Why Most People Are Actually "Too Good" For Their Job

Summary

This video script discusses the societal issue of 'elite overproduction,' where an excess of highly educated individuals compete for a limited number of prestigious jobs, leading to underemployment and dissatisfaction. It highlights how this imbalance affects various aspects of society, including the housing crisis, political pressures, and the devaluation of education. The script also touches on the outsourcing of 'non-elite' jobs and the potential consequences of this trend, suggesting that the pursuit of elite roles may be undermining the foundations of society.

Takeaways

• 🚫 The societal push towards prestigious jobs over 'real jobs' like tradesmen, nurses, and teachers is causing a disconnect between job qualifications and actual job roles available.
• 💼 The aspiration for high-status office jobs with high starting salaries is leading to underemployment, where overqualified individuals end up in roles that don't match their qualifications.
• 📈 Peter Turchin's theory of 'elite overproduction' suggests that too many people are trained for top-tier roles, leading to a surplus of qualified individuals and a shortage of essential workers.
• 🏭 The increase in the number of Americans with a college degree has led to a devaluation of these qualifications, with more people holding degrees than there are elite roles to fill.
• 💡 The cost of attending college and the resulting student debt have risen, while the value of a degree in securing a prestigious job has decreased.
• 🛠️ Trade jobs often pay better than mid-level corporate roles due to a shortage of skilled workers in these fields, yet there is a societal perception that office jobs are more prestigious.
• 🌐 The outsourcing of non-elite jobs overseas has allowed more people to work in prestigious roles domestically, but this strategy may have unintended consequences.
• 📚 Title inflation is a result of too many people being overqualified for available roles, leading to the creation of fancy job titles to accommodate the surplus of qualified individuals.
• 🏛 The creation of 'box ticker' roles that exist only to satisfy arbitrary requirements overseen by other box tickers can be a result of political pressure to create jobs for the overqualified.
• 🏢 The high cost of living, especially housing, in cities where elite jobs are concentrated is forcing people to compete for these roles, further exacerbating the issue of elite overproduction.
• 🗳️ Political pressure to maintain elite jobs and provide student debt relief is influenced by the large number of people who feel entitled to these roles after significant investment in their education.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the video script regarding job qualifications and societal roles?

The main issue discussed is 'elite overproduction,' where society has too many people qualified for high-status jobs and not enough for essential, everyday roles, leading to underemployment and a misalignment of job qualifications with available roles.

Who is Peter Turchin, and what theory did he coin regarding societal roles and job hierarchies?

Peter Turchin is a complexity scientist who coined the theory of 'elite overproduction.' He uses mathematical models to analyze the statistical dynamics of historical societies and argues that too many people are trained for elite roles, leading to a hierarchy imbalance.

According to the script, what is the consequence of having too many people trained for elite roles?

The consequence is a system where many are qualified for prestigious roles but not enough for essential roles, resulting in underemployment, dissatisfaction, and a lack of necessary skilled workers for society's basic needs.

What is the impact of the increase in the number of Americans with a college degree on the job market?

The increase has led to a saturation of college-educated individuals, making a degree less special and barely enough to land a job. This has driven up the cost of higher education while decreasing its value in the job market.

Why do some people still prefer white-collar jobs over blue-collar jobs, even if the latter may pay better?

Societal perceptions and personal aspirations influence this preference. Many people view white-collar jobs as more prestigious and elite, despite the potential for higher pay in certain blue-collar roles.

What is the term used to describe the phenomenon where job titles become inflated to sound more impressive?

The term used is 'title inflation,' where job titles are made to sound more senior or prestigious to accommodate the surplus of overqualified individuals.

How does the script link the issue of elite overproduction to political pressures and compliance roles?

The script suggests that the surplus of overqualified individuals creates political pressure to maintain or create more compliance roles, which can lead to inefficiencies and a focus on maintaining jobs rather than solving problems.

What is the potential impact of elite overproduction on the housing crisis, as mentioned in the script?

The housing crisis is exacerbated by the lack of skilled tradespeople due to elite overproduction, which leads to higher construction costs and a shortage of affordable housing.

How does the script suggest that the pursuit of elite jobs can affect personal financial stability?

