Apprenticeship done, but every job wants 5+ years. What now?

[u/Rude-Recursion1024]

Hey everyone,

My apprenticeship is wrapping up and I've learned a ton. I'd already been programming on my own for almost 7 years before it, so at this point I'd say I have solid technical depth. I've been able to dig into pretty much everything: programming (my strongest area), infrastructure, and even some project management.

This isn't just a job for me. It's something I genuinely care about and I'm passionate about the work.

A bit about me: I'm from Switzerland, turning 20, and fluent in both English and German.

The problem: after a few searches, most jobs here ask for 3+, 5+, even 7+ years of experience, and these aren't even labeled "senior." So far I've been filtered out by HR for having "no experience." Has anyone been in the same spot? I'd love to hear how you handled it.

A few specific questions:

• Is fully remote realistic in this situation?
• Does anyone know companies that don't just filter on years of experience?
• Are unsolicited applications worth the effort here?

Thanks!

[u/Basilus88]

Fully remote completely out of the question. These jobs are very sought after and you can always find someone with more experience than you working for pennies if a company offers full remote.

If you were doing an apprenticeship then you should be looking no for your first job through that apprenticeship. You should’ve been networking hard while having access to people that are actually in the business.

The junior market is fucked everywhere and it’s very hard to find any job with 0 experience like you have without direct connections.

[u/InterfaceTrait]

Years of experience do matter, but everything is relevant and the job descriptions tend to inflate the requirements. So maybe you can't target at positions that demand 7 years of experience, but you can definitely target the ones that ask for 3 years, by doing some inflation at your side too.

The market is really bad at the moment and the junior market even more so.