Over Qualified..Puh-leez!

It’s no secret here that I’m still job searching. I’ve now moved into phase 3 of the job search, which is: “Just find a full time job, any job.” So, I’m looking for things out of the education field. Over the past month, it has been a little more discouraging. Sometimes I think it’s almost worse to get a job interview and not get the job than to ever have been called in the first place.

Recently, I have had a few people suggest I leave off my Master’s degree on my resume. The reasoning behind this is that some employers will automatically see my higher degree and think I’m over qualified and that I’ll want more money or leave that job once I find a better one. Honestly, I did consider this idea. But, ultimately, I think it would be lying. And I worked hard for it and don’t want to hide it. I mean, I’ve heard it said now days that a master’s degree is the new 4 year degree.

After all, my higher degree is a Masters of Education. I certainly didn’t do it for the money or the huge salary I would bring in for having it. I did it for me, for my knowledge. We all know that people in the education field don’t make the big bucks. (And don’t get me started on how that is so wrong! Yes, I’m talking to you, celebrities & sports stars, who think you contribute so much to our society that you deserve that outrageous salary!!) Anyway, I think we should pause to thank our teachers and education staff members…pause…pause…Okay. That also includes our professors. Were you under the illusion that having your Doctorate of Education gets you any bigger salary? Nay, nay. As a former graduate assistant to the chairman of a university department, I can tell you first hand that professor’s salaries are crap too. One day I was put to the task of typing, printing and stuffing annual salary spreadsheets. Just to give you an idea, the longest tenured professor in that department (30 something years) only made around $65,000 a year!!! So, again I say, we don’t do it for the money, honey!

Okay, I digress. Anyway, it seems I am being labeled, “over qualified” for jobs and I honestly don’t see how in some instances. You mean to tell me that having a master’s degree and only 1 year of professional work experience over qualifies me!?!? On second thought, maybe that is just their nice way of saying, “We have found someone else!”

If you need me, I’ll be here just filling out applications and writing more cover letters. Unless, of course, I’m too over qualified to do that myself. In which case, I’ll have my secretary get right on it :)