The Experience Dilemma
Code School Book — Morgan Lopes and Tim Whitacre (12/30)
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Employers require experience before they’ll hire you, but how are you supposed to gain experience?
Pretend you need a pair of scissors. You search online for the sharpest pair you can find. You read dozens of reviews and can see which scissors are clearly the best. Days after your purchase, a package arrives. As you open the box, you realize the scissors are protected in a dense, plastic case. It is sealed from all sides. You pull, twist, and pry but the case doesn’t budge. It seems you need scissors to cut through the case. Unfortunately, they are locked inside.
Round and round the example goes. The case remains unopened because it requires the tool inside. You are stuck. Starting a career is similar. Past work seems to be a prerequisite for new opportunities. Employers require experience before they’ll hire you, but how are you supposed to gain experience? If everyone needs experience, where does anyone get started?
We call this the Experience Dilemma.
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