Overqualified

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When I graduated with my doctorate in chemistry, it was unfortunately during the great recession. My first post-graduation job was teaching chemistry at a local community college. I was paid less than what a starting grade schoolteacher (with a bachelor's degree) was making. (The one I talked to made $7000 more than me that year.) If that was not bad enough, my contract forced me to teach classes during the summer for adjunct pay (much less than my regular 10 monthly paychecks). I had to drive back and forth 30 miles each day to teach there. My net pay after gas during the summer months ended up being $100 for two months work. Once the economy started to get better a few years later, I jumped ship to a university. It paid better and gave me my summer off to work on my projects. The community college job only required a bachelor's degree in that position, but they wanted me to replace the retiring chemist that had a doctorate. I should have turned that one down.

There are very little jobs for a high science degree in rural America. That is why they suffer from brain drain, as graduates tend to move away to the big cities for their careers. Most chemists head to Kansas City to make their money.

I have known and worked with many people in such situations. Either they had a lot of experience or high degrees. Some took low jobs and didn't work their way back up and some just let the employment gap grow because they would not take that low job.

The trick here is to cater your experience to the job for which you are applying. You may have to take off a degree or highlight some skills over others. When you are in the job, pay attention to your tasks and deliver what they are looking for. If you are looking to move up, submit a fresh resume to HR and just tell them that you left off things before because you were targeting your current position.

If someone asks why did you pursue XYZ degree but not get a job in it, the answer is that it was for your own enrichment. You pursued the job because it was a great opportunity.

I heard lots of film school graduates end up working random odd jobs because having the right connections is very important in Hollywood.

I have read that some people with doctorates in physics keep two different resumes on hand. One resume includes their doctorate and information about it but the other stops at a masters or bachelors degree.

Supposedly, there are far more people with PhD's in physics than there are positions that need a PhD available to them. Many employers, though, don't want to spend money on their training if they think that the applicant will leave as soon as they can find something else.

For what it's worth, of the three physics students I knew best, only one of them had a job that was related to physics but he passed away from a heart attack while still pretty young. Another worked for his family publishing company and the third became a realtor. There were some others that I lost track of when they graduated so I don't know what they did.

One of the Great Ironys of Life . ..... Lifes Paths