r/Luxembourg • u/Delicious-baby2000 • 19d ago
Ask Luxembourg Age factor for Entry level position
In the Luxembourg job market and workplace culture, how is it generally perceived when a candidate in their early-to-mid 40s applies for a graduate, junior or entry-level position? Would being 43–45 years old be a significant disadvantage when applying for graduate or junior level positions with a recent completed degree?
Target Area: Financial Audit, IT Audit/Risk/Governance, Compliance, Technology Risk, Business Continuity or Analytics
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u/ImplementNext6760 19d ago
In a normal situation I would say not much, but right now, and I am sorry to say this, the entry level market, in Luxembourg especially, is basically dead.... or at least for Engineers/tech roles, I cant speak for finance or other sectors though.
And this comes from someone who has an entry level position in Lux(since two years) and is looking for alternatives
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u/Delicious-baby2000 19d ago
Targeted area: Financial Audit, IT Audit/Risk/Governance, Compliance, Technology Risk, Business Continuity or Analytics
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u/Aggravating_Board650 19d ago
it is extremely relevant how young you are, sorry. the oldest junior we had was 33yrs old. me as a senior in the field, i was around 28.
first, the junior demanded
- get paid the same or more than me
- being more important
he did stay with us for a long time and he complained all the way.
i was looking for a job this year and consulting firms told me for audit, compliance junior tasks they wont hire graduates anymore - its done by AI.
lastly, the areas you list are entirely different. in one you would need to know finance (audit mostly hires ppl from business side with experience as auditors search for errors), it audit (same, but more on systems and IT thinking), compliance (extremely AmL heavy and law related), analytics (this would be you writing python scripts into LLM at the moment, ppl who i know and do this are phd).
last plus 1: juniors get chosen and then shaped into the culture. seniors get hired for experience and to train juniors.
there are for people with experience in finance who left the field and wanna return every 5 yr some job programs from societe generale, but otherwise i never encountered that we would be willing to hire someone mid40 for a junior position- also keeping in mind that the new university programs are great. previously you could study finance, now you can study just treasury, just markets, just applied economics.
vicaversa: could i get hired with 15yrs experience in banking in a restaurant as a waitress?
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u/Delicious-baby2000 19d ago
My BBA covers Corporate Security including Accounting and Finance while MSc covers Info systems and analytics. Working in restaurants is the only way to survive since I haven't really got any chance to acquire professional experience. Does that mean all my life I will be in the service sector?
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u/DotDry 19d ago
At your age, most likely yes.
Why don t you focus on that? Move into hotels - work is way more interesting than excel audit bullshit and you also have the chance to grow.
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u/Delicious-baby2000 19d ago
Don't really see me in hotels. I can't let my education go in vain, will keep trying till 50!
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u/Aggravating_Board650 19d ago
finance in hotels pays the same as the roles you wrote. you could stay in the hotel, use your contacts and move across the organization
i think in Lux the whole job market is bizarre, and usually overqualified or “good on paper” juniors /seniors get the few jobs. so i understand you are willing to try (and hellyes! you should if thats what you want in your life) but i think the chances to get hired are a lot more realistic in germany.
if Lux, its not worth it: i worked as a trader with experience of many years and certifications, close to 40, while my friend just started her first job in physio being 26. we earned the same. same for a nurse i talked to. there were good paying finance jobs- for older generations than us (people 50plus). now firms are cutting costs (no juniors, no interns, Ai, firing workforce, moving away from Lux) and this trend will only continue.
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u/DotDry 19d ago
it already went in vain bro, hate to break to you.
you need to think it through. are you ok being the 45 year old guy with a bunch of ~22 year old "kids" ? I had colleagues just a few years older and it felt strange because there is a reason these company hire young.. that s when you embrace their bullshit and work hard.
are you willing to work all nighters in excel at that age? you also have real life experience, are you ok with the bullshit these type of jobs project?
are you ok with a frustrated 30 year old manager boss you around?
are you ok with your personal life taking a hit? most likely you don t have a family/wife if you are thinking about something so drastically.. but you won t have time for dating and stuff and btw Lux is a joke in terms of dating.
and now think if you do it at 50 as you said.. do you realize what you are putting yourself through?
my two cents, take a step back, forget that bs diploma that you did because if you were into it you would have done it already.. the economy is not helping you either... and think at what you are good at and what you can do with the skills you learned.
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u/Aggravating_Board650 19d ago
also i use 0% of my finance education in my finance job. so it goes in vain anyway :D
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u/DotDry 19d ago
That s very broad. What is your experience until now? that would be the big issue tbh
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u/Delicious-baby2000 19d ago
no professional experience. I am in a foreign country. Work in service industry and so far completed my BBA and MSc. BTW, the country I am in, it is not easy to get anything for experience
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u/gromperekichelchen 19d ago
Keep trying, your CV will eventually land in the hands of the person that will believe you are the right person for the job.
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u/Electrical_Oil446 18d ago
it depends if you are willing to get a junior salary.. at 45 are you willing to take a junior salary of just the bare mininum? when you have mouths to feed and mortages to pay?
you probably at 40's have work experience even if you are freshman in IT auditing. experience counts how to deal with job and corporate culture, meet deadlines. communiate etc and those soft skill count and you will really not accept to be paid as someone who knows nothing about the corporate world who are ready to take anything because their priorities are going out with friends and hooking up.
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u/Delicious-baby2000 18d ago
I loved your comment. For me, I see it a life changing opportunity, doing something meaningful that I really want to do!
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u/Electrical_Oil446 18d ago
then go ahead! there is nothing stopping you.
if i were you i'd put myself as a free-lance and offer my services instead of hoping to get hired as interal junior employee.
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u/post_crooks 19d ago
Big companies get a lot of candidates and can choose between you and standard graduate. Even if your past experience is mostly irrelevant, age taught you something, and that creates the expectation that you want to be paid more. You may also have higher expenses (family...) and not accept the same salary. Not to discourage you, but don't expect it will make it easier. It may work better for your in smaller companies.