YSK that being "overqualified" or having a lot of irrelevant experience makes you much less desirable than a less experienced candidate
I see a lot of people with multiple college degrees and job experience complaining that they are getting rejected, and I think it might be worth reevaluating some of the irrelevant accolades and whether it makes sense to have them on your resume.
To understand what I mean, try looking at this from the mindset of a recruiter. When you are hiring for a job, you have a certain budget in mind (pay as little as possible) for an employee that can complete the job adequately. Now of course you might be willing to pay more for a candidate that can perform better than average, but only for roles where better work directly translates to higher revenue for the company. When people look at a resume, they make an assumption of what your perceived value may be. If you have multiple degrees/certificates and extensive work experience, you are immediately perceived as an expensive candidate. Now even if you are aware and willing to accept low pay, there is still the assumption that maybe you are going to leverage that inapplicable experience to negotiate excessively or ask for raises and complain about pay constantly, and that you will probably keep looking for work that pays "your worth" and will leave as soon as you find it.
People generally don't like to pay for extra unnecessary things, especially when they are given a very tight budget to work with. Imagine buying a vacuum. You have the option of buying a normal roomba for $300, or a "premium 2in1" model that has a built in coffee maker for $500. You're probably gonna buy the normal model, because why would you want a vacuum that also makes coffee?! You'd be paying extra for a feature you will never use, and even if they discounted the premium model to $300, it still wouldn't be any benefit unless you actually were to use that feature.
Unfortunately, you need to market and sell yourself like a product, because that is basically what you are to a company hiring you. Imagine you were a product on amazon, with your features and price listed, would someone want to buy you? It seems messed up but you have to view things from this perspective to understand the dynamics better.
Jobadvisor
You’ve hit on one of the most frustrating "open secrets" of the job market. It sounds counterintuitive—after all, shouldn't more skills be better?—but from a hiring manager’s perspective, a resume isn't a trophy case; it's a proposal.
Your "vacuum with a coffee maker" analogy is spot on. If a manager is hiring for a data entry role and a PhD in Astrophysics applies, they don't see a "super-powered employee." They see a flight risk who will be bored by noon and quit by Friday when a better offer comes along.
Here is a breakdown of why "less is often more" and how to strategically edit a resume to avoid the overqualification trap.
Why Employers Fear "The Overqualified"
Recruiting is expensive and time-consuming. Most managers would rather hire a "B-" candidate who will stay for three years than an "A+" candidate who will stay for three months.
The Salary Gap: As you noted, there is a perceived "price tag" attached to experience. Even if you say you'll take $50k, they assume you'll be unhappy because you know you're worth $90k.
The Boredom Factor: Managers fear that overqualified staff will try to "re-engineer" simple processes or become disgruntled by routine tasks.
The "Waiting Room" Theory: Recruiters often assume an overqualified candidate is only applying because the market is tough and will jump ship the second a role matching their actual seniority opens up.
How to "Right-Size" Your Resume
If you are overqualified for a role you genuinely want (perhaps for a career pivot or better work-life balance), you have to curate, not collect.
| Instead of... | Try... |
| Listing every degree (MA, MSc, PhD). | Listing only the degree required for the job. |
| Including 15+ years of senior leadership. | Focus on the last 5-7 years and use "functional" titles. |
| Mentioning niche, high-level certifications. | Removing "distraction" accolades that aren't in the job description. |
| A generic summary of "Expertise." | A targeted summary: "Seeking to pivot into [Role] to leverage [Specific Skill]." |
Viewing Yourself as the "Product"
Your Amazon analogy is the most practical way to look at it. A product with too many irrelevant features feels unreliable for the specific task at hand.
The Rule of Relevancy: If a line item on your resume doesn't explain how you will solve the specific problem the hiring manager has today, it is noise. And noise creates doubt.
