The declining value of a college education has multiple facets but one of the biggest ones is many U.S. job openings don’t even require a college degree. The result is many college graduates are overeducated and underemployed.
While the pursuit of higher education is strongly correlated with a higher income, recent research shows far too many college degrees and majors don’t pay off in the long run.
A recent study from the Burning Glass Institute and the Strada Institute for the Future of Work revealed this fact earlier in 2024, along with other troubling statistics that paint a bleak picture for future college students. While 52% of college graduates are working in jobs that don’t require higher education, 75% of them remain in this situation for a full decade after college.
This is partly because “underemployment is sticky” — at least that’s how the study’s summary described this phenomenon. Apparently, individuals who find work outside of their degree fields find reason to stay there instead of pursuing employment related to their degree.
The study also reveals some college majors result in a higher percentage of graduates finding work elsewhere. For example, those who study public safety and security, recreation and wellness studies, and general business fields like marketing more often than not find themselves underemployed.
How Do College Graduates End Up Underemployed?
Data aside, it’s important to figure out why this is happening. There are myriad reasons college graduates end up working in jobs that don’t require higher education.
According to holistic therapist Jenny Flora Wells, who has advanced training in trauma and young generations, lack of job opportunities is a major factor here, especially in today’s tight labor market.
Wells points out that some individuals spend months applying to thousands of jobs after graduation, get called back to a handful, but ultimately end up being “ghosted” in the end.
“This