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Path: utzoo!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Newsgroups: net.women,net.politics,net.social
Subject: Being "overqualified"
Message-ID: <334@looking.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 26-Aug-85 00:00:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: looking.334
Posted: Mon Aug 26 00:00:00 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 27-Aug-85 02:27:32 EDT
References: <482@ttidcc.UUCP> <8203@ucbvax.ARPA> <8204@ucbvax.ARPA> <3256@cca.UUCP>
Reply-To: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Organization: Looking Glass Software, Waterloo, Ont
Lines: 33
Xref: watmath net.women:7123 net.politics:10662 net.social:917
Summary: 

In article <3256@cca.UUCP> diego@cca.UUCP (Diego Gonzalez) writes:
>After fifteen years in which she learned quickly, maintained the highest
>standards of quality in her work, and was refused advancement to most of
>the positions she sought on the basis of any petty excuse, she is now
>being told that she is "too qualified".  What the hell does that mean?

I have often wondered about this, but recently I have received a few insights.
There are three ways that a person can be overqualified for a job.

The first is the result of unions and collective bargaining.  Unions often
negotiate contracts that specify certain wages or jobs depending on the
experience, seniority and education level of the applicant.  For example,
there might be a rule that PhDs get at least $25K per year at company X.
This means that you can't hire one to be a clerk or drive a truck, because
you would have to pay them far above the normal pay for that job.
Seniority is even worse.  Collective agreements often say that the longer you
have been with the firm, the more you must be paid.  If you go away and your
job does too, you can't return to a lower paying job because the union doesn't
allow it.   This sounds like what happened to your mother.

The second is job specific.  For example, I recently hired a software tester
and I am beginning to think he is overqualified.  His job is to test the
software and verify the manuals.  But he sometimes comes to me with comments
like "you should redo this whole section" which I have repeatedly told him
are a total waste of his time and mine three weeks before release.

The third is similar, and is related to attitude.  With my education and
experience, there are many jobs I could never get excited about or interested
in.  While capable, I would not do the best job because I would not be
interested in the work or appreciative of the pay - I would always think
I was worth more, because in today's world, I am.
-- 
Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473