The script implies that even high earners may live paycheck to paycheck due to the cost of living in cities where elite jobs are concentrated, and the pressure to maintain a certain lifestyle.

What is the script's stance on the potential long-term societal effects of elite overproduction?

The script suggests that elite overproduction could lead to significant societal issues, including political instability, economic inefficiencies, and a potential collapse of societal structures, as Turchin has compared it to historical societal collapses.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 The Illusion of Elite Jobs and Societal Hierarchy

The first paragraph discusses the societal preference for prestigious white-collar jobs over manual labor, despite the latter often offering better pay and more stability. It introduces the concept of 'elite overproduction' as described by Peter Turchin, a complexity scientist. Turchin's theory posits that societies produce too many individuals qualified for high-status roles, leading to underemployment and dissatisfaction. The script points out the irony that while a college degree was once a ticket to a prestigious job, its ubiquity has diminished its value, leading to increased student debt and a glut of overqualified individuals competing for a limited number of elite positions. The paragraph also touches on the societal cost of this misalignment, including the devaluation of necessary manual and trade jobs.

05:02

🌐 Outsourcing Non-Elite Jobs and Its Consequences

The second paragraph explores the ramifications of outsourcing less desirable jobs overseas, a strategy that has allowed the Western world to maintain the illusion of elite job abundance. It discusses the concept of job title inflation, where individuals are given inflated job titles to compensate for the lack of actual senior roles, and the political pressures that arise from the expectation of elite employment. The paragraph also touches on the creation of 'box ticker' roles, which exist to satisfy arbitrary requirements and maintain the appearance of productivity, often leading to inefficiencies and a lack of real progress in solving societal issues like the homelessness crisis.

10:03

🏠 The Housing Crisis and the Struggle for Elite Status

The third paragraph delves into the housing crisis in America, linking it to the broader issue of elite overproduction. It suggests that the high cost of housing is partially driven by the need for individuals to secure elite jobs to afford it, which in turn exacerbates the demand for housing and the desire to be elite. The script also addresses the reliance on skilled migration to fill workforce gaps, which further drives up housing demand. It concludes with a nod to Turchin's argument that this issue could be a contributing factor to the collapse of civilizations, hinting at the severity and long-term implications of the current societal and economic trends.

Keywords

💡Elite Overproduction

Elite overproduction refers to the phenomenon where society produces a surplus of highly educated individuals who are qualified for prestigious or high-status jobs, but there are not enough such positions available. In the video, this concept is used to discuss the imbalance between the number of people with advanced degrees and the actual job opportunities available to them. It is a key factor in the video's exploration of societal and economic issues.

💡Underemployment

Underemployment is a situation where a worker is employed in a job that does not fully utilize their skills or qualifications. The script mentions that highly qualified individuals are often underemployed, working casual jobs with poor pay and benefits because they do not want to take blue-collar jobs, which they perceive as beneath their education level.

💡Student Debt

Student debt refers to the money owed by students who have taken out loans to pay for their education. The video discusses how the pursuit of prestigious jobs has led many to take on significant student debt, which has become a widespread issue as the cost of higher education has increased and the value of a degree has diminished.

💡Blue-Collar Jobs

Blue-collar jobs are manual labor positions, often in skilled trades such as construction or manufacturing. The script contrasts these jobs with white-collar, office-based roles, noting that blue-collar jobs often pay better than mid-level corporate positions due to a shortage of qualified workers in these fields.

💡Job Hierarchy

Job hierarchy refers to the ranking of jobs based on their perceived status or prestige within society. The video uses this concept to explain how societies have a pyramid structure where fewer people are needed in higher-status roles, leading to an oversupply of qualified candidates for these positions.

💡Outsourcing

Outsourcing is the practice of contracting work to external entities or individuals rather than performing it in-house. The script mentions that the West has outsourced many non-elite jobs overseas, which has allowed more people to work in prestigious roles but may have unintended consequences.

💡Title Inflation

Title inflation occurs when job titles are inflated or embellished to sound more impressive than the actual responsibilities of the role. The video cites an example where salesmen become 'account executives' and receptionists become 'directors of first impressions,' illustrating the lengths companies go to provide prestigious titles to employees.

