To think people are overeducated in the UK?

I don't think people are over-educated. Uni has just been a natural progression for young people without it really being necessary. Hence now nearly everyone has a degree so not many people stand out as actually being well educated.

Even the 'educated' can't always string a sentence together or do basic maths. I am a perpetual student myself and it amazes me how underprepared some people are on the courses I've done.

I am very educated but I fully expect I will end up working in Next or similar once I run out of paid education opportunities. I am doing a Phd next. Fortunately I have paid my house off so I don't need a high salary and can afford to do this. Obviously, I hope I will eventually end up with a job in academia, but I'm not stupid; it probably won't happen.

Also people’s careers change as time moves on.
I worked in a degree led field for 15 years. It was enjoyable, relevant to my degree and earned well.

Now I have children I don’t want corporate house. My job with a degree and my DH’s job which needed a masters and then post grad earned enough that now I can step back from my corporate role. I’ll probably be doing a light work role next year that I won’t need a degree for but it doesn’t mean my education or previous work experience is irrelevant.

Maybe you would just see me in a barely over minimum wage job with an irrelevant degree and judge. From my perspective a cushy 9-4 job I can leave on time and pick my kids up every day is all I need so I don’t want to work harder for more money because I don’t need to.

Wtf? 😂

I don’t think kids have the opportunity to get over educated . I do think the whole education system needs an overhaul and more could be done at school to prepare them for going into jobs rather than making them go on to higher education also I think it depends what the degrees are in .
My son in law got his so he could go into the medical field which he did but didn’t stay long as it was too high pressure , he’s now got a job doing something much less stressful . My daughter in law got hers as she wanted to go into psychology , she doesn’t do anything like that now.
I think it’s good to have one to show you have a certain standard of education and theres always going to be jobs that ask for degree standard employees but it’s not always essential unless you have to have one to get into a certain type of employment.
The majority of these kids don’t end up doing what they planned anyway . My son although intelligent only had GCEs and earns far higher wages as a floor layer than his friends that went on to uni .

i think it's a big mistake to think education is just - or even mainly - about employment. Being educated, rather, should be seen as important for having a good life: well-educated people are much more likely to live fulfilled lives than the poorly-educated, ceteris paribus. And a well-educated society, done properly, is surely better than a society of ignoramuses.

Regarding economic necessities and reasons why even educated young people find it difficult to get employment nowadays, consider: most of us are so indoctrinated by neo-liberalism and capitalist ideology we accept that automation, AI and all the rest, benefits only wealthy owners, rather than everyone (including those who are no longer required to do jobs lost to AI and robots).

AI has developed sufficiently even graduates aren't needed for many jobs? Fine: let's still pay those whose jobs are now done by robots even if they don't work at those lost jobs. Why not? The jobs are still getting done, the wealth produced still there: why should it not go to those who used to do the jobs rather than (often already-rich) bosses or shareholders?

In a rationally-ordered world we'd share wealth more equally. The results of AI taking people's jobs could be more leisure rather than penury for resulting unemployed individuals - leisure that might be used productively, for more education to the benefit of all perhaps?

Meanwhile, in the irrationally-ordered world we live in, it's still better for individuals to be educated rather than not. (My children (and their children, and their friends) are evidence of this. Trust me.)

Actually anyone 33/34 or older will not have anywhere near 100k in debt, particularly the school mum you’re referring to.

Even younger people on plan 2 student finance will not total anything like 100k to do a masters.

Perhaps with more education you would know this? Your posts see full of media hyperboles.

Op this doesn’t mean your 18yo won’t be considered for a job, I work in a big busy supermarket and there is a wide range between us all education wise and personality wise. Make his attributes stand out on a cv or in an interview, that’s all that can be done, that mum could have been on twenty or thirty interviews and she just clicked with that store. Best of luck to your son, tell him to keep going x

I am also "not sure why" you are "raging" about it
For one it seems like an incredibly extreme over reaction to your son not getting a part time job, which he might not have got anyway.
For another, if you are "raging" about anything, it should be people being underemployed rather than overeducated.

Education is never a waste, but it is shameful that we as a country aren't taking advantage of people who could be far more beneficial in the roles they are trained in and want/are able to do. Which is of course not saying that there's anything wrong with anyone working in Lidl if that's what they want to do or what works for them at that point in their life.

