Predicting Education-Job Mismatch and Its Consequences for A Cohort of American Workers

This paper considers the income and health consequences of education-job mismatch for a cohort of workers. Education-job mismatch is common, but there is little research on how it is related to outcomes for workers. This study uses longitudinal data from the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to examine education-job mismatch over a significant portion of the work life course – early career, between ages 25 and 35, and mid-career. Findings suggest that gender, race/ethnicity, and occupational sector are important predictors of experiencing education-job mismatch. Men, African Americans, and workers in office-administrative occupations were more likely to experience mismatch. Overeducation was associated with poorer health and lower income levels, whereas undereducation was only related to poorer health. The health and income of those who were matched at one time was more like the outcomes of people matched at both time points, suggesting penalties associated with longer periods of mismatch