

Overqualified? Yes, but Happy to Have a Job - tokenadult
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/us/29overqualified.html

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timwiseman
_They are the former chief financial officer working as comptroller, the
onetime marketing director who is back to being an analyst, the former manager
who is once again an “individual contributor.”_

I am curious about how many of these people were "overemployed" during boom
times?

I know this recession has made many competent people loose their job and
become willing to accept less, but bubbles and boom times often see companies
try to grow fast and become willing to accept less qualified people to fill
some positions too...

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meterplech
The idea of people being "overemployed" is described in the Peter Principle
which states that people rise to their level of incompetence. Maybe it is
reversing itself a little. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle>

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hkuo
_For his part, Mr. Carroll admitted that he had caught himself often trying to
drop his credentials into conversations at his new workplace.

“Obviously that stems from maybe some embarrassment at the level that I’m at,”
he said. “I do want people to know that, to some extent, this isn’t who I am.”

It helps somewhat that most of his former business school classmates are
hardly becoming masters of the universe.

“It’s not like anyone else is tearing it up,” he said.

While he is happy for now, Mr. Carroll worries about what will happen once he
has finished the more interesting work of overhauling the department. He
wonders how long simply having a job will be enough._

This does not sound like a person that is happy. This sounds like a person who
feels embarassed, forced into a position he feels above, and typically jealous
comparing himself to his friends' success. It's kind of pathetic seeing
someone trying to fake taking the high road ending up with remarks like this.

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olegk
Oh please. How many MBAs do we need? Get a degree in something useful, then
get an MBA.

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jrmurad
I've seen several MBA beancounters drive software companies into the ground. A
few of them, I was surprised to learn, had engineering degrees. I thought
that, maybe, they just didn't cut it as engineers and went into
"business/management" as an alternative.

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tokenadult
"Employers are seizing the opportunity to stock up on discounted talent,
despite the obvious risks that the new hires will become dissatisfied and
leave."

The article provides examples of how growing businesses (e.g., start-ups
founded by the hackers who post here) can get highly skilled employees at
bargain salaries as they scale up, making their companies grow well and making
the newly hired job-seekers happy.

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gurop
When you hire someone at a bargain salary there is always a question of
whether you are really "making the newly hired job-seekers happy" or just
relieving them of their temporary desperation only to see their
uncontentedness surface later.

~~~
mattm
Exactly. If you hire someone at bargain salary, they will probably work the
minimum amount necessary while still looking for other jobs. When they get the
next offer they will jump ship.

If you give less, you will get less.

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ecaradec
I'd like to know if they perform significantly better than previous
employees...

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known
And those hired straight from college have untainted thinking and work habits.

