Doublespeak?

[Succubus]

Almost a third of graduates 'overeducated' for their job

Y'all are invited to rewrite that headline.

'Overeducated graduates' Now what could they possibly be referring to?

A doctorate in mathematics when all that's required is a PhD?

Err, no. Read On.

[onlinebiker]

Real simple - all the good jobs are taken.

All you need to know is " do you want fries with that?".

[brewer]

Those poor overeducated sex workers. Takin it in the bum while talkin philosophy. Not satisfying.

[Losty]

Those poor overeducated sex workers. Takin it in the bum while talkin philosophy. Not satisfying.

It’s got to be more satisfying than just talking philosophy alone at least

[Duty]

I once spent an evening in the company of a theology graduate crack whore (and no, I was not a customer). By the end of the evening I was so distressed by her totally uncivilised and knowledge vacant life, and of the way she "cared" for her infant daughter, that I offered to GIVE her my laptop in the hope of it spurring her into some kind of wisdom. She apparently realised this would be an existential shock to her ignorant, selfish, slovenly, beastly existence and so refused! That's a lot of crack that could've financed...scary laptop I guess.

[Rhizomorph13]

The case study of Elizabeth is confusing to me. I work for Intel and have worked for many companies in the electronics field. The fact is, most companies favor female engineers because it balances gender within the company. She must just be bad at her job or isn't willing to take entry level positions. Most people I've met that were "overqualified" really just have a degree which doesn't necessarily qualify you for anything. Until knowledge is applied to a real world situation it isn't very valuable.

[Succubus]

The case study of Elizabeth is confusing to me. I work for Intel and have worked for many companies in the electronics field. The fact is, most companies favor female engineers because it balances gender within the company. She must just be bad at her job or isn't willing to take entry level positions. Most people I've met that were "overqualified" really just have a degree which doesn't necessarily qualify you for anything. Until knowledge is applied to a real world situation it isn't very valuable.

We have a winner.

This line jumped off the page:
"Graduates in arts and humanities were more likely to be under-using their education."

The headline should read:
'leave university with a shite degree, expect a shite job'.
A niece of mine has a degree in 'Sports Science' from Middlesbrough university. No, I don't know and I don't think she does either.

[Divinity]

How can one be 'overeducated'

You can be 'undereducated' but you can never have too much fucking education. They should just say "Underemployed"

[Succubus]

How can one be 'overeducated'

You can be 'undereducated' but you can never have too much fucking education.  They should just say "Underemployed"

Hence my rant at the article. They use 'doublespeak' rather than admit Tony Blair's '50% of kids will attend university' turned out to be a disaster. The market is saturated with 20 year old's with useless degrees and £20-30,000 in debt.

[Alan V]

From the OP article:

" 'A person can be overeducated if they possess more education than required for the job,' the ONS says. But it also uses the term to mean when a worker's skills and knowledge are not being used. 'It can also be seen as a form of underemployment, hence contributing to the extent of labour market slack,' the national stats gatherer says."

First of all, when is anyone's complete knowledge-set used for their job? Probably never.

Second, education is not just for getting a job. Liberal arts educations are valuable regardless.

Third, people seem to have a blind spot for overpopulation. There are more people competing for the same jobs, including worldwide. That means people will likely need to have more education just to land a job, regardless of whether the job uses that education.

Fourth, trends toward automation are making people's education obsolete almost as fast as they can learn new skills.

Fifth, people get more than enough education exactly because of the future uncertainties related to rapid change. They want to be prepared as much as possible.