Do you have people above you who are less qualified?

Question

Or maybe they're on the same level as you but have less qualifications and they're allowed to give you orders simply because they've been there longer? How do you cope mentally with that? Does it make you crazy? Angry? Some other emotion? Please share. Thanks.

Answer 1

Oh yes,

lot more less qualified. But then my boss is a citizen of US and I am on H1B. Either I have to work or go back to my country

Answer 2

I've had this happen quite a lot. One thing you have to consider is that the manager may be "differently" qualified than you. I work in IT. I've had managers who know management and business, but not IT. Then again, I've also had a few managers who could barely read.

It can be very frustrating when they order you to do something that doesn't make sense. The best you can do is explain why a different way is better and hope they have the brains to understand it. If they don't budge, you do it their way and watch it fail and then maybe they'll see the sense in your way. But you're the one who has to face the custmer or other employees and deal with their dissatisfaction without dissing the manager.

Yes, I've been angry and disgusted by others less qualified. You either live with it or you leave. I've done both.

Answer 3

Fortunately I'm currently self-employed, but I've experienced it before:

I was hired by a small Telephone Company, a CLEC (Certified Local Exchange Carrier), as their receptionist after I got out of the Navy (not many opportunities for a door-gunner in the private-sector at the time).

I had my degrees (BA and MA) in History and was 35 yrs old... I was VERY annoyed that the company had NO training program for their customer service personnel... I was a Navy Instructor, and you are taught EVERYTHING in the Navy.  I'd listen to the C.S people passing the buck on customer problems, and THEN transfer the caller to ME so I could transfer to the Ops Department.

Here are people who've been there for a year or two and aren't doing SQUAT... so I spoke to the VP / CFO / Marketing Head who'd hired me and asked to "borrow" all the manuals so I could learn trouble-shooting.  He looked at me like I was insane, but said "sure".

In a MONTH, I was the third engineer (below the President and Operations Department Head), and could resolve 80% of customer problems within 4 hours by MYSELF.

The VP / Marketing was an ex-banker and would sell the customer things he wouldn't tell the OPS folks.... the Customer Service Department was a LAUGH until I took over and said "Learn or QUIT".

The President was BRILLIANT, but as with many a genius was so into HIS work, he'd lose track of the world around him.  I hired him a PA who became a God-Send.

SADLY, after 5 years, PacBell became SBC became AT&T and pushed all the CLEC's out of the market in California.  JUST when we were ROARING through the market.

The idiocy of others makes me frustrated, upset, crazy, and angry.

My solution was to ASK why they're stupid... try to TRAIN them correctly... and if that fails... FIRE THEM.

Answer 4

In the working world, they always seem to promote the bums and leave the hardest, most productive, workers to languish in the depths.  It isn't always fair.  But, you should hold your head up and do the best you can.  After getting slapped around by previous employers, I finally opened my own business.  It was slim pickings in the beginning, but I have made it quite successful.  I have not worked for anyone else in over 10 years.

Answer 5

I have been in that boat more often than I want to think about it.

But for me closure comes when I see that person over me is there for a valid reason and not through knowing/blowing someone. So, I can appreciate a manager who is less knowledgeable and qualified than me but is dynamic in the way he/she deals with crisis, team dynamics and targets. It is a different story when I see superiors blowing hot air just because they are someone's pillow-pal or tennis buddy. That smarts.

Answer 6

Heck yes.  They are many people at my job who are undeserving of their position while in the meantime i bust my behind & I''m still in the position I'm in.