Overqualified? Yes, but Happy to Have a Job? Or maybe not so happy?

@mismi,

Awwwwwwwwwww! Sad

But I do hope you give it some thought, Missy!

You sound like a natural to me! Very Happy

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@msolga,

I will - thanks Olga. I really do see the necessity of it.

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@mismi,

Good for you! Smile

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@dlowan,

Quote:

I am sort of over-qualified, in that I ought (if following the usual career trajectory) to be in at least middle management by now, and earning quite a bit more.

However, it being that I am not a manager's left buttock, and I don't want to do it (though I find myself with the odd glimmerings of such a desire, but I have a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down whenever this occurs and I find that it goes away) I am pretty damn happy with this!

I have a clinically based senior position anyway, and that is cool with me. Our bosses are actually trying to get some of us classified upwards, and given that I consult statewide, I might even get it....perhaps. That'd be nice...but c'est la vie.

Sorry, Deb, I missed this before, somehow.

I know what you mean about your career structure, teaching's very similar in that respect. (I was never, ever, remotely interested in that form of "promotion", either! Totally unsuited, too.)

So you're saying that (of the options open to you in your field) that you're satisfied with a less "senior" position, doing the work you actually prefer?

That makes a lot of sense to me, but I know of quite a few folk (some completely unsuited) who took the promotion/higher pay road at every opportunity, because "advancement " mattered to them more than anything else.

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@msolga,

Quote:

So you're saying that (of the options open to you in your field) that you're satisfied with a less "senior" position, doing the work you actually prefer?

Yes.

Quote:

I know of quite a few folk (some completely unsuited) who took the promotion/higher pay road at every opportunity, because "advancement " mattered to them more than anything else.

Indeed yes!!!

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@dlowan,

My (very ambitious) ex's argument went something like this: why would you want someone less competent than you being your boss & telling you what to do?
This was one of the (many) arguments he'd use in an attempt to counter what he saw as my maddening lack of ambition. The theory was: if you're capable of doing it, then you should automatically apply for the promotion. Too bad if the position would most likely make you feel utterly wretched! Wink

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@msolga,

Interesting.

I don't see myself as someone who would make a competent manager (too easily stressed and emotional) so I don't see myself as more competent than most of the managers I have had....(though I have moaned about them plenty, and I can be terrible at doing as I am told.)

The problem, as I see it, is that many people who THINK they are going to be competent managers aren't. But, how in hell do you KNOW, for Pete's sake? Are we wusses, or able to make a reasonable self-assessment?

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@dlowan,

Well I never wanted to be in that position, full stop.
A number of friends & acquaintances (& mr ex) did decide that this was for them. So I saw first-hand what it actually did to them. They were just about all highly stressed from from being over-worked & "job satisfaction" didn't appear to be a feature of their work. Besides, holding that sort of position changed them as people, in ways that were not always exactly "for the better".
Who'd knowingly get themselves into that sort of position?

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@msolga,

It sucks - but fortunately I have a steady salary - just need to make concessions on our side as far as extras.

The other catch 22 - is that because he did not earn any income (the government looks at it as if not working) and we get zippo for deductions on our child care expenses - we started having the kids come home directly after school as he is working from home and they are a bit older where they do not need 100% consistent supervision. They are just threatened with their lives if they make too much noise for him to work.

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@msolga,

Well, I suppose somebody has to do it.

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@Linkat,

Quote:

The other catch 22 - is that because he did not earn any income (the government looks at it as if not working) and we get zippo for deductions on our child care expenses ....

Aghhhh!

I didn't think it was possible for your circumstances to get any worse, Linkat.

What a rum deal. Employed yet unemployed at the same time. Maybe these different government departments should start talking to each other? A bit more consistency would certainly be a help!

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Good topic, MsOlga

I'm probably over-qualified for the job I have now - but I see that my broader experience has brought some changes to the job and to the way the company relates to our clients.

Our clients are predominantly the pharmaceutical industry - and my experience there enables us to tailor our approaches, and provide a different quality of service, more customer-focused, than before.

I was under-qualified for my previous job and coped poorly with the extreme stress that it involved.

Now my job pays significantly less, but has shorter hours (i.e., normal working hours, rather than 12-14 hour days and on-call!), is usually much less stressful, and is only 10 minutes from home. Anyone who has coped with Sydney peak hour traffic would understand the benefits of that.

I miss the money - but don't miss the attendant dramas. I'm approaching retirement age, but I can probably continue to work here past then (and I'll need the cash). My previous job I certainly couldn't - you just burn out!

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@margo,

Has your health improved from the change, Possum?

