Abstract
The career mobility model suggests that overeducated workers are more prone to take up on-the-job training, to climb up the career ladder, or to leave to professions more suitable to their educational level. Our empirical analysis, using the German SOEP, confirms this theory for Germany. Comparing adequately qualified and overqualified workers in jobs that require the same level of formal qualification indicates that overeducated workers have a higher probability to take up on-the-job training and have a higher probability to move to jobs that better match their educational level. Furthermore, we find that overeducated workers experience higher wage growth than their adequately educated colleagues.
Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to Thomas Bauer, Julia Bredtmann, Sebastian Otten, and Stella Martin for helpful comments and suggestions. All remaining errors are our own.
Description of variables.
| Variable | Description |
| Dependent variables | |
| On-the-job training | = 1 if on-the-job training in current year, 0 ow |
| Upward mobility | = 1 if increase in job requirement (JA) from t to |
| Wage growth | Wage growth in percent in current year |
| Explanatory variables | |
| Overqualified | = 1 if overqualified (JA method), 0 ow |
| Adequately qualified | = 1 if adequately qualified (JA method), 0 ow |
| Underqualified | = 1 if underqualified (JA method), 0 ow |
| Tenure | Length of time within firm in years |
| Tenure2 | Length of time within firm in years (squared) |
| Full time | = 1 if full-time employed, 0 ow |
| Permanent | = 1 if permanent contract, 0 ow |
| Below 100 | = 1 if less than 100 employees, 0 ow |
| 100 to 199 | = 1 if 100 to 199 employees, 0 ow |
| 200 to 1999 | = 1 if 200 to 1999 employees, 0 ow |
| 2000 and more | = 1 if more than 2000 employees, 0 ow |
| Ln(wage) | Logarithm of gross hourly real wage |
| Age | Age in years |
| Age2 | Age in years (squared) |
| Male | = 1 if male, 0 ow |
| Migrant | = 1 if migrant, 0 ow |
| Married | = 1 if married, 0 ow |
| Children | = 1 if child(ren) below 16 years in household, 0 ow |
Source: SOEP (2013–2017), own definitions.
Description of formal qualifications and classification of degrees into the categories of formal qualification (JA method).
| Formal qualification | Description | Highest degree obtained |
| No vocational training | No formal occupational degree | No degree (dropouts) |
| or only one year training | Intermediate school degree | |
| Advanced technical college entrance qualification | ||
| General qualification for university entrance | ||
| Vocational training | Completed two or three years of vocational training, corresponding work experience and/or informal training | Apprenticeship |
| Master craftsman/technician/bachelor | Master craftsman/technician/bachelor | Vocational school degree |
| Health care school degree | ||
| Completed civil service training | ||
| Technical school degree | ||
| Bachelor (university or technical college) | ||
| Graduate degree | Graduate degree (at least 4 years) | Diploma (university or technical college) |
| Master (university or technical college) | ||
| State examination | ||
| Doctoral level | ||
| Postdoctoral level |
Source: SOEP (2013–2017), KldB 2010, own classification of degrees into formal qualification categories.
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