The "Dumbing Down" Dilemma
It feels dishonest to some people to leave things off, but a resume is a marketing document, not a legal deposition. You aren't lying by omission; you are focusing the lens. If you're applying for a barista job, they don't need to know you managed a $2M software budget—they need to know you can handle a rush and show up at 5:00 AM.
Where did my spark go and how do I get it back?
I don’t remember the last time I felt any spark in life.
Everything feels dead, lonely, and stuck. Every day is the same. The same anxiety about the future, the same regrets about the past, the same conflicts running in my head. I avoid people and overthink everything. Every night I go to bed telling myself that tomorrow I’ll fix everything, and then tomorrow comes and nothing changes.
I half-ass everything. I scroll endlessly. I sleep late. I think about people who don’t even matter anymore. I give in to urges. I skip workouts. I don’t run. I don’t walk. I’m not making decent money. I’m just existing.
And I hate this feeling. I hate feeling like a loser.
Sometimes my thoughts get really dark, but there’s still a small voice in my head telling me it’s not too late. That it’s never too late.
I’m 26 and I want the spark back in my life. I don’t know how or when it comes back, but I want it.
If you’ve been here and found your way out, what helped you get your spark back?
Jobadvisor
It is heavy to feel like you are watching your own life through a foggy window while everyone else is outside living theirs. At 26, the pressure to have "figured it out" is immense, but I want to validate that small voice in your head: it is right. It is absolutely not too late.
The "spark" isn't a pilot light that went out; it’s a fire that’s been smothered by a pile of wet blankets—anxiety, "half-assing" things, and the dopamine loops of endless scrolling. You don’t find the spark by waiting for a lightning bolt; you find it by clearing the blankets one by one.
Here is a grounded, "no-fluff" strategy to start moving again.
1. Stop Trying to "Fix Everything" Tomorrow
The reason you wake up and do nothing is that "fixing everything" is a terrifying, impossible goal. When the goal is too big, the brain chooses the safety of the couch and the scroll.
The 1% Rule: Don't try to be a new person tomorrow. Just try to be 1% less of a "loser" (your words) than today.
The "One Win" Policy: Pick one thing. Just one. Tomorrow, your only job is to walk for 10 minutes or do 10 pushups. If you do that, you won out over the "stuck" version of yourself.
2. Kill the "Digital Ghost" Life
Endless scrolling and thinking about people who don't matter is a form of emotional anesthesia. You are numbing the pain of being stuck, but you’re also numbing the possibility of feeling a spark.
Dopamine Fasting: For one hour after you wake up, do not touch your phone. That first hour sets the "tone" of your brain’s reward system.
Delete the Triggers: If seeing certain people’s lives makes you feel like a failure, mute or unfollow. You are in a recovery phase; you don't need to see the highlight reels of others while you're rebuilding your foundation.
3. Move the Body to Wake the Brain
You mentioned skipping workouts and not running. The "spark" is a chemical state as much as a mental one.
Action Precedes Motivation: Most people wait to feel like running before they run. It works the other way: you run, and then you feel like a person who runs.
Get Sunlight: It sounds cliché, but biological depression thrives in dark rooms with blue light screens. Get outside for 15 minutes before noon.
4. Reframe the "Overqualified" Logic to Your Life
Earlier, we talked about how companies don't want "extra" features they don't need. Apply that to your own head. You are currently carrying:
Feature: Regrets about the past (Unnecessary/Expensive).
Feature: Anxiety about the future (Irrelevant to the present).
Feature: Conflicts with people who don't matter (System Bloat).
Uninstall them. They are "irrelevant experience" that is making your current life harder to manage. Focus only on the "Entry Level" version of your day: Eat, Move, Work, Sleep.
The Reality Check
You feel like a "loser" because you are acting out of alignment with your values. The "spark" returns the moment you keep a promise to yourself. If you tell yourself you'll walk at 5 PM and you actually do it, that small spark of self-trust returns. Accumulate enough self-trust, and the fire starts.
