And to get real work experience, you need a job, and most jobs

The thinker Donald Norman, master of design and human understanding, once observed with sober clarity: “And to get real work experience, you need a job, and most jobs will require you to have had either real work experience or a graduate degree.” In these words lies the riddle of the modern age—the paradox of labor, where the path to opportunity is blocked by the very requirement of already having it. Such is the cycle that tests the patience of youth and reveals the hidden trials of entering the world of work.

The ancients knew other forms of this circle. The apprentice could not become a master until he practiced the craft, yet no master would take him unless he proved his worth. The soldier could not fight without experience, yet he could not gain experience without fighting. This eternal dilemma has long plagued those who would rise, and it demands of them courage, ingenuity, and persistence.

Norman’s words reveal the truth that experience is both the gate and the key. One cannot gain wisdom of labor without walking its path, yet many doors remain locked until wisdom is proven. Thus, the young must seek ways to enter the circle—through learning, through persistence, through sacrifice—until they find the opening that allows them to begin. The graduate degree he speaks of becomes one such bridge, a symbol of readiness when direct experience is withheld.

Yet even in this struggle lies hidden wisdom. For those who endure this paradox learn resilience; they discover the art of persistence, the humility to start small, and the boldness to seize every chance. What seems an unjust circle is also a crucible, forging determination in those who would prevail. The ancients taught that the gods test the worthy not with easy paths, but with impossible riddles—so too is this cycle a test of endurance and will.

Let the generations remember: the road to work experience may seem closed, but every closed gate hides a way through for the steadfast. Do not despair when the world demands what you do not yet have, for by striving, learning, and refusing to yield, you create your own key. In this lies the eternal truth of Norman’s words: that the first step into life’s arena is the hardest, yet once taken, it opens a thousand doors.