Overqualified Co Workers

[Phoenix84]

In December, the training department at work hired a very experienced, highly educated individual. This person has a PhD in something like Molecular Genetics or something (I forget what exactly) and has decades of experience in our field and different fields. However, she was hired as an instructor, not a manager or anything. It's not a bad job per se, but most everyone else that works that job has a bachelors and far less experience. Even in my division, which pays better, most of us have a bachelors and less experience.

I guess I just envisioned anyone who put in all the work to get a PhD had a specific, high powered career goal in mind, but I'm seeing that's not always the case. I realize education isn't everything, but why do overqualified people take on certain positions that don't require all of their skills and experience?

I can think of a few reasons, perhaps at some point, family became the priority. Perhaps they are trying to get back into the workforce after an absence. Maybe they found out they hated their career field and switched, or maybe they just moved to the area and needed a job fast.

But still, seems odd to me.

What about you? Are any of your co workers overqualified? Why do they do it?

[dannylion]

When I was part of an applicant interview panel at a federal agency, we got lots of PhD applicants.  I was mainly involved in hiring linguists, and the linguist PhD applicants were nearly all coming from academia, which many of them found not to be a good fit for them.  At least that's the prettied-up version they shared during the interview.  In talking with them after they were hired, most of them declared that they were extremely grateful to have been able to come to work for us because they found their experience in academia to be nightmarish (the term "snakepit" was also used), but their training wasn't suited for a lot of other fields.  Also, there are only so many positions for PhDs in any academic setting, and some of them had given up trying to find an academic position or had chosen not to continue to pursue an academic career. 

Corporations do hire people with desired language skills and train them in certain fields like sales because it's harder to teach a salesbeing to speak Chinese than it is to teach someone who knows Chinese to be a salesbeing.  The corporations are not particularly interested in folks with PhDs, however,  because they can get sufficient language skills from someone with a BA, and the person with the BA had lower salary expectations. 

So your PhD lady might have come from a difficult experience in academia, or maybe she was unable to find a suitable job in academia or in a corporate/pharmaceutical/medical research setting, or she might have had one or more of those positions before coming to your agency but found that they were not a good fit for her. If she is going to be developing training courses or devising curricula, the experience she acquired in an academic setting in the process of getting her PhD will likely prove to be very useful.

[flamingo]

We just hired a PhD to do something that I would think the right person with a bachelor's + experience could do. However, she was the right person at the right time, and she blew us away in the interview. I know how much she makes, and I'm a little surprised she took a job making so little. However, I don't have a PhD (I have a terminal degree though-JD), so since I didn't take that same educational/career path, I can't say if it was a wise decision. Probably she's using it as a stepping stone to a higher position and I'm pretty sure she wants to start a family soon.

I guess if someone with a PhD was looking for basic, entry level work, I might question it. The woman at my work is part of management, so even though I'm surprised she wasn't aiming higher, I don't question it. Also, since I've had some employment "fit" problems myself in the past, I'm willing to give some lee-way to those who use that as their reason for looking for a job I might not otherwise associate with their education level.

[Deleted]

"salesbeing"

[msventoux]

None of my coworkers are overqualified, but a couple of us have tossed around the idea of opening up a bookkeeping business.  It would be a definite step down in our careers, but so much less stress.  And as bad as a lot of the bookkeepers are around here we could be as busy or not as we like.  Sometimes you just get fed up and want to take a step back and do something you can do easily and do something that allows you to focus more of your attention and energy on other parts of your life. 

