because they want someone with at least 3 years of experience with an industry that was born yesterday.
This is the job market we live in.