💡Box Tickers

The term 'box tickers' comes from the book 'Bullshit Jobs' and refers to roles that exist to satisfy arbitrary requirements or to give the appearance of productivity. The video uses this concept to discuss the creation of unnecessary jobs that serve no real purpose other than to employ people in high-status positions.

💡Political Pressure

Political pressure refers to the influence exerted on politicians or policies by various groups or constituents. The video suggests that the overproduction of elites has led to political pressure to maintain unnecessary jobs and to provide student debt relief, reflecting the discontent of those who feel they were promised a certain career path.

💡Housing Crisis

A housing crisis is a situation where there is a shortage of affordable housing, leading to high prices and difficulties for people to find homes. The script links the housing crisis to the cost of living and the need for high-paying elite jobs, suggesting that the pursuit of these jobs is exacerbating the problem.

💡Skilled Migration

Skilled migration is the movement of people with specialized skills from one country to another in search of better job opportunities. The video mentions that reliance on skilled migration to fill workforce gaps is driving up demand for housing and the desire to be elite, contributing to societal and economic challenges.

Highlights

The societal preference for high-status jobs over essential roles contributes to a disconnect in job satisfaction and societal needs.

The illusion of a desirable job being more prestigious than essential work creates a false hierarchy of job value.

Peter Turchin's theory of elite overproduction suggests an imbalance between the number of qualified individuals and the availability of high-status jobs.

The increase in the number of college graduates has led to a devaluation of degrees and an increase in student debt.

Blue-collar and trade jobs often offer better pay and benefits than mid-level corporate roles due to a shortage of qualified workers.

The pursuit of elite jobs has resulted in underemployment, with overqualified individuals working in roles beneath their education level.

Turchin compares the surplus of overqualified individuals to deadwood in a forest, which can lead to a catastrophic event if not addressed.

Outsourcing non-elite jobs overseas has been a temporary solution to the issue of elite overproduction but may have long-term consequences.

Title inflation is a phenomenon where job titles are inflated to sound more prestigious to compensate for a lack of senior roles.

Political pressure to create and maintain elite roles can lead to the establishment of unnecessary jobs, such as box tickers.

The pursuit of elite jobs can lead to personal discontent and a sense of being scammed when expectations are not met.

The cost of living, particularly housing, is a central issue exacerbating the problem of elite overproduction.

The reliance on skilled migration to fill workforce gaps can further drive up the cost of living and the desire to be elite.

Turchin suggests that elite overproduction could be a unifying issue leading to the collapse of civilizations, drawing parallels to historical examples.

The modern internship system for high-end finance firms may exemplify Turchin's warnings about elite overproduction.

The video concludes with a call to action to learn more about the implications of elite overproduction on housing affordability and the economy.