[mmhmm]

I was overqualified for the nursing supervisor position I held for years. I did it because it was something I truly loved doing. I could still work as a nurse practitioner when I wished, but my heart was in the supervisor position. You just never know what might motivate a person to do something like that.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

People wind up in positions that they are overqualified for for a multitude of reasons, I wouldn't begin to guess what your coworker's  reason is. but  I could hazard a guess, especially considering her degree and experience.  My best guess is that she couldn't find a tenure track position at a university (and they are as scarce as hen's teeth these days), she was in a location where there was no research doing what she does (this field does get very narrow the further up the ladder you get), or she simply decided that she wanted to do something different.  Who knows what her reason is, as long as she does a decent job at what she's doing.  BTW.....I suspect that you probably make more than many PhDs that are on tenure tracks at universities.  It's not until you are a full professor, have multiple streams of funding and have a CV as long as your arm that you make money.....and some scientists never do.  So it also could very well be financial.

I am going to wind up horribly overqualified when I go back to work.  Right now, I am ABD for a PhD, but am working on a technical program for an AAS in order to become employed at a job that I can do that won't stress my joints.  That's my reason, and if someone will take a chance on a 55 year old woman who has a newly minted AAS degree on top of a BS, MS and ABD for a PhD, I will be incredibly grateful and bust my butt to do a good job.

[wvugurl26]

I was hired in as an auditor with the federal government with a lovely lady who was overqualified. She had previously been a physician. She trained in another country and was the small town doctor who did it all. She practiced for a few years in the US but American medicine wasn't her cup of tea. She said she missed doing everything from delivering babies to end of life care. The US is very specialized.

Anyway I get the impression she stepped out when her children were in junior high and she got an accounting degree and passed the CPA exam. I had a feeling she was working to pay college tuition. Her husband is in a high paying, big stress specialty (can never remember if it was cardiology or anesthesia) so any money she made was just extra.

I audit healthcare so her experience was invaluable. She's moved on and I miss being able to run things by her.

[thyme4change]

I took a step back at work.  With my unreliable health, my kids and a sucky job market, I decided that this job would bring less stress than getting a job more appropriate for my resume.  

I'm not as overqualified as the person you mention - but I can see how doing something you like is worth it. 

[Tennesseer]

It's possible the person mentioned in the opening post with a PHD and decades of experience has decided to begin winding down their professional career and will retire in a few years.  lnstructing in their field of expertise but not the responsibility of being management.  Not unheard of.

[CarolinaKat]

We have one noticably overqualified lady at work. She worked in management at another company and is well respected. She took basically a data entry job so she can finish her work on her PHD. They checked with her several times that it was OK that she was going from project management to data entry, but she affirmed that that's exactly what she wanted. She's a pleasure to work with and everything is always done, so she has plenty of time for her coursework. 

[Phoenix84]

The person in question is a instructor at our agency. She'll be training agency personnel. While not what I'd call entry level or a McJob, just not what I would normally envision someone with a PhD in advanced sciences and job experience in academia doing.

The job pays in the 70k to 80k a year range. Not bad, but again, lower than I would think someone with those qualifications would be aiming for.

[ArchietheDragon]

People with Phds are typically not the go getter types in the corporate world. 

[zibazinski]

I had some chances to move into admin which is where the money is in teaching. Too many sacrifices for the money. So I was technically overqualified for my job, too.

[Bob Ross]

I'd say that I'm definitely overqualified, in that I'm stuck here doing this shit instead of ruling over you all from my skull throne in my skull castle high atop Skull Mountain.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

$70k-$80k is actually probably more than she was making as a professor. She also now does not have to deal with grant funding which involves A LOT of BS and A LOT of stress. Only 40% of my boss's salary is paid by UNMC, the rest must come from Pgrants.   At her current job your coworker no longer has to worry about busting her butt to scrape together the remaining 60% of her salary.

There is an image of scientific  PhDs and there is the assumption that they make $$$ but Mich is 100% correct in her posts.  It is BAD out there right now as far as funding and there are too many PhDs but not enough jobs. If I knew I could get a stable $80k job rather than continue to pray that someone dies so I can get a tenured position I would jump too.

I know A LOT of PhDs who are doing just that.   To you it may seem like a demotion and an unwise idea, but as somebody slogging it in similar trenches I thin she made a smart move.

