Don't Hire People who Went to Grad School

[burbuja0512]

In my experience, the recruiter wants to see as much education as possible, and the hiring manager can vary, but usually won't care nearly as much and will view experience as being much more important.

My boss has spent quite a bit of time in grad school and will therefore consider candidates with more education first. However, he did hire me and promote me several times before I finished the B.S., so obviously education isn't everything.

I have seen things go in the opposite direction more often. If you have more experience and a higher level of education than the person that's hiring you, it's possible that they could feel threatened.

[ryoder]

I had that exact experience. I quit school years ago and just tried to pay my bills and work for a while. I ended up deciding to pursue Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer certification and bought the books. I completed all 6 tests in 6 weeks and hit the job market again. I interviewed at a fortune 500 company with a friend's recommendation and the hiring manager asked me about my MCSE. He asked when I got it and how long it took. I told him it was 6 weeks and that I just picked it up last month. He said he had studied for a year for the first test and failed it. He then told me that I was overqualified and would quit the job in 2 months so it wouldn't work out.

I really wanted that job too.