Is there such a thing as "overqualified"?
Is there such a thing as "overqualified"?
Is there such a thing as "overqualified"?
Is there such a thing as "overqualified"?
It’s not a good comparison. You can also say that a PhD doesn’t help you at all to be a fast food worker.
For a given profession, if you’re looking to hire an entry level person at an entry level salary, and someone applies who has decades of experience in that profession, it makes a difficult situation for the organization. When it’s time for raises, how do you fairly compare that person to the actual entry level people? If the person could legitimately get double their salary, are they going to stay on your team for the lower salary? Stuff like that makes it problematic.
A PhD can get a much higher paying (and likely less physically difficult) job than fast food.
That maybe be true, but they may be trying a different career, or unable to find a job in their field because of oversaturation, or whatever other reason.
The unspoken assumption when someone is "overqualified" is that they will take a better job if the opportunity presents itself.
Isn't that everybody though? If a cashier in fastfood got an opportunity to become a highly-paid streamer, they'd quit their fastfood job immediately too. But I do get your point: better credentials mean better job chances, mean greater likelihood of moving a job that's paid better.