[siralynn]

My husband makes $58k as an assistant professor. And he only landed that after multiple $30-40k post-doc positions. $70-80k sounds awesome.

[billisonboard]

I have an ex-wife that went straight through from kindergarten to PhD.  In grad school, she was a teaching assistant and then an assistant to a professor editing a professional journal.  We separated during those years.  I know she went on to a campus after she got her PhD for a few years before returning to her small hometown to run the independent telephone company her family owned (I assume when her Dad retired).  She went from age five into her thirties being a part of the start of every school year.  For her, it was where she was comfortable.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jan 14, 2015 12:48:40 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

The person in question is a instructor at our agency. She'll be training agency personnel. While not what I'd call entry level or a McJob, just not what I would normally envision someone with a PhD in advanced sciences and job experience in academia doing.

The job pays in the 70k to 80k a year range. Not bad, but again, lower than I would think someone with those qualifications would be aiming for.

Ummm, you'd be lucky getting that in academia with a PhD, Phoenix.  My boss (with a PhD and massive qualifications) made around that until we moved to KY.  At that point, he had 30+ years of experience, a list of publications a mile long and a massive track record in procuring funding.  I think his move got him up to $120K.  He's ready to retire and makes around $150K.  He's also a dean.

[emma1420]

Jan 14, 2015 12:48:40 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

The person in question is a instructor at our agency. She'll be training agency personnel. While not what I'd call entry level or a McJob, just not what I would normally envision someone with a PhD in advanced sciences and job experience in academia doing.

The job pays in the 70k to 80k a year range. Not bad, but again, lower than I would think someone with those qualifications would be aiming for.

My college BFF is a tenured associate prof., and will be lucky to crack 50K this year.  She works for a private liberal arts college, and she feels lucky to have a job.   My friend loves teaching and so will never leave academia, but given her descriptions of all the other requirements she has (research, committee assignments, etc.) to me it sounds miserable for very little pay (in comparison).

So for your co-worker 70K-80Kk might be a pretty big step up salary wise without any of the extra pressure that academia presents.  

[TheHaitian]

My wife makes 40k in academic research right now, her PhD will probably give her a jump into 45k doing post doc work.

Academia is not as lucrative as people think. I am trying to sway her into lobbying/government work after she is done with her PhD vs teaching and research she wants to do.

She has a masters in public health and getting her PhD in Public Policy.

[Bob Ross]

Jan 14, 2015 15:51:21 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Jan 14, 2015 12:48:40 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

The person in question is a instructor at our agency. She'll be training agency personnel. While not what I'd call entry level or a McJob, just not what I would normally envision someone with a PhD in advanced sciences and job experience in academia doing.

The job pays in the 70k to 80k a year range. Not bad, but again, lower than I would think someone with those qualifications would be aiming for.

Ummm, you'd be lucky getting that in academia with a PhD, Phoenix.  My boss (with a PhD and massive qualifications) made around that until we moved to KY.  At that point, he had 30+ years of experience, a list of publications a mile long and a massive track record in procuring funding.  I think his move got him up to $120K.  He's ready to retire and makes around $150K.  He's also a dean.

You'd think that with what they're charging for tuition nowadays, they'd be able to buy every staff member a solid gold house and rocket car.

[Phoenix84]

That does bring up a good point. If the money isn't going to the staff, where is it going?

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jan 14, 2015 16:42:38 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

That does bring up a good point. If the money isn't going to the staff, where is it going?

I know when I looked at the last budget put out by UK, they had an electric bill that exceeded $1M each month.  It wasn't long after that every third light in the hallway got turned off and they adjusted the heat/ac.  

[shanendoah]

Jan 14, 2015 16:42:38 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

That does bring up a good point. If the money isn't going to the staff, where is it going?

Football and basketball coaches. They tend to be the highest paid state employees in every state.

Honestly, though, a lot of the current tuition increases are to make up for the money that is no longer being given to state universities by the states. One mid-western state decided to handle their deficit problem by taking all the state university reserves.