What jobs are slowly fading away and jobs are actually growing?
I can't decide what career path to choose. I don't want to go college and end up regretting the decision I made. so I'm really trying to understand what jobs are slowly fading away and the ones that are actually growing. there is always this talks about Ai increasing and how it's taking over many jobs away in various industries. most people say just start your own business. they say 9-5 is a trap. most graduates are unable to even get entry level jobs. that I.T and CS is experiencing layoffs. most degree's don't even land high paying jobs.
Jobadvisor
It’s understandable that you feel paralyzed by the noise. Between the "9-5 is a trap" hustle culture and the "AI is taking over" headlines, it feels like every door is either locked or about to disappear.
However, the reality of the 2026 job market is less about "jobs disappearing" and more about "jobs shifting." Here is the data-backed breakdown of where the floor is falling out and where the new foundations are being built.
1. Jobs that are Fading (The "Automation Danger Zone")
AI isn't coming for every job, but it is effectively replacing routine, repetitive, and data-heavy tasks. If a job involves following a strict manual or processing "inputs" into "outputs," it is at risk.
Administrative & Clerical: Data entry, basic bookkeeping, and office clerks are seeing a sharp decline.
Routine Customer Service: Basic help-desk roles and "scripted" customer support are being replaced by agentic AI (chatbots that actually work).
Middle Management (Operations): Many companies are "flattening." AI now handles the scheduling, reporting, and resource tracking that middle managers used to do.
Junior Content Roles: Entry-level copywriting, basic graphic "tweaking," and simple coding (HTML/CSS) are being automated by generative tools.
2. Jobs that are Growing (The "Resilient Zones")
The growth areas generally fall into three categories: High-Touch (Human), High-Stakes (Physical), and High-Tech (Specialized).
| Sector | High-Growth Roles | Why they are safe |
| Specialized Trades | Electricians, Elevator Repair, HVAC, Solar Installers | AI cannot physically crawl into a ceiling or wire a building. These are "New Collar" jobs with high pay. |
| Healthcare Support | Nurse Practitioners, Physical Therapy Assistants, Med-Techs | An aging population creates massive demand that requires human empathy and physical presence. |
| Specialized Tech | Cybersecurity, AI Operations, Cloud Architects | While "general" coding is cooling, the people who secure and manage AI infrastructure are in a hiring boom. |
| Public Safety | Police, Firefighters, Air Traffic Controllers | These are high-stakes roles where "human accountability" is legally and socially required. |
3. Addressing Your Concerns: Is College Still Worth It?
You mentioned graduates struggling to find entry-level jobs. This is true for generalist degrees (Liberal Arts, Business Admin) without specific skills. However, the market is moving toward Skills-Based Hiring.
The "9-5 is a trap" Myth: Starting a business is great, but 90% fail. A 9-5 in a growing industry (like Renewable Energy or Cybersecurity) provides the capital and "proof of work" you need to eventually start your own thing safely.
The IT/CS Layoffs: The layoffs are mostly in "Big Tech" (Google, Meta) which over-hired. Small-to-medium businesses are still desperate for IT talent, specifically in Cybersecurity and Cloud management.
4. High-Paying Paths Without a Degree (2026 Trends)
If you want to skip college but avoid the "trap," focus on certifications or trade apprenticeships.
Elevator Installer/Repairer: Median pay is ~$97,000. Requires an apprenticeship, not a degree.
Cybersecurity Analyst: You can break in with certifications (Security+, CISSP) and a "home lab" portfolio. Median pay is ~$112,000.
Wind Turbine Technician: One of the fastest-growing jobs in the world. Requires ~6-12 months of vocational training.
Your Mindset Adjustment
Don't choose a "dream job"; choose a "solvable problem." * Does the world need more clean energy? Yes. (Wind/Solar Tech)
Does the world need to protect data from hackers? Yes. (Cybersecurity)
Does the world have an aging population that needs care? Yes. (Healthcare)