&quot;“I know I am a creative person who can do many of these jobs, but I think employers have these expectations that an applicant must bring a mid-level professional’s work experience and technical skills — even though it’s only an entry-level job,”&quot;<p>High expectations from employers for not enough pay. No willingness to train people to spec, instead expecting everyone to be ready to go out of the box. It&#x27;s easy to forget that people are messy, and not machines.<p>EDIT: I beat this drum all of the time on HN... you will never have enough &quot;technical skills&quot; or &quot;in demand skills&quot; or &quot;communications skills&quot; to cheat your way out of the ability for someone to turn you down for the unicorn (who, ideally, will then be underemployed in the position) they&#x27;re looking for.