My university employs ~47,000 people. We have buildings, some old, some new, to maintain. We have buildings that need to be renovated. New buildings that need to be built. As Mich mentioned, power bills are ridiculous. (My university is actually considering building it's own power plant, in order to save money.) We have libraries and museums and student labs and a million pieces of equipment that need to be maintained/replaced/upgraded.
And sure your tenure track professor is paying 60% of their salary through grants, but that means that your full time professor is only teaching 40% of the time, so we have to hire someone else to cover that 60% teaching load. (I should note that my current department does not currently have any research faculty. We might choose to bring in some, as was discussed at today's faculty meeting, but currently, all of our faculty are teaching.)

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

And sure your tenure track professor is paying 60% of their salary through grants, but that means that your full time professor is only teaching 40% of the time, so we have to hire someone else to cover that 60% teaching load. (I should note that my current department does not currently have any research faculty. We might choose to bring in some, as was discussed at today's faculty meeting, but currently, all of our faculty are teaching.)

But those grants, in addition to paying their 60% salary are also contributing millions to the university in indirect costs via their grant funds (whether private or federal).  I think that 50% of our grants (that's the last number I heard) ON TOP of what we requested for funding went to the university to pay for things like . building depreciation, operation and maintenance, utilities) and administrative costs (e.g. sponsored projects administration, purchasing, accounting, legal services, etc.

So we get a $10M grant over 5 years, the university gets $1M/year.


Football and basketball coaches. They tend to be the highest paid state employees in every state.

However, coaches salaries tend to be self supporting.  I know that UK's athletic department not only was able to support itself (I'm guessing through ticket sales and endorsements??) and its salaries, but did also contribute quite a bit back to the university too.

[shanendoah]

Sure, the University gets some recaptured money from grants for overhead. At my university, a portion of that is redistributed back to the department. We're using it for things like graduate student travel to present at conferences. We also use it to improve faculty labs. But having overseen grant administration, I can also tell you that the caps on overhead the government has often don't actually fully cover overhead. (At least not in Seattle's real estate market.)

And I would be VERY surprised if UK's athletic department actually contributed back to the University in a way that was at all meaningful. Most universities use athletic money only on athletics- things like new stadiums and gymnasiums, etc. But that money absolutely does not go back to support tuition, teaching, or research.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jan 14, 2015 18:47:34 GMT -5 shanendoah said:

And I would be VERY surprised if UK's athletic department actually contributed back to the University in a way that was at all meaningful. Most universities use athletic money only on athletics- things like new stadiums and gymnasiums, etc. But that money absolutely does not go back to support tuition, teaching, or research.

www.kentucky.com/2013/01/10/2470982/support-pledged-for-new-science.html

A new science building is meaningful....especially if you saw the shape of the one I used to work in.


www.ukathletics.com/blog/2011/04/uk-athletics-a-vital-partner-at-university.html

Other contributions....more than $14M going back to the university.

[billisonboard]

Jan 14, 2015 18:47:34 GMT -5 shanendoah said:

... Most universities use athletic money only on athletics- things like new stadiums and gymnasiums, etc. But that money absolutely does not go back to support tuition, teaching, or research.

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Nor does much of it go to the students who produce the product being sold by the university.

[Tiny]

IDK,  I guess I assume that anyone doing a particular job or applying for a particular job (regardless of level of degrees) is motivated by something other than "I should be paid X and have X responsibilities BECAUSE I have a fancy peice of paper that sez I've successfully finished coursework/work in a particular field/area of study".    

My experience is generally  someone gets the degree in order to persue some sort of work or to further their career or sometimes just for their own edification.  That said, 5 or more years AFTER they've gotten the degree there's no telling what they will be doing - perhaps life happened and they changed directions OR maybe they discovered that the 'furthered' career just wasn't worth it OR maybe they found something they were skilled at (thanks to their expereince and maybe even the degree) that fits better into how they see their life going.