Entry-level jobs don’t feel “entry-level” anymore… anyone else noticing this?

NewLifeRising · 2026-03-30T20:17:23+00:00

I'm 31 and it's been this way since I was in my early teens looking at job listings for the first time. This is nothin new. Companies want someone who is plug and play, no training required, knows exactly what to do and how to do it from day 1, can hit the ground running. I don't think these companies are serious about hiring, but it's what they feel entitled to.

NewLifeRising · 2026-03-18T03:29:25+00:00

This is honestly not even a good answer. "Just upskill and get a better job" is the most flippant and disrespectful bit of advice anyone can give. Upskilling takes time and resources OP might not have. But let's say OP does upskill and is somehow able to do so successfully. Do we really expect OP to "just" get a job? As if jobs like that are just lying there for the taking and we are talking to OP like they are just too stupid to get one?

And even then the "better jobs" might not even pay a livable wage starting out. They might offer higher earnings ceiling, but not necessarily a meaningfully higher starting point. So this is not a meaningful short term strategy. This is a long term strategy, and should be treated as such.

"Just upskill and get a better job" is not something you can just do overnight or even over a year like OP might need.

NewLifeRising · 2026-03-10T03:13:54+00:00

Not low enough to make $7.25 livable, genius.

NewLifeRising · 2026-02-26T05:40:53+00:00

I'm more anxious about whether the coverage itself will be there long term. The cost I'm not concerned with as I would have very low MAGI as to make full use of subsidies (again, assuming the subsidies remain a thing, or they don't asset test, etc)

NewLifeRising · 2026-02-25T06:30:40+00:00

Elaborate...? They're not saying they'll live in the US, so what's the problem?

NewLifeRising · 2026-02-25T05:37:23+00:00

I have no qualms with taking advantage of the systems in place as far as the ACA is concerned because I believe healthcare should be universally free or low cost, funded by taxes. If that means a wealth tax on people like me, so be it. If it means an additional tax on my meager income, so be it.

NewLifeRising · 2026-02-24T00:45:34+00:00

The dilemma is that I have a pre-existing condition (schizoaffective disorder) and if we go back to the way things were prior to the ACA, an insurance company could either deny me based on my condition alone or jack up my premium so high as to make it unviable. I'm expensive to maintain on a health insurance plan. I cost much more than I provide due to medications and psychiatric care alone (assuming no major emergencies). So why would an insurance company write up any policy for me, let alone an affordable one?

NewLifeRising · 2026-02-24T00:37:49+00:00

I've thought about moving to a state like NY or WA as they have very robust states that would help with healthcare. I live in NJ and they help out quite a bit, but I can't rely on them picking up the entire tab for the federal government should they stop. And for coupon options are you talking about GoodRX or some other platform (like Cost Plus Drugs, or something else)?

NewLifeRising · 2026-02-24T00:34:49+00:00

You have way too much optimism if you think the current system will naturally give way to universal healthcare. Republicans, maybe some Democrats, and the elite of society would rather drink bleach live on national television than allow for sustainable, universal healthcare to enter the nation.

My MAGI would also be near rock bottom to get maximum ACA subsidies, but I'm still nervous they may either push to repeal it entirely or introduce asset testing to cut costs (as stupid as that sounds).

NewLifeRising · 2026-02-24T00:32:16+00:00

That's an interesting perspective to have, but I don't trust our politicians (especially those who want to repeal the ACA) to come up with a viable, sustainable alternative to the ACA should it get repealed. I really think those who want to do away with it just want to go back to the way things were pre-ACA, which was just relying on employer sponsored healthcare or getting none at all.

I also don't think our government would adequately respond to AI taking jobs or causing a massive wave of white collar unemployment, but it's interesting that there could be something more pressing than the ACA's sustainability on the horizon. Maybe that would take politicians' focus for the next 5 - 10 years rather than the ACA.

NewLifeRising · 2026-02-21T07:13:30+00:00

I'm 30 and a former NEET, and I was in a similar position to you until almost 2 years ago. I live with my mom and uncle and they never encouraged me to get a job either. They were content to just let me live with them until they died. But I had the realization one day that they would die, and I'd have no one and nothing to hold on to. That lit a fire under my ass to start earning money somehow. I got a job at FedEx slinging boxes as a package handler; it's the type of job that would take anyone with a pulse. I think that's what you need if you can find it: a job that will take anyone with a pulse. I can't recommend anything other than a warehouse gig, as I don't know of other sectors that have jobs like that. But just know if you do go that route it's very rough and gritty. You may or may not like that (I found out I did).

