Career Mobility, Job Match, and Overeducation

Many workers are mismatched with their jobs. While many factors contribute to mismatch, overeducation is attracting increased attention. Several reasons have been put forth to explain why overeducation exists in the labor market. Sicherman [1991] hypothesizes that overeducation may be part of a career mobility process. Workers temporarily accept jobs for which they are overqualified in exchange for training. This paper reports on alternative tests examining the career mobility hypothesis. Overeducated workers appear more likely to move to better jobs over time. However, contrary to the career mobility hypothesis, they are less likely than adequately educated workers to feel that the skills they are acquiring will help them on future jobs.