The junior engineers hiring landscape is broken. Roles are vanishing, and talented builders are being overlooked simply because they lack “corporate experience.” I’ve felt this firsthand — and so have many others.
Over the past few months, I’ve seen a shift in the job market — and not a good one.
Junior roles are rapidly disappearing while companies chase only “experienced professionals.” As someone who’s built production-ready AI systems, shipped tools, and worked on real-world use cases, I’ve come to realize something painfully clear:
Being a builder isn’t always recognized as being “experienced.”
I recently shared this frustration on LinkedIn — and it hit a nerve.
💬 That post sparked discussions, comments, and shares from juniors, seniors, hiring managers, and engineers across industries — because it’s something many are feeling but few are saying out loud.
I’ve always believed that skill > title. In today’s world, many of us have been building real products, contributing to open-source, shipping AI tools, and solving complex problems — even before graduation. But somehow, hiring managers still don’t see this as valid experience. It’s time we challenge this bias and rewrite what “experienced” truly means.
Instead of reposting it here, I’d love for you to read the full thread on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7373727930868285440/
(click to view the conversation + reactions)
If you’re a recruiter, hiring manager, founder — or just someone who believes in giving new builders a chance — I hope it makes you pause.
We can’t grow tall trees without nurturing the roots.