There are 5,000 Janitors in the US with PhDs

There Are 5,000 Janitors in the U.S. with PhDs

 

Technically, it says "This is even true at the doctoral and professional level—there are 5,057 janitors in the U.S. with Ph.D.’s, other doctorates, or professional degrees."

I prefer to believe they are lawyers.

 

It would be really interesting to see the fields of concentration and schools attended for the "Ph.D.’s, other doctorates, or professional degrees" group.

 

A number of those are no doubt attributed to criminal actions and being over qualified for most positions and under qualified for academia. For instance, many school systems will hire BA students over Ph.D. just to save the 10k+ per year. Many of those could be individuals who lost their positions but did not want to relocate to more fertile job locations.

Almost anyone can earn a degree, being able to present yourself to a potential employer is something else altogether.

 

When you start to think about criminal activity for doctor's and lawyer's, it would not be surprising that half those 5,000 are on parole lol.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing after reading your first post about criminal activity.

I actually do think criminal activity may play a large part in these numbers. While I can see a large number or people with advanced degrees not getting the type of position they strive for, I think most people smart enough to get an advanced degree would be able to find a something more desirable to make money than being a janitor if there were not extenuating circumstances.

Another factor could be degree mills or degrees from unaccredited schools. The study probably just takes people at their word for what degree they have so they may not all be what most people would consider legitimate advanced degrees.

 

My wife works at an art school as their marketing coordinator. She has a BS in marketing from UMD, and has worked there for about five years. The janitors who work there make about $5k-10k more per year than she does, and even more for those who have been there a lot longer than her. The janitors only needed a HS diploma for their position, and probably have no college debt (unless some of those janitors are PhDs). She needed a BS for her position, which she accumulated some debt getting, so her net income is even lower technically. Seems odd, but that's the way it is at her workplace...

 

I had a friend with a masters degree and several years experience working with satellites (I don't even understand what he did with them but I mean the ones in the sky, not the tv ones) who took a job as a custodian at the local school a few years back. He was in his fifties and could not find any work in his field (I think because of age discrimination). The custodian job paid a similar income to the other jobs available but also provided benefits. He is a smart man, and he realized that having a job was much better than not having a job and possibly losing his home.

 

I know an adjunct with Collin County College who works for the Gaylord Texan hotel as a janitor full time making about $15 an hour, plus full benefits. He has a PhD from UTD in humanities (I think), but he's having a difficult time finding a full time gig. He teaches three classes a semester at Collin, but that's far from enough to be able to pay the bills. He's fairly new to the field, so I think it'll just take a bit of time for him to get up to speed and find a full time gig.

 

The OP article list showed that 5.09% of truck drivers have at least a bachelors degree. Well many of us know a dereeinfo-alumni Steve Levicoff who has a Ph.D. He just decided to have a new lifestyle.

The other possible factor about Ph.D. holders in less prestigious jobs is that it may be a second job or a seasonal job (my kayak guide this summer in Alaska was a UCLA Ph.D. candidate) - many post-docs do not earn much while a part-time job in a restaurant can be comparably lucrative.

 

While many (not on here of course) may giggle and laugh, janitorial positions are well paid, especially in hospitals. If I lost my business, one of the positions I would apply for is a janitorial position in a hospital.

 

My uncle has a PhD in physics and now manages a mobile home park. At one time he was a scientist for JPL. He started a geo-thermal power company with a few associates. The company went belly-up and now, years later, his knowledge is now out-of-date, so he can't go back to JPL or anywhere else. He seems to be quite happy where he is, though.

 

Ans how many PhD's are driving a truck for a living?

 

I used to work a a state university. They had a policy (as do most state schools I know of) that allowed all full time employees to take 2 classes per semester and 1 class per summer (a total of 5 classes per year) for free. While most employees didn't take full advantage of the program, some did. It was commonplace to know of a secretary, office clerk, or janitor to not only have a bachelors, but in some cases MULTIPLE masters degrees. Over a twenty year career at the same university, or in the same university system, one has the opportunity to get 300 credit hours for free!

Also, at least in the state system, every time they got a higher degree they received a pay raise, even if the degree did not apply to their work.

 

The immigration system is designed to favour the best and brightest immigrants. Prejudice and discrimination force many qualified immigrants to work in less desirable jobs. These jobs are still better paying than in their home countries. Many of these immigrants are sacrificing for their kids. For profit virtual schools graduates are facing similiar prejudice.

 

There are many jobs I prefer not to do, but there is no job beneath me. If it was to the point of having no job or cleaning toilets somewhere, I would be cleaning toilets to feed my family, regardless of my education.

 

Salary dot com is showing the national average for a janitor as ~ 24k....that's about $11.50 per hour. I think it's honorable work, and I wouldn't have any trouble doing it, but to hint at it being a hidden gem of a job? What am I missing?

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