Transcripts

I have some bad news for you you

probably won't ever be a tech worker at

a Fang company a bulge bracket Finance

Pro or a high-powered corporate

executive Society needs people to do

real jobs that keep us housed fed and

safe and it needs them a lot more than

it needs another mckeny consultant this

is a problem because no matter how you

put it a job where you sit in an

airconditioned office making six figures

a year and your first year out of

college is way more desirable than doing

road work in Arizona for 20 bucks an

hour the problem is that every everybody

is trying really hard to pretend that

this isn't true and the system that has

sprung up to maintain this dream has

caused more problems than you realize

how many jobs on these two websites it's

been over a thousand combined how much

money would you say you save or you plan

on saving out of that salary it's going

to be around

2K per month mostly yeah every day it

just feels like Groundhog Day or waking

up doing the same thing I feel

confused sometimes because it's just

like I had this idea of what my life

would be like at this age and that's

just not exactly how it is Peter turchin

is a complexity scientist who

mathematically models statistical

dynamics of historical societies he

coined the theory of elite

overproduction he argues in his books

and papers that societies make workers

just like they make anything a car goes

through a factory and a college graduate

goes through a few Decades of schooling

at the end you get something that you

can drive drive around in and something

that can make pivot tables in Excel the

only difference is that a lump of Steel

doesn't care if it's turned into the

engine block of a Bentley or a Buick but

people given the option will naturally

opt for more prestigious careers if they

are available tchin work effectively

argues that roles in all societies form

something of a hierarchy with fewer

actual people required to do the jobs

further up the pyramid we need a lot

more Tradesmen nurses teachers and

laborers than we need so-called Elite

rules like corporate executives by their

nature these rules only exist to watch

over the work of dozens of other people

but for a variety of reasons too many

people have been directed into getting

qualified for these rules up here and

discouraged from doing these rules down

here this is how you end up in a system

where everybody is qualified to deliver

a stakeholder engagement deck to

synergistically Blitz scale a busino

business platform for ingesting

marketing survey data from the cloud but

you can't find anybody to fix your

plumbing we have simply trained too many

people to fill too many Elite roles and

not enough people fill the everyday

roles of society this has cost us a lot

in more ways than you might realize and

the first is just the cost I know that

you are all well aware of the cost of

attending college but there is more to

it than just the student debt that

you're going to take on to Le your first

job in the cubicle Farm if everyone gets

a college degree which qualifies them

for a prestigious job then those

qualifications aren't special anymore

according to data from the US Census

Bureau and compiled by statista the

number of Americans with a college

degree has increased from 7.7% of the

population in 1960 to

37.7% today an almost six-fold increase

the remaining 62.3% of the population

are not all going to be bluecollar

workers either according to the Bureau

of Labor Statistics only 62.6% of

Americans work at all so more than half

of the workforce holds a degree a degree

is not enough to stand out anymore it's

barely enough to land a job at all so

people are getting more degrees to prove

they are worthy of an role the price of

a college degree has gone up and its

value has gone down but people are still

willing to take on life-altering amounts

of student debt to get them so they can

access a job that is prestigious the

ironic thing is that many bluecar trade

jobs actually pay much better than even

midlevel corporate roles because there

is a shortage of these non- Elite

workers so they have much more

negotiating power in the real Market

than a history PhD applying for a

research roll sorry Sam from how history

Works despite this most people still

agree that someone sitting behind a desk

is more Elite than someone working with

their hands so given the choice they

would rather work in an office you knew

all of this already colleges have been

pumping out graduates for decades now

but what is interesting is what happens

to the people that are left over

eventually there are only so many roles

that can be done in a suit and tie in a

nice office which means some of these

Elite qualified individuals will be left

behind to work jobs that they are

completely overqualified for

underemployment is already a major issue

in America highly paper qualified people

are working casual jobs with bad pay and

fewer benefits because they don't want

to get a bluecollar job because that

would be admitting that their expensive

degree was useless tchin in his book end

times has likened the glut of people who

are too qualified for the job to the

accumulation of Deadwood in a forest it

doesn't do anything by itself but if

anything goes wrong it will cause a

cataclysmic fire I will leave a link to

his book in the description below if you

like depressing videos like this it's

definitely worth the read tchin has

likened our current period of elite

production with the late Roman Empire

the French Wars of religion and various

Chinese dynasties but America and the

rest of the western world has had one

sneaky advantage over these other low

energy Empires we have taken all of

these non- Elite jobs that we didn't

want to do and outsourced them overseas

for a while it let more of us work in

jobs that we could brag about on

LinkedIn but that strategy may have come

with some serious side effects so it's

time to learn how money Works to find

out what happens now that we have too

many people that are literally too good

for their job this week's video is

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one of the less serious impacts of a

