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Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

bbc.com

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Re: Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

#31

Post by colmvp »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #22
x87678r wrote: post #7

On a related note changing tech stacks and industries is hugely more difficult than I expected. I started in C++ in a steel company and moving to Java with Financial services was so different it was like starting from scratch. Now I'm trying to move more JS/Python in tech land and again its much harder than I expected just to get basic tooling, workflow done, let alone trying to get someone to hire you.

I don't know why you're being downvoted but I found the same. Changing industries and stacks is massively difficult if you're doing it for getting a new job and not just for a hobby as most employers won't value your previous experience if it's not needed, so all that is just useless baggage now rather than an asset. I tried going from algos/embedded SW development to backend/devops and it took me almost a year of re…

Just to +1 the two of yours assertions, I've been experiencing the same.

I recall one agency had a tagline "specialization is for insects" but the reality I've found for applying is a number of tech teams have pretty rigid requirements of x years experience with specific languages/libraries and won't consider what other valuable assets you bring to the table or how fast you're able to pick up material. Which I guess makes sense for senior level positions but junior/intermediate?

Re: Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

#32

Post by foolmeonce »

bilbo0s wrote: post #6
HarryHirsch wrote: post #3

They bury the lede: "In reality, employers report difficulty hiring because the wages they offer don’t match the skills they’re after, she says" Also: "In a 2018 paper, he and colleagues showed that only about 60 to 70% of US computing and engineering graduates land jobs in STEM, dropping to between 10 and 50% for those studying life sciences, physical sciences and maths."

In reality, employers report difficulty hiring because the wages they offer don’t match the skills they’re after, she says AND only about 60 to 70% of US computing and engineering graduates land jobs in STEM I don't know man? The implication there is that there exist up to 30-40% of new computing and engineering grads who on the one hand are without jobs in STEM, and on the other are willing to leave the STEM jobs th…

I don't see the inconsistency you see? Every company I've talked to set their hiring standards to the top quartile, and doesn't want to pay more than the median wage.

The large number of low salary jobs available doesn't mean there are any jobs for anyone not in the top quartile or many jobs someone in the top quartile should take.

Re: Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

#33

Post by ProAm »

freetime2 wrote: post #18

> Why, then, do policymakers and business leaders continue to focus on reskilling? Lafer thinks it gives them an easy way out by laying the blame for workers’ dim employment prospects on their failure to acquire the right skills rather than facing up to deeper structural changes in the economy. He says that a better option might be a push for better pay and conditions in other in demand industries that employ lots of…

> I subscribe to the Keynesian philosophy that the government should at the very least hire displaced workers to dig holes in the ground and fill them back up

This is what the TSA is and largely the US military/defense (based on dollars spent compare to task success rate)

Re: Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

#34

Post by PlugTunin »

aroundtown wrote: post #24
bilbo0s wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In reality, employers report difficulty hiring because the wages they offer don’t match the skills they’re after, she says AND only about 60 to 70% of US computing and engineering graduates land jobs in STEM I don't know man? The implication there is that there exist up to 30-40% of new computing and engineering grads who on the one hand are without jobs in STEM, and on the other are willing to leave the STEM jobs th…

One of those 30-40% checking in. When I graduated with a CS degree in '07 (US) the first job offer I received was for $25k. I was so angry at that offer. I told the hiring manager that I couldn't possibly work for less than $35k they scoffed at that, I told them no thanks. I could make more money flipping burgers. I kept looking for work. Had another offer for $32k with one week of vacation a year, and no health care…

I'm really sorry to hear this. It's a bit of a surprise -- I'd have assumed that not being able to get a job would be the problem, rather than the one of not being fairly compensated. And while nothing is a meritocracy, shame that horrible programmers aren't eventually exposed.

Re: Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

#35

Post by moomin »

freetime2 wrote: post #18

> Why, then, do policymakers and business leaders continue to focus on reskilling? Lafer thinks it gives them an easy way out by laying the blame for workers’ dim employment prospects on their failure to acquire the right skills rather than facing up to deeper structural changes in the economy. He says that a better option might be a push for better pay and conditions in other in demand industries that employ lots of…

Especially if you live in a country with visibly crumbling infrastructure...

Re: Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

#36

Post by hi41 »

This article speaks to me. I had experience on mainframe and wanted to get a job in Java. I learned Java however the interviewer would always say I was missing something. It could be J2ee, Jboss etc. with the Java ecosystem so large, can someone please help me how to learn. Is J2ee still in use or has all development moved to cloud. Where do I even begin to learn modern technologies. TIA.

Re: Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

#37

Post by zamfi »

neilwilson wrote: post #28

There are 19 bones and 20 dogs. No matter how many training and reskilling courses they go on 5% of the dogs will remain unemployed. The fundamental problem is a lack of jobs, because there is no market mechanism by which the private sector will create sufficient jobs to hire everybody who wants work. It's time to restore the Beveridge condition. Jobs should wait, not people.

> The fundamental problem is a lack of jobs, because there is no market mechanism by which the private sector will create sufficient jobs to hire everybody who wants work.

This is an extraordinary claim, and requires extraordinary evidence.

Re: Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

#38

Post by i_haz_rabies »

chrk33 wrote: post #15

I think a seasoned developer needs about 3 months to get familiar with a new framework/toolset within the same environment e.g. moving from React to Angular. What can a person without prior in-depth knowledge learn in a Three-month, full-time software-engineering course? This does not sound to me a programme wherein they genuinely want people to get into software development. But disprove me please, if you have exper…

I did a 9 week bootcamp and I've been a productive developer for 5 years now (I was an unproductive developer for the first year). I was incredibly lucky to find a company willing to take a chance on me, because I was completely useless at first. This is not an advisable strategy for changing careers, especially for someone with dependents.

Re: Why reskilling won’t always guarantee you a new job

#39

Post by i_haz_rabies »

ryan-duve wrote: post #2

It seems to me the title would have been better named "Why reskilling will probably not guarantee you a new job". The first two thirds of the article about how and why this doesn't happen, and it sums up with what appears to be the exception. That said, I couldn't agree with the closing more: "You've got to work so hard at it and do all these extra activities and just immerse yourself fully. Without that passion, I c…

I find this passion argument accurate, yet distasteful. We as a society should not expect adults with dependents to do the "passionate, young, single developer" grind just to get a steady job because their old one is automated or outsourced. This is not healthy even for the stereotypical CS grad, much less your average out-of-work auto plant worker.
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