Although of course this woman might end up using her corporate skills and quickly moving up the management chain in Lidl - it's not necessarily a dead end job. Their graduate managers start at over £40,000 plus new car, with guaranteed increases.

It's lots of things - a symptom of the current employment market, skills shortage, impact of AI...

It's a shame if what she wanted was to be working in academia.

What it isnt, is a sign we're over-educating people.

I feel like you are ignoring what a lot of people are saying.

People can do degrees, however funded, for whatever reason they would like, whether out of interest or to work in a specific field. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find jobs in these fields, so some 'settle' for jobs they are overqualified for. Others just enjoy retail etc.

You don't have to understand why, it's a personal choice. People get enjoyment out of learning - I do, and I'm lucky to have a job in my desired field!

I don't think its possible to be over educated.

The state of the job market is a seperate issue.

Of course it's not necessary to have a masters degree to work as a shop assistant. But that doesn't mean that people are being over-educated, exactly. I mean, if 25% of young people were taking degrees in media studies, that wouldn't be a wise investment for most of them and it wouldn't be ideal for the economy, but higher education isn't a bad thing overall. I think people should try to reach their potential, whatever that is and along the way, they will learn more about their strengths and weaknesses.

One of my friends is gifted in maths and has a PhD. He became a secondary school maths teacher, but the stress soon become too much for him and he left teaching to stack shelves in a supermarket. He now has a good job working in statistics for a large organisation.

Clearly, the education you have received has not served you well, as you are coming across as rather obtuse (purposefully so?)
Of course you don't need a fucking PHD to work in a supermarket. I'm sure most people would prefer to be working in their area of interest.
However, needs must and sensible, hardworking people will choose working h within a different field - yep, even retail - in order to pay the bills and keep a roof over their heads.
It's really not that complicated, is it?

Overeducated? Not really. The UK has plenty of well-educated people, but it doesn’t place the same emphasis on higher education as some countries in continental Europe, where university is free and far more accessible.

The real issue is the belief that a university degree automatically guarantees success. Many people assume that once they graduate, opportunities will simply appear. In reality, this only applies to a small number of professions, such as medicine, law, and a few specialist fields where a degree is essential. For most careers, experience is far more valuable.

Employers tend to prefer candidates who can demonstrate real-world skills over those who only have academic knowledge. Someone with solid hands-on experience will almost always have the advantage over someone with a degree but little practical background. Theory has its place, but it cannot replace practical understanding, problem-solving, and proven ability in the workplace.

I went to school with someone that left school at 16 and was mocked. He started work at ASDA and within 10 years he was the manager of a huge store. I know who made the right call. He'll probably out-earn most of his peers he went to school with, and without any debt. You don't or shouldn't need a degree to manage a big shop. Just learn on the job. As you can with most roles. Unless it is highly technical like medicine or engineering. Until relatively recently, you didn't need a degree to be a teacher or a nurse.

It isn’t why they don’t check it. They don’t check because they are not aware it exists and they’ve never heard anyone state that it’s important. There’s no career guidance which takes account of it on offer, and parents don’t know either.

STEM academic here. The first paragraph I’ve quoted is spot on.

Both the HE system and the jobs market are full of problems, and these problems feed off each other. For example, when the jobs market is particularly weak many who can afford to do so will gamble on going for an MA/MSc in the hopes that the extra qualification plus an improved economy will give them better chances the following year.

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I think you are thinking about it backwards. You don't need degrees or debt to get these roles. People are settling for applying for roles they are overqualified for as there are no roles available in their chosen field.

Unemployment is going up that needs to be addressed by the gov. I’m sure each would prefer to use their skills.

Isn’t your son the unemployed one here? So your argument isn’t really standing.

Once they’re doing Masters and PhDs they’re funding it themselves so they’re educating themselves not being educated by an amorphous lump you call “we”, so I don’t think it’s any of your business.

It's pointless having any qualification unless you have a clear idea of what you are going to do with it. What profession to you want to follow, are there going to be jobs you can actually apply for, is it worthwhile doing it in terms of the cost of taking the qualification and the salary. I worked with so many people who had degrees but hadn't thought about any of that. What they did have were fairly substantial student loans.

Your child did not miss out on a job because of this woman. If she was working the till or stacking shelves, maybe.

Managing a supermarket is, I would imagine, quite a complex job needing high level skills and mosty likely some type of degree, although I am sure it is also possible for e very bright and hard working 18 year to eventually work up to it over several years.