‘A joke’: $45,000 ‘entry level’ job listing asks for three years’ experience, Master’s degree

A $45,000 job listing for an ‘entry level’ position requiring three years’ experience and a degree has sparked outrage.

A minimum wage job listing for an “entry level” developer position requiring more than three years of experience and a degree has sparked outrage after being shared online.

The ad was originally posted by OracleCMS, a Melbourne-based call centre operator, seeking a junior C# developer on a salary of $45,000 to $65,000.

A spokesman for OracleCMS has since clarified to news.com.au that the listed salary was an error, and the position actually starts at $65,000.

The “100 per cent on-site” position requires a Bachelor’s degree in IT or a related field but “Master’s preferred”, and “three-plus years” experience in software development, “including architecture and team management”.

“Are you obsessed with writing clean and readable code and excited to contribute to programming software that helps customers?” the listing reads.

“Join this dynamic team and play a crucial role in developing B2B management and software applications that are revolutionising the software world.”

The job ad was shared to Reddit on Sunday by a user who asked, “WTF is this job listing?”

“I don’t understand how they can call a candidate with three-plus years’ experience and preferably a Master’s degree ‘entry level’,” they wrote.

“What a joke. Would’ve had at least three to four years in university and three years’ real experience for seven total years of learning/experience to be called entry level and an absolute disgrace of a salary.”

 

The job pays $45,000 to $65,000. Picture: Indeed

 

And requires three years’ experience. Picture: Indeed

In Australia, the annual minimum wage is just under $48,000, while the Professional Employees Award, which covers IT workers, stipulates a minimum annual salary of $61,638 for a graduate with a three-year degree.

“This is called a red flag company/taking the piss,” one user wrote.

“Ah yes, the entry level developer with three years’ team management experience,” another said.

A third said, “They’ll use this as an excuse to outsource labour offshore or implement AI. They will never find someone who is ‘suitable’ because the listing is a joke, and someone with a Master’s in CS would be a clown to take it.”

Some questioned whether the company was simply completing the required “labour market testing” prior to sponsoring a foreign worker.

“Generally companies just complete the labour market testing as tick the box exercise and will add a two to three years’ work experience requirement to narrow down applications they receive so doesn’t look as bad when they don’t accept any applicants,” one said.

The minimum wage for graduate IT professionals is $61,638. Picture: iStock

However others noted the listed salary for the position is below the $73,150 threshold for temporary skilled migration visas.

OracleCMS has been contacted for comment.

Earlier this year, the call centre operator was caught up in a major data client data breach affecting more than a dozen local councils including the City of Sydney, along with law firms, aged care providers and others.

Infamous ransomware operator LockBit published more than 60 gigabytes of data on the dark web in April relating to more than 50 clients of OracleCMS, ranging from client mobile numbers to details of phone calls reporting issues to aged care providers, CyberDaily reported.

One of the affected clients was Nissan Oceania, which had enlisted OracleCMS to set up a “dedicated cyber incident call centre” after the carmaker suffered a separate data breach last December that impacted up to 100,000 customers.

OracleCMS said in a July update that its response to the cyber incident had drawn to a close.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our clients for their understanding and patience, and to also thank those government entities who have provided guidance and support throughout our incident response,” a notice on its website reads.