Why are companies allowed to discriminate against those whom they see as over-educated?

[BolivarianHero]

It's a rough economy. Not everybody with a degree can find a solid job in their field of choice or something related.

[pstokely]

1. Because they can pay the uneducated less

nt

[OHdem10]

6. Exactly--the pay. Of course they will say, the better educated will

leave just as soon as they can find a better job.

[The Northerner]

2. I think I read a comment in a online news report by one fundie claiming that freedom of assembly

should afford them the decision to do so because private citizens should have the "right" to pick and choose whom they want to assemble with.

Really.

[marybourg]

3. People are allowed to discriminate based on anything and

everything EXCEPT certain "protected classes" eg. race religion, national origin, gender & a very few more. Other than that, we are all free to make decisions any way we choose, that is, to "discriminate".

[Winterblues]

4. How long will the over qualified person stay with you when a job

opens up that they are qualified for? Most employers are in it for the long haul and want people that will stick with them...People that are way over qualified rarely do that...

[ItNerd4life]

8. Very true. It's just common sense, it's nothing personal. nt

[EC]

5. It's been used as code for

"too old"...for a while now...and there are laws about age discrimination, so they say "over qualified" so they can't get sued for age discrimination...Other than that it's used to keep wage expectations low also..

[Amaril]

7. It's not discrimination, per se......

....because, as someone else already pointed out, education level isn't a protected class.

Depending on the field, some companies incur quite a bit of expense in training a new employee; therefore, they want to be reasonably sure that someone is going to stick around long enough for it to have been worth their time and money to train them. They pass on people who are overqualified because they assume the person will only stick around until something more in line with their education / experience becomes available, and then they will have to go through the entire process of interviewing and training all over again.

[Coyote_Bandit]

9. A lot of times you will find that these

overeducated folks are people who have been willing to be flexible and continually reinvent themselves as their career fortunes - and the economy - required them to do so in order to better earn a livlihood.

Theoretically, a broader skill base should mean that these folks have more employment opportunities.

In reality it means that they often haven't followed traditional career paths. Something that is a detriment in our corporate society. Something that makes these folks a bit unpredictable because they don't neatly fit the expected box. Something that might make some HR folks think they are too independent to be a cog in the wheel. Something that might make some HR folks think they are not sufficiently committed to their career/industry. Something that might make some HR folks think thy ave other emplolyment options.

[HopeHoops]

10. Because they think we'll be too expensive.

[ck4829]

11. Apparently, being over-educated means you've evolved so that you don't need to eat anymore

[cbdo2007]

12. Because companies should be allowed to hire whoever they think will do the best job.

Why the choose who they choose is really none of our business.

Many times, people who are over-qualified for a position will start butting into other people's positions and start try to come up with different jobs at the company they would rather do than the one they were hired for. It can be ok for someone to be overqualified sometimes, but I can think of many cases I've witnessed personally where people have been a huge burdon because they were over-qualified.

I'll also add, that many employers will prefer people who are "under qualified" or not yet established because those people will be easier to train and mold to the employers specifications, than someone coming into a job thinking they know everything already and are less likely to want to learn how to do things the way the company does them. I've always been under-qualified for all jobs I've gotten, because I've given them the impression that I'm willing to learn anything and do the job exactly how they want it done.

[quaker bill]

13. well said

Though I would not call anyone over-qualified I tend to call them inappropriately qualified. Regardless of paper qualifications, I always hire the person best capable of doing the job. Some I pass on pretty much invariably have a better looking resume than the person I select.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

15. I very much doubt you actually believe what you say.

"Because companies should be allowed to hire whoever they think will do the best job. Why the choose who they choose is really none of our business."

Do you really believe that all legislation against discrimination in hiring on grounds of sex, race etc should be abolished?

[CBR]

14. People doing the hiring are intimidated by potential competition. nt

[Raine]

16. The claim is that they are over qualified and

will be dissatisfied in a job that is beneath them and will leave for a better one as soon as they have that option. Anyway that's the "thinking".