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What exactly is this "sturdy common sense"? I am a mathematics professor, and I have the opportunity to work at what I love. Why should I forego this to instea

What exactly is this "sturdy common sense"? I am a mathematics professor, and I have the opportunity to work at what I love. Why should I forego this to instead do "the common work of the world"? If the only paying job available to me were digging ditches, then I would do it happily and well. Presumably the same for most people. But this comment doesn't seem to describe a choice that anyone actually faces.

Retric 14y ago
Recently, a fairly large number of people where unemployed for 6 months to 2 years which where receiving unemployment checks significantly above minimum wage. There was no point in them being ditch diggers as they would have earned a negative wage by doing so. Arguably, if most of these people had spent 20 hours a week doing manual labor they would have been far heather and even more motivated. Now, there where plenty of reasons to set things up like this, but it also distorts what people thought was reasonable 100 years ago.
- joonix 14y ago
  Yes, because in the construction boom that followed the Global Financial Crisis, foreman would love to hire overweight middle aged accountants to dig their ditches.
enjalot 14y ago
If you are a mathematics professor than your education got you a job worthwhile to the community. Many people get degrees which have not prepared them to contribute because they can't find a job that matches their qualifications. I went to school with plenty of people who were there because thats just what you do. They partied too much and studied too little and now they are overqualified and underemployed. The fact that you can be overqualified to me is the loss of "sturdy common sense", not everyone is as centered as you appear to be and I think you overestimate more than a few people.
- anonymouz 14y ago
  > They partied too much and studied too little and now they are overqualified and underemployed. If they studied to little they are hardly overqualified. Someone in the position you describe seems to be at a point where their own perception of their qualification, based on the fact that they did somehow get a degree, is inflated compared to their qualifications as perceived by potential employers. "Overqualification" is a strange term anyway. It's not that a potential employer wouldn't want someone better than strictly necessary for a job. It seems to have more to do with some people expecting a certain "baseline" of job offers once they have a degree on paper, despite their actual qualification perhaps not warranting this.

Retric 14y ago

Recently, a fairly large number of people where unemployed for 6 months to 2 years which where receiving unemployment checks significantly above minimum wage. There was no point in them being ditch diggers as they would have earned a negative wage by doing so. Arguably, if most of these people had spent 20 hours a week doing manual labor they would have been far heather and even more motivated. Now, there where plenty of reasons to set things up like this, but it also distorts what people thought was reasonable 100 years ago.

joonix 14y ago
Yes, because in the construction boom that followed the Global Financial Crisis, foreman would love to hire overweight middle aged accountants to dig their ditches.

enjalot 14y ago

If you are a mathematics professor than your education got you a job worthwhile to the community. Many people get degrees which have not prepared them to contribute because they can't find a job that matches their qualifications. I went to school with plenty of people who were there because thats just what you do. They partied too much and studied too little and now they are overqualified and underemployed. The fact that you can be overqualified to me is the loss of "sturdy common sense", not everyone is as centered as you appear to be and I think you overestimate more than a few people.

anonymouz 14y ago
> They partied too much and studied too little and now they are overqualified and underemployed. If they studied to little they are hardly overqualified. Someone in the position you describe seems to be at a point where their own perception of their qualification, based on the fact that they did somehow get a degree, is inflated compared to their qualifications as perceived by potential employers. "Overqualification" is a strange term anyway. It's not that a potential employer wouldn't want someone better than strictly necessary for a job. It seems to have more to do with some people expecting a certain "baseline" of job offers once they have a degree on paper, despite their actual qualification perhaps not warranting this.