Bias Against Overeducation - Nothing New in Anti-Intellectual America

In 1636 the Puritans started Harvard for a very pragmatic purpose: to train clergy to minister in the new world. It wasn't to create a macro level of thought leadership. 

Somehow that narrow career focus got derailed and higher education provided an insulated context for the life of the mind. That became a value in itself. For those who like that sort of thing such a setting was an oasis in a nation that essentially was, unlike much of Europe, anti-intellectual.

Now, sure the oasis still exists. But if you leave that magic circle - that is, can't get employment as a professor or academic staff - you will find a cold reception. BusinessInsider confirms what those of us in career coaching are well aware of: Not only your Ph.D. but even the BA/BS can make you unmarketable. Explicitly the article says:

"These days, you’re better off with just a high school diploma instead of a Ph.D. if you want to find work fast." 

Actually, this is not a result of what we're labeling "the new order of things." During the global downturn of 2008 - 2009, junior lawyers were being let go in massive RIFs. Paul Weiss was one of the few law firms which didn't conduct a purge of young lawyers. Latham lopped off more than 400 of lawyers and legal staff in one single day.

A severe glut in the legal labor market situation developed. The lawyers I coached looking for survival jobs outside the legal sector lopped off anything beyond the BA/BS. They had to find work, any kind of work, to pay student loan debt. 

I could guide those job searchers effectively because I had also been through the overeducated ordeal. In the late 1970s the market for Ph.D. university professors in the humanities collapsed. Through trial and error we, The Lost Generation of Scholars, learned to pare back the education/training resume section to the BA/BS. At that time, it was still okay to be a college graduate. Now, it's less so. Those in the trades are sitting pretty.

On professional anonymous networks such as Reddit and Fishbowl jobless knowledge workers admit to doing just that: not listing advanced degrees or any degrees. Such is going down even in supposed marketable fields such as STEM and IT.

If you're lucky enough to be employed in the unique environment of academia, you can continue to tout higher level degrees and add on more. But that perch is becoming increasingly insecure. 

Circling back to March 2020, more than 40 institutions of higher education have closed down. More of that will continue since 1) The feeder pool of traditional students has fallen off the cliff and 2) That investment of money and time is being questioned. As the Financial Times reports what universities are teaching hasn't changed in decades. The emphasis is on theory and employers around the globe aren't buying that. Many IT majors don't provide hands-on practice such as coding. 

In my coaching I am recommending certifications and licenses, not degrees. For a woman unretiring I am guiding her to pick up more technologies and leave the two Master's degrees off the resume. Also I warn her to ditch her career story of "who you used to be" professionally. Those hiring for contract assignments want to be convinced that you can do the very specific tasks of ABC or XYZ for them right now.

Is the life you’ve known collapsing? As your intuitive career coach/tarot reader I guide you to what could be next. One door closes, another one can open. Free confidential consultation. If we work together, fees are what you can afford. To connect: Jane Genova (text/phone 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com). In-person and remote.