An entry level job is the first job that a new trainee or graduate takes upon completion of a training or degree program. Entry level in this sense refers to the entry point into a specific chosen profession.
An entry level job may or may not require (or at least prefer) some level of work experience. Most often, this work experience may be gained through internship, which are most commonly offered for 10-12 weeks during the summer break from college) or cooperative education (i.e. coops), which are often offered concurrent to the semester or quarter of education and are therefore in place of (or in addition to) the student's normal education schedule.
The entry level title for many professions is known as a staff role. Staff Accountant, Staff Engineer and Staff Auditor are all examples of typical entry level job titles. Many jobs simply list the job without any additions (such as Senior, II, etc.), such as Programmer, Software Development Engineer, Sales Representative are examples of entry level jobs. However, these titles may or may not be entry level. For example, even with an entry level job, once the individual is in the job at least a year, the job is no longer entry level, even though the title may not have changed. So the title by itself is not always an indicator of the level of the position.
Some employers will add the two words "Entry Level" to the position title for the purpose of posting externally to indicate to prospective job seekers that hiring is at the entry level.
The generally accepted crossover point from entry level to experienced is when the candidate has gained some level of experience in the chosen field or profession beyond graduation. However, it is usually only after a year of experience that the new job seeker is competing at an experienced level rather than entry level. For example, if a new entry level hire were to be terminated after only 3-6 months of work after graduation, that person would likely still be competing at the entry level for the next role. While the one year experience level is arbitrary and depending on the experience gained, it is the standard for most corporate recruiters when reviewing the resume of candidates.
If you would like to understand more about the specific education requirements of a specific career, please review the careers listed here at our site.
If you would like to search for an entry level job, simply go to the home page of our site and enter your search criteria.
At CollegeGrad.com the jobs posted at our site clearly list the minimum education requirements as well as the minimum experience requirements. We have jobs posted which are internships (for those currently in college), entry level (for new college graduates) and experienced (for those with work experience in the field beyond entry level). We provide a checkbox to help you search the jobs available at each level.
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