'At my wit's end': Broadcasting graduate's Reddit cry for help exposes the brutal reality of today's job market
The graduate, who studied at a top overseas university, said accepting a S$3,500 monthly salary felt "borderline embarrassing." (for illustration purposes only)
A post on Reddit’s r/jobhunting has captured the quiet desperation of a job seeker who has done everything right: graduated, won awards, applied relentlessly, yet they still can’t get a callback.
The original poster, who graduated from trade school on April with a diploma in radio and television broadcasting and an outstanding broadcaster award given to only one student per graduating class, described sending out application after application only to receive either silence or a standard rejection email.
“I am at my wit’s end here! What do I do?” they wrote.
It’s a question that resonated with many, and the answers it drew were as honest as they were uncomfortable.
“I’m not sure the job market is ever going to be ‘good’ again”
The first and perhaps most striking response cut straight to what many job seekers have been reluctantly coming to terms with. “To be honest, I’m not sure if the job market is ever going to be ‘good’ in the way it has in the past," one commenter wrote.
This assessment actually reframes the original question entirely; rather than asking when things will improve, the implication is that the baseline has permanently shifted. Consequently, the outlook remains unclear for everyone involved.
Credentials competition or inflation?
Several commenters zeroed in on a structural problem that goes beyond the current economic climate: credential inflation. One offered what amounted to a frank intervention.
“Also, congrats on getting a formal degree. I’d encourage you to try and get at least a BA. With the Associates, you’re at least halfway there to a BA. Keep up the momentum, take it over the goal, and go for one more. A lot of companies have a ‘paper ceiling’ where you’re filtered out by anything less than a Bachelor’s degree. Getting that four-year degree isn’t about sitting in a classroom longer; it’s about making sure your resume actually gets seen. Without it, your resume may be filtered out by applicant tracking software.”
Another was more blunt: “You realize the bachelor’s is the new high school diploma right? You won’t get anywhere with an associates.”
The irony that a communications graduate with a trade diploma and an award for outstanding broadcasting can’t get through an automated filter is not lost on the thread. The original poster had already noted the absurdity themselves, pointing out that employers advertise how much they value communication skills and then hire based on whether a degree has the letter B in it.
The industry problem nobody wants to say out loud
Perhaps the most sobering contribution came from a commenter who flagged something beyond credential inflation: the specific industry the poster has trained for.
“I often see radio broadcasting jobs on lists of shrinking professions, so the job market might not improve in your situation,” they wrote. It’s a painful but important observation.
Radio and television broadcasting, as traditionally understood, is a sector that has been contracting for years under pressure from streaming, podcasting, digital media, and advertising revenue shifts. Even a highly skilled, award-winning broadcaster is entering a labour market where the total number of available roles is shrinking regardless of the status of the economy.
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One commenter who apparently holds a bachelor’s degree in communications added a wry note that put the credential discussion in context: “Lol I have a bachelor’s in Communication and have never used it so idk, man.” This comment shows that even if you meet the imaginary ‘paper ceiling’, it doesn’t guarantee a path into the industry.
The thread ultimately raises a question that extends well beyond one job seeker’s situation: if a bachelor’s degree is now the minimum threshold just to have a resume read by a machine, and if even that degree doesn’t guarantee industry relevance in a shrinking field, what exactly is the credentialing system selecting for? And who does it serve, really?
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