The old catch-22

Not sure if I’m just here to rant about the current job market but nonetheless I’m open to any advice.

I’m currently in a position where I’ve been without work for an extended period and have taken on side freelance gigs with an emphasis on “free”. It seems impossible right now to even get anywhere, and I’ve only had a handful of interviews (a few last rounders), over 1k application submissions, multiple cover letter and resume revisions, and multiple portfolio revisions. Honestly, this all feels like a catch-22 scenario right now. I’m looking for junior opportunities, but have been out of college since ‘23 and have taken up freelancing since then which doesn’t help my situation very much but provided me with a few decent case studies for my portfolio.

In the USA, there are hardly any positions for junior UX Designers, competition is insane as we are going up against seniors that are taking massive pay cuts, ai, or freelancers and H1b workers that also take drastic pay cuts. The majority of jobs available require +3-6 years of experience and/or require you to live in high cost of living areas without relocation assistance which honestly leaves no room for professional growth for juniors. On-top of that, most resources like mentors, LinkedIn Premium for networking, IxDF (just to name a few) are stuck behind paywalls that I have to now choose to pay for or use my limited funds on food, health and bills. Everything caked on top of AI restructuring, I’m just hoping I can find greener grass somewhere sooner than later.

Ok I’m done ranting, thanks for listening 🫣