system that has too many people

qualified for too few Elite jobs is

title inflation if you can't find a

senior role for everybody with an MBA

from the University of Phoenix then you

have to give them a fancy sounding title

salesmen are now account Executives

receptionists are now directors of First

Impressions and marketers are brand

presidents job title inflation like this

sounds extremely dumb Until you realize

that it works a UK study found that 70%

of workers would give up a pay rate to

get a job with a better sounding title

with some forgoing as much as $10,000 to

take a role that sounds more senior this

study is very old now but one look at

LinkedIn will show you that it hasn't

gotten much better now while it's fun to

laugh at goobers on LinkedIn the

problems of elite overproduction as

outlined by tchin manifest in other

areas as well as more people become

qualified and expect to fill glamorous

corporate roles it creates a political

pressure to make sure that people get

those roles the anthropologist Steven

Graber spoke about his role of the Box

tickers in his Infamous book

jobs these were rules that only existed

to satisfy some arbitrary requirements

overseen by other box tickers to give

the appearance that something useful was

being done the best way to create these

jobs is through laws and programs that

mandate them I made a video last year

about the homelessness crisis in America

and why despite spending billions of

dollars on it we are only making it

worse one of the problems is that there

were thousands of jobs being created in

various local state and federal

government departments alongside

nonprofits that paid workers very well

with so many Elite jobs on offer there

is no real incentive to fix the problem

because for the individuals running the

programs they would have to find a new

job and for the politicians approving

the budget they would have to explain

why thousands of professional jobs went

missing under their Administration now I

just wanted to shamelessly mention my

old video but it's by no means limited

to this one problem millions of people

across America are employed in some kind

of compliance role with a private

company

some of these roles are incredibly

important some less so but if compliance

standards are dropped then the

politician who passed that law would

have a lot of potential voters angry

that they made their job irrelevant now

so far it all sounds like the blame of

elite overproduction ultimately falls on

the people who thought they were too

good for a real job and felt entitled to

an elite position just because they got

a communications degree that is not

entirely unfair and there does need to

be a level of personal accountability

for your own personal DEC decisions but

we've made it incredibly easy to follow

the path of least resistance into the

pile of college graduates striving for

an elite job has also become a necessity

in many parts of the country if you want

to live a comfortable version of the

American dream in most cities across the

country these days you need to have an

extremely good job more than a third of

Americans earning

$250,000 per year are still living

paycheck to paycheck because the places

where they can access these Elite jobs

are ludicrously expensive the study

unsurprisingly found that bu stress was

Far higher amongst younger earners

because the only consistent way for them

to earn that much money was to get an

elite job in an elite City Blue Collar

work can make a lot more than

entry-level corporate roles but unless

you can successfully start your own

business the ceiling on how much you can

earn in these rules is much lower in

areas away from expensive cities that's

okay but if you grew up in a major city

and you want to keep living there then

you kind of have to play the game of

fighting for an elite job by working

your way up the corporate ladder or

fighting through ultra competitive

internships if you are successful

congratulations you can buy a Tesla

Model 3 and rent a one-bedroom apartment

in Seattle but if you are not then you

can contribute to the biggest problem

that tchin discusses in his writing

people who have invested a significant

amount of money not to mention years of

their life into pursuing a role that

they were told they were entitled to

breeds a lot of discontent when they end

up underemployed these people who fairly

rightfully feel scammed out of what they

were told was a guarantee are now a

significant vot voting block that's

created political pressure to not only

maintain as many of these nonsense jobs

as possible but also to pursue student

debt relief Advanced education subsidies

and retraining initiatives it might fix

a lot of problems but there is no

getting around the fact that it's not

exactly fair to people who have already

paid off their debt or never took them

on in the first place because they

didn't pursue an elite career path now

this is not to say that these are good

or bad ideas it's only to say that they

wouldn't even be considered if there

weren't so many people that had become

trapped as an overproduced Elite enough

people to make this politically viable

unfortunately as the great DJ khed would

say we have played ourselves to get here

in the first place beyond the expense

and tensions caused by having so many

people qualified to do rules that are

inherently rare we have forgotten how to

do the foundational stuff America's

housing crisis is in part being

accelerated by the cost to build new

homes because we don't have enough

Tradesmen to keep up with the demand for

new housing the fact that housing is so

expensive only makes this problem worse

because people see that the only way

they will ever be able to afford A Home

of Their Own is to compete for an elite

role with every other hopeful graduate

we have also become more reliant on

skilled migration to fill the gaps in

our Workforce which also drive more

demand for housing and more desire to be

elite just to stay AF float now Turin

makes the argument that this is the

single unifying issue that has led to

the collapse of all great civilizations

that might be a bit of hyperbole to move

some books but it does make it a little

bit worrying when you see the symptoms

that he first warned about several

decades ago I will be writing a

follow-up article to this video about

the clown show that is modern

internships for high-end Finance firms

it might be the most obvious example of

terin's warnings in action and that will

be up this week on my free email

newsletter link below living costs are

at the center of this problem especially

housing but go and watch this video to

find out if we can even make housing

affordable without destroying the

economy in the process to keep on

learning how money works