While education plays a key role in shaping one’s future and especially career prospects, the benefits can be diminished by overeducation. Overeducation occurs when individuals who have completed higher education work in jobs that do not require a degree. Given that educational paths are strongly influenced by family, this study investigates to what extent parental support might be a cause of overeducation in Poland. Due to the specific Polish context, we examine how this relationship is affected by a rural upbringing and the mother’s level of education. 2022 survey data reveal that increased parental support leads to greater alignment of education and job requirements. However, for individuals raised in rural areas with highly educated mothers, the effect is the opposite: greater parental support decreases the likelihood of a job-education match. Our findings emphasise the importance of providing more institutional support in rural areas to help parents guide their children in making informed educational decisions that take into account the realities of both the labour and educational markets.