Finding work as an average developer is tough

I started my code journey three and a half years ago when I went back to school. I finished my bachelor's degree in mobile programming and immediately started sending our resumes. Over the course of six months or so, no bites and no interviews. Did I not have the experience? Was there something missing on my resume? I went right back into school to pursue my masters degree. I finished my masters in web development this past may (2022). I was (and still am) quite proud of my accomplishment. Time to update that resume! Now I know I'll get some offers. Surely that's a true statement, right? Here we are in October, I have been sending out applications and resumes for five months. Still, no bites and no offers. So what's missing?

What I'm seeing is that companies want more experience than is possible for fledgling developers. They don't want to take risks on someone that is fresh into the industry unless they have a superstar portfolio. I finished my masters with a 3.8 GPA, my bachelors with a 3.7, but all the work that went into that doesn't seem to matter much. Why did I struggle so hard to make the grades if all of that effort isn't paying off?

If you are in this position, know that you aren't alone. Know that there are others out there just like you that are struggling to find work when there are more positions available than ever before. I see job boards with hundreds of jobs; few of these are entry level, and of those they require 3-5 years of experience. So what really is 'entry level' if the requirements are to have experience already?