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Underskilled, overskilled or just a good skill match for your current/most recent paid job?


shootingstar

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For some of us we probably don't care ...as long as the $$$$ roll in.

I just read a news article about this over labour force challenge and future.  For my current job, about 50% of my skills currently are just the right match.  Rest is parts either I'm overskilled (I do /hear some stuff I disagree because I used to be a manager for several employers and know how it can be better. But present shop is not my authority to make such decisions.) and other areas abit underskilled...which is why my colleagues specialize in other areas.  If I really, really wanted to, I could spend a lot more time to learn more what they know well. 

But why bother  -- when I need to stay on top of my own workload and skill set. 

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There are several aspects of my job I’m well suited for but one component that I was pretty much clueless on and I didn’t pretend to know during the interview process.  I owned my ignorance and was willing to learn.

Since then I have jumped in and immersed myself. I constantly look over the shoulders of techs and installers and told them. It’s not that I don’t trust you, I don’t know. So I asked lots of questions and they have been good about explaining stuff to me.  I had one vendor take me to an industry conference and explain the nuts & bolts if what they do.  I have taken several courses too.  I’m at a point now where I can make meaningful contributions in an area I was weak in.

Im always striving to learn new things and grow personally & professionally and I don’t necessarily mean  by promotions.  Hopefully my current employer will benefit from my personal growth but if things don’t work out I can take these new skills with me too.

 

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For once in my career, I think I am a good match.  In a field full of very narrow windowed experts, I'm the odd ball jack of all trades, not an expert in any one area type (actually I am an expert in one very narrow area, but not much demand there).

I got a job that relies on the jack of all trade type, though most of my department isn't. 

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This is funny because I was just thinking yesterday about how so many folks are over-skilled for their jobs or under-skilled for their jobs.  I had just heard a woman on the elevator discussing an interview process where she said they were asking for all sorts of writing skills in a position, but the person was really only going to be doing a tiny bit of writing. That got me thinking about the whole "job requirements" mumbo jumbo that is usually part of a job listing, and how it rarely, if ever, accurately describes the needs for the position.  There are always "key" items that might be non-negotiable - a license or clearance or citizenship sort of thing - but things like a college degree should/could be waived given equivalent experience or knowledge of some similar process/software indicates likely aptitude to use a new process/software package.

For me, in particular, my soft skills make me able to do most jobs in my field.  My specific skills - ie knowledge & experience with specific software and processes - waxes and wanes (relatively) depending upon what project I am part of at the time.

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16 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

This is funny because I was just thinking yesterday about how so many folks are over-skilled for their jobs or under-skilled for their jobs.  I had just heard a woman on the elevator discussing an interview process where she said they were asking for all sorts of writing skills in a position, but the person was really only going to be doing a tiny bit of writing. That got me thinking about the whole "job requirements" mumbo jumbo that is usually part of a job listing, and how it rarely, if ever, accurately describes the needs for the position.  There are always "key" items that might be non-negotiable - a license or clearance or citizenship sort of thing - but things like a college degree should/could be waived given equivalent experience or knowledge of some similar process/software indicates likely aptitude to use a new process/software package.

For me, in particular, my soft skills make me able to do most jobs in my field.  My specific skills - ie knowledge & experience with specific software and processes - waxes and wanes (relatively) depending upon what project I am part of at the time.

The HR effect.

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I’m over qualified for the position I’m in currently. I quit ‘climbing the ladder’ years ago; turning down promotions,  telling my employer(s) that I did not want to promise them time and effort I was no longer willing to give. But they pay me commensurate with my qualifications.

 

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I am perfectly qualified for the job I have, largely in part because I targeted this as a job goal and worked over a period of nine years developing the qualifications to do it well.  I have been asked aboht changing jobs within our organization for promotion and or commission and more pay but politely declined explaining that this is the best uses of my abilities.

Some people get paid for what they do, others get paid for what they know, I am a weird combination of both

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I'm qualified for what I do but many of my coworkers are better. I'm lucky enough to have the right combination of certs, experience, and security clearances that are in great need right now. I just filled out an application for a job last night and asked for 10% more than I make now. There's a good chance that l will get the job.

There are times that I think that I am faking it but then I realize that many other people are also to some degree. 

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2 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

I'm qualified for what I do but many of my coworkers are better. I'm lucky enough to have the right combination of certs, experience, and security clearances that are in great need right now. I just filled out an application for a job last night and asked for 10% more than I make now. There's a good chance that l will get the job.

There are times that I think that I am faking it but then I realize that many other people are also to some degree. 

How long have you been on your current career path?

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Once I left teaching and administration and concentrated strictly on research, things fit like a glove.  Unlike some jobs, a career like mine allows a lot of freedom for one to adjust.  If you want to go in a different direction, there are opportunities to get trained in new equipment and techniques. All one needed to do was get monies to buy the equipment and stay productive while adapting to the shift.

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There are people in our company with superior technical skills. Where I excel is my ability to speak to non-technical people to make them comfortable with what we are doing and not make them feel stupid about it. It helped us get one of our biggest accounts. The hard part is getting some of the technical people to listen to what the customer wants rather than what the techs think they need. 

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Hard to tell.  I am the only person in the company that officially does my job.  Actually, I believe I'm still the only one when you add in the 13,000 under the parent company umbrella.  So my job has kind of morphed into what they need me to do with my skillset.  They do offload some of my tasks to other people, but they've also learned those people aren't as qualified (I'm currently doing some training).

I am tasked with things that I have some knowledge of, but am underskilled, just to get projects done.

What I DO know, is that based just on my job title, I'm paid below average, even though I'm recognized in the industry as upper tier.

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As the lead gifted/talented chemistry and physics teacher at my state's largest high school, I was very overqualified in terms of knowledge and ability in those sciences, but I was average in terms of teaching skills.  Fortunately, most of my classes had gifted and highly-able students who could stay attentive through long, boring lectures and were usually genuinely interested in the lecture topics, but sometimes I struggled when I volunteered to take some of the lower-level classes.  My appreciation for the teaching talents of my colleagues and attempts to emulate them kept me from going on an ego trip about my education and background as an industrial chief research chemist.

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