On the other hand, a for such a specialized area a relevant PhD seems almost a necessity. Either that, or an equivalently long time in industry specializing in

On the other hand, a for such a specialized area a relevant PhD seems almost a necessity. Either that, or an equivalently long time in industry specializing in that area. I doubt that this is the norm though. I get the impression that most of these hiring managers who don't value experience are hiring for pretty uninteresting work and simply want inexpensive labour. The op didn't state what area of work he's in, but if a junior is the ideal candidate, it's very likely not very interesting or difficult work. edit: after a bit of digging, it turns out that the OP works on trading systems in Canada. The ironic thing is that 125k is quite a bit above a junior position in most of Canada. So it's not clear what is going on here. When hiring PhDs, he's competing with the US companies and might be a bit shy of what they pay. On the other hand, if he's paying a junior 125k, he's paying well above the local average.