PhD people are overqualified?

[virtua]

Is it true that people with PhD considered as overqualified so they are not hired?

Is it really difficult to find a job in the oil and gas industry for people with PhD in PetEng/ChemEng? Like, people with Master have more chances than those with PhD?

[TakeruK]

Yes, for some positions, being overqualified will decrease your chances of being hired. However, I still think you open more opportunities with a PhD than without (of course, whether a PhD is a good idea depends on which opportunities you want!)

Oil and gas companies recruit in my department for PhDs (geosciences) every year. I can't speak for PetEng/ChemEng, but in the geosciences, a PhD certainly does not hurt your chances at a job there.

[MonstersU-Terp]

This is true in some cases. They worry that because you're overqualified, you'll leave the company as soon as something better comes along.

[Quantum Buckyball]

On 10/19/2015 at 11:43 AM, MonstersU-Terp said:

This is true in some cases. They worry that because you're overqualified, you'll leave the company as soon as something better comes along.

My friend graduated last year encountered this problem as well, he didn't get his dream job because he was over-qualified and the company ended up giving the position to someone with a Masters degree. 

[Soon2bgrad]

On October 19, 2015 at 11:43 AM, MonstersU-Terp said:

This is true in some cases. They worry that because you're overqualified, you'll leave the company as soon as something better comes along.

Exactly.  You should be applying to jobs that require your education, recruiters for jobs that require a lower level of education will assume you are just biding time until you get a job you are qualified for and will jump ship.

[GradSchoolTruther]

On December 20, 2015 at 6:42 PM, Quantum Buckyball said:

My friend graduated last year encountered this problem as well, he didn't get his dream job because he was over-qualified and the company ended up giving the position to someone with a Masters degree. 

Why did your friend get a Ph.D. when it would make him overqualified for his dream job?

[MonstersU-Terp]

On 1/13/2016 at 6:31 PM, GradSchoolTruther said:

Why did your friend get a Ph.D. when it would make him overqualified for his dream job?

He didn't realize that it was possible to be overqualified and he thought it was best to pursue the field (materials chemistry) to the fullest extent

[t.lamonty]

Hey,

My opinion is that on some occupations PH.D. can be seemed overqualified, but in any case PH.D. grants you more pluses than minuses. Just try to find a proper job, where your achievements will be appreciated.

[spectastic]

i'm pretty interested in this too.. on one hand, I'm told by academic people it's virtually impossible to get a real research job with just a masters. on the other hand, I'm told by industry people to just stick with a bachelors or a masters and start working, because the training you get in industry will be more valuable than training you get in school. I bet there are truths to both sides. It's just difficult to say.

In my present situation, I'm pretty sure i would need at least a masters to set me in the right direction of where I want to go. Will a phd be necessary? time will tell. If I could avoid 5 years of minimum wage and score a pretty sweet job with plenty of upward mobility with a masters, then I'm all for it. there's always time for school later... I suppose.

Often times, I see jobs that I desire have requirements like phd + 2 years, or masters + 5 years, or bachelors + 7 years.... at my former company, I've been told by head of R&D to avoid getting a phd to avoid overqualification, and gave me a good long talk patting himself on the back about how he identified business opportunities that propelled him in the research route wth a bachelors. go figure..

I'd love to see some example as well.

[juilletmercredi]

Well, first of all, if you are asking about industry jobs I would stick to listening to industry people. Many academics have never worked an industry job and don't really know how it works, and most of the people they may know in industry are their friends and colleagues from their PhDs and postdocs who left academia and went to work in industry with PhDs. They have a skewed sample and no experience to rely on. They also have an interesting definition of a "real" research job, and it may not match with the kinds of positions you actually want to get.

Exactly.  You should be applying to jobs that require your education, recruiters for jobs that require a lower level of education will assume you are just biding time until you get a job you are qualified for and will jump ship.

This isn't universally true. It depends on the job - and on you, really. It's your responsibility to convey in the cover letter and in your interviews that you are genuinely interested in a specific type of position and that you really want to build a career in it. But there are lots of PhDs that are working in positions that only require an MA or a BA.

 

[Quantum Buckyball]

On 3/11/2016 at 2:13 AM, spectastic said:

i'm pretty interested in this too.. on one hand, I'm told by academic people it's virtually impossible to get a real research job with just a masters. on the other hand, I'm told by industry people to just stick with a bachelors or a masters and start working, because the training you get in industry will be more valuable than training you get in school. I bet there are truths to both sides. It's just difficult to say.

In my present situation, I'm pretty sure i would need at least a masters to set me in the right direction of where I want to go. Will a phd be necessary? time will tell. If I could avoid 5 years of minimum wage and score a pretty sweet job with plenty of upward mobility with a masters, then I'm all for it. there's always time for school later... I suppose.

Often times, I see jobs that I desire have requirements like phd + 2 years, or masters + 5 years, or bachelors + 7 years.... at my former company, I've been told by head of R&D to avoid getting a phd to avoid overqualification, and gave me a good long talk patting himself on the back about how he identified business opportunities that propelled him in the research route wth a bachelors. go figure..

I'd love to see some example as well.

 I believe the real world experience is being valued more than college diplomas, even for a PhD, unless the projects you worked on are applied science and relevant to the industry, with a PhD degree, you are being hired for your innovation, creativity, problem-solving, and management skill sets.