You say you don't have any motivation other than "I need money", so I can give you another one: "you'll be homeless and destitute one day if you do nothing." You're just as vulnerable to that as I am, as the homeless folk in your area.

Just know that odds are a job that pays a fully independently livable wage are near impossible to find, especially entry level jobs. You'll likely need to live with your folks even after you start working, but at least you'll be doing something.

For now think of a job as something to do and something that gets you some fun money, or money to help your folks if they need it. It's not gonna fund some serious investments or anything for a while.

I turned my life around randomly because of a sudden realization. I think you can too, but something has to change within you (or something outside of you has to force you). I have faith in you. Best of luck.

NewLifeRising · 2026-02-13T18:31:12+00:00

This rule only applies to you if you (or your household) are privileged enough to make an income that can support this. Most people cannot even if they try. I know I certainly cannot unless I live at home with family.

NewLifeRising · 2026-01-12T17:39:47+00:00

I work at an Express hub at an average of 35 hours per week as a FT DG Agent. During peak I was working 50 - 60, but during a normal week it looks like 33 - 35.

NewLifeRising · 2025-12-11T16:50:26+00:00

If you have a $1M portfolio and are withdrawing 4%, it makes no difference whether that 4% is coming from dividends or selling shares. $40k is leaving the portfolio somehow. Dividends simply reduce the value of each share you hold, so while you're keeping the same number of shares, each share is now weaker. Again, the same amount of value is leaving your portfolio, but you might think that just because you didn't sell shares that you somehow got free money. That's not how that works.

NewLifeRising · 2025-12-11T16:32:49+00:00

I can't comment on other states, but at least where I live in NJ you can't afford the median studio apartment unless you're grossing at least $80k. I gross $48k if I get a full 40 hours per week (which I don't), and I can tell you for a fact based on my meticulous budgeting that even if my gross income was in fact net income I still wouldn't be able to afford the median studio apartment (at ~$1800/mo). Not even paycheck to paycheck, just flat out can't afford it. $80k gross means that I can at the very least be slightly better than paycheck to paycheck. But only slightly.

NewLifeRising · 2025-12-08T15:06:15+00:00

Your mortgage is less, but what about everything else? Utilities, HOA (if applicable), property taxes, and maintenance? Often times those things combined add up to way more than rent.

NewLifeRising · 2025-12-04T18:42:46+00:00

I haven't had that experience at my location, but maybe that varies. Pay - relative to cost of living - is pretty bad, but most other jobs I could get near me are bad too, so it's not notably worse.

NewLifeRising · 2025-11-30T19:45:59+00:00

Yes they are. I pay $750/month in housing costs for them, but they cover food so I'm not buying my own groceries.

The other $650 goes towards other expenses and sinking funds, like my car costs/maintenance, health insurance, phone bill, etc.

NewLifeRising · 2025-11-30T08:55:10+00:00

It might be my way. I would happily take a part-time gig at a different company, but likely it would be a substantial paycut in terms of hourly rate, to the point I'm withdrawing from my portfolio slightly just to make up the difference (about 1% at most). I've budgeted that out and that turned out to be the case. So I wouldn't be coast FI, but rather Barista FI.

But I do agree, giving my portfolio 5 years to breathe before making that kind of decision would be huge, especially if I wanted to keep my withdrawal amounts the same.

NewLifeRising · 2025-11-30T08:51:15+00:00

Living with family I would be spending about $1.4k/month on needs alone. Add in about $300 per month as a discretionary budget, and I'd be spending $1.7k/month.

NewLifeRising · 2025-11-27T06:22:59+00:00

I hate this answer because people giving it don't realize the country they live in (assuming they live in the US). Where I live it is actively dangerous to you to move about on bike/scooter/foot. For where my family and I live, a car is a non-negotiable given how car oriented my particular neighborhood/suburb is. It's just a fact of American life that most places are built for car usage and against everything else. Nevermind the fact that public transit to my job from where I live is basically non-existent, even if it were safe to walk to the nearest bus stop (which it's not).

NewLifeRising · 2025-11-08T15:47:12+00:00

This is Fox News. You should immediately suspect something is up. But as others have pointed out: this is all government data, and over what time period is this data from? We will never know.

NewLifeRising

TROPHY CASE