Overqualification Across the Life Course

• In Event: 40412 - Labor Markets

Abstract

Overqualification, a situation in which a worker possesses a higher level of education than is required for their occupation, has become increasingly common in the United States. While scholars have uncovered an array of economic and social consequences associated with overqualification, we know little about overqualification dynamics. Pinning down the consequences of overqualification is important to policymakers and scholars, but doing so remains a challenge given our limited knowledge of the life course patterns of overqualification. I examine how overqualification develops across the career by assessing the timing, dynamics, and duration of this increasingly common form of underemployment. I use a life course perspective to assess who is suspectable to overqualification, and for whom it is a more persistent phenomenon. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, I analyze overqualification dynamics across ages 22 to 62 and find that overqualification is a widespread phenomenon for this cohort of collegegoers. There exists substantial variation in the timing, duration, and frequency of overqualification experiences. While most spells of overqualification may be brief (lasting fewer than five years), over 50% of the sample experiences two or more spells of overqualification, indicating that this is a recurrent phenomenon. Black workers experience greater cumulative years in overqualification, have higher odds of experiencing overqualification across mid- and late-career stages and, exhibit lower probabilities of exiting spells of overqualification compared to White workers. A quarter of this cohort display substantial risk of being overqualified at later career stages. Results point to the importance of assessing long term patterns of overqualification when measuring the potential consequences of overqualification.

Author

• Janet Wang, University of Michigan