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@margo,

Quote:

Now my job pays significantly less, but has shorter hours (i.e., normal working hours, rather than 12-14 hour days and on-call!), is usually much less stressful, and is only 10 minutes from home. Anyone who has coped with Sydney peak hour traffic would understand the benefits of that.

I miss the money - but don't miss the attendant dramas. I'm approaching retirement age, but I can probably continue to work here past then (and I'll need the cash). My previous job I certainly couldn't - you just burn out!

Sounds like a pretty good trade-off to me, margo!

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I feel sorry for those in their 30s and 40s. I work with two very nice young men.

I will call the 30 y/o Jamie. Jamie chose not to attend college although he has high intelligence. He describes himself as a socialist. He has worked in retail, holding one job for nine years. He also plays in bands. He is married and he and his wife have a 4 year old son who will be an only child. They believe that a parent should be at home with their children. After their son was born, Jamie's wife reduced her hours by half and Jamie continued in his assistant manager position. He took a second job, where I know him.

He took a job with a national retailer which was setting up a new store. Although he opposed the retailer's politics (anti-gay, anti-abortion and unwilling to promote women), the promised salary was higher. He felt he would make himself more marketable and that he could better support his family. The job was a scam. The company took on people simply to set the store up.

Fortunately, Jamie's wife was able to take on more hours and Jamie is also driving a cab. He is worried about his family's future. They own a modest home and he told me that although a local bank granted them a mortgage, he feels that he and his wife were not good candidates as their earnings are too small and tenuous. His grandmother told him that she and her husband had to put 30% down on their home. He would not have bought a home but his wife wanted it.

The other man is 40 and runs his own small company which sells supplies to plastic surgeons. I'll call him Josh. He and his wife have two children, a 3 y/o boy and a newborn girl. His company is still tenuous and he has worked up to two other jobs while his wife has taken demonstration type jobs (teaching new computer systems to corporate employees).

These are well-intentioned, hard-working people. Their lives are difficult. Neither family takes vacations. The adults seldom do anything to amuse themselves.

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@plainoldme,

Quote:

These are well-intentioned, hard-working people. Their lives are difficult. Neither family takes vacations. The adults seldom do anything to amuse themselves.

Indeed, POM. It's a whole different ballgame, & a much harder one, for many people now.

I feel very sorry for the folk who are under-employed, too. Who want/need full-time work for security reasons & simply to make ends meet. There must be quite a few who are working more than one job to support themselves & their families.

This is from a report in today's Sydney Morning Herald, about the rise in part-time (much of it casualized, I'd say) in Oz. And we haven't experienced the effects of recession nearly as badly as the US. :

Quote:

...Part-time work in the past two years has grown at its fastest pace in two decades. Almost one in three jobs these days is part time - a record. And the number of part-time jobs has been growing at a rate of more than 5 per cent since the middle of last year, more than twice the full-time growth rate.

The number of part-time jobs - those of less than 35 hours a week - tends to jump during downturns for a simple reason: bosses are more cautious. But in the 2008-09 downturn this trend had some features that distinguished it from what took place in previous recessions.

Usually full-time jobs take off once it is clear unemployment has peaked, but this time part-time work has kept soaring after the worst has passed (notwithstanding the news this week that part-time employment fell slightly last month).

Another surprise is the dwindling number of hours per job. Despite a steady rise in the number of jobs, average full-time hours are still at their depressed level of last August.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/workers-join-the-casual-army-20100409-rymc.html

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I took a part-time job while I was editing my thesis and looking for a full-time job. I thought I would have a real job within three to six months . . . that was in 1997-98.

Another co-worker, a gay man, lived with boyfriend. He took the part-time job at the liquor store in order to afford an annual vacation. Then he and his boyfriend broke up and he moved out, increasing his living expenses. As he told me, the part-time job became a necessity because his cost of living increased. What made things worse for him is now he can't afford a vacation and his part-time job is now a necessity.

My parents took an annual vacation with four kids. I haven't had a week long vacation since 1997.

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@plainoldme,

Yes, I know, POM.

I hear more & more stories like that these days.

Seems rather crazy to me , as many workers' workloads have been increased to the extent that they're quite stressed & can't really meet all the demands on them.

Apart from that, there's plenty of anecdotal evidence of the expectation of workers to take on unpaid (or under-paid) over-time work. Whether they want to or not. Seems to be an expectation of some employers in a hire-er's market. If you want to keep your job you'd just better do it!

The crazy thing is, there are also many who would love ongoing part-time work (or else job sharing) , but it seems to be all or nothing with many employers.

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I am so over-qualified and over-educated that it's a wonder I can find my shoes in the morning let alone ruminate on the presence of my belly-button!

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@Chumly,

But you're perfectly happy with this state of affairs, right? Smile

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Overqualified? Yes, but Happy to Have a Job? Or maybe not so happy?

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