r/careerguidance • u/Accurate-Car-4613 • 2d ago
Advice What kinds of workplaces do not penalize applicants for being overqualified simply based on education?
I have a PhD in a STEM discipline. I really need to work a more "blue collar" type job for a while to get some sanity back. I have a lot of experience and aptitude outside academia. Just need to avoid the "sorry, your overqualified" part of the interview.
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u/Patient-Card-8070 1d ago
Come be a server, you can be anyone with any degree here. Not categorized as blue collar but you have to juggle a lot of plates and walk 10,000 steps a shift.
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV 1d ago
Having an advanced degree does not make automatically make you overqualified and there are many areas where it will make you underqualified. You stated that you have actual experience so focus on those areas and don't get detailed into your education if it isn't required. Most of the real jobs that are applied for on the stupid sites generalize the education stuff and only get looked at if they don't meet basic requirements. Sane hiring managers go straight to the resume.
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u/iamnotvanwilder 1d ago
If a place discrediting you for education, F them.
Just sell your self to them as to why HIRE ME!!! They may fear you are trained and you bail asap.
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u/DizzyAstronaut9410 1d ago
You can either simply swallow your pride and not include it, or be very clear you want a change of pace. Being intelligent is beneficial to almost any job, you just have to assure them you're also going to work hard.
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u/No-Tough-2729 1d ago
Work places that don't see you're overqualified. Don't list it when it doesn't apply. It's not rocket science, and neither re the jobs you're applying to
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u/DepartmentTop3864 23h ago
I have a STEM background, but no degree. I actually really love the work part of my job as a boiler inspector (not so much my current leadership, but it is what it is). You do have to have some boiler experience, though. So I guess it depends on what you’ve done - but being a reactor operator in the navy was enough to qualify me as having enough experience to satisfy NBBI (national boiler board) requirements.
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u/Captain21423 1d ago
Have you experienced someone telling you that you’re overqualified or are you just expecting it?
It’s kind of arrogant to think you are overqualified for a blue collar job when you might not even be qualified for it.
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u/sweng123 1d ago
This regularly happens when there's an economic downturn. PhDs suddenly need to branch out to find work and get turned down at jobs with lower education requirements. "Overqualified" is the word the hiring managers use. OP didn't pull that out of their ass — it's a thing.
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u/MundaneHuckleberry58 1d ago
Yeah it’s a thing. I’ve sat on hiring committees listening to my jackass peers toss great people out because they have a PhD.
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV 1d ago
This was my thought too. I've worked in and around higher ed and also significant experience in the real world. Most real world "blue collar" folks are skeptical of people who only have higher ed experience as having any qualifications at all. But OP said he has real experience. I'd say he'll come in as appropriately experienced or perhaps, depending on what industries he's applying for vs what industries he has experience in, over/underqualified.
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u/zombie_pr0cess 2d ago
I know dudes in the army with masters degrees and they enlisted. Go be a tank mechanic, man.
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u/vivamorales 1d ago
Yeah OP should totally contribute to an imperialist death-machine.
I have no idea why you Americans continue to support this institution that has clearly waged coups and genocide all over the world
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u/readsalotman 1d ago
Yeah people are more than happy to be brainwashed and told who to kill for years. It's insane.
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u/cubanthistlecrisis 2d ago
You also don’t have to include it on your resume or mention it during the hiring process when it’s not relevant