a chicken-and-egg problem

a chicken and egg situation/problem

A situation in which it is unknown what happened, or what needs to happen, first. You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience. It's a chicken and egg situation.
See also: and, chicken, egg, problem, situation
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a chicken-and-egg problem

an unresolved question as to which of two things caused the other.
This expression comes from the traditional riddle: ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?’
See also: problem
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • a chicken and egg situation/problem
  • a chicken-and-egg situation
  • chicken and egg
  • situation
  • broaden
  • broaden (one's) horizons
  • once-in-a-lifetime experience
  • speak from experience
  • growth experience
  • jarring experience
References in periodicals archive
(Troen and Boles wrestle with this dilemma partly by proposing intermediate ways to infuse existing schools with some of the characteristics of Millennium Schools.) Moreover, there is a chicken-and-egg problem. We need Millennium Schools to attract more good teachers, but plenty of good teachers are a prerequisite for having many successful Millennium Schools.
Bungle in the jungle