I'm a junior; even getting internship in my city was impossible. And it's a requirement to graduate.

I had many of my peers pay people for signing off that they had an "internship" at some companies.

Most likely. I was seeing people with a few years experience willing to accept a fairly junior role. As a result we passed on some people that I would’ve hired and trained in years past.

It’s always hard for juniors, but it’s always possible as well.

IMO job boards are almost entirely useless. Going to meetups and making friends in open source communities is the way to go.

Probably worse from what I understand. Seniors are more specialized but also (hopefully) have a network.