Nearly half of college-educated workers overqualified for their jobs, study says

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Almost half of working Americans who graduated from college hold jobs for which they're overqualified, a new study says.

The research is based on 2010 Labor Department data, which shows the issue exists due to the high number of college grads in the workforce. There are more than 41 million college graduates in the United States, which is significantly larger than the number of jobs requiring a college degree; currently more than 28 million.

Rexene Picard, executive director of FutureWorks in Springfield, told 22News that it's certainly a trend they are seeing, but being overqualified in a job is better than no job at all.

“You're much better off to be employed; you can certainly continue to look while you're still with an employer. We teach everyone you network all the time. You don't want to have large gaps on the resume if you can avoid it,” Picard said.

Picard added that sometimes employers might be hesitant to hire people who are overqualified for positions, because they fear the employee won't stay with the job. She said that is where negotiating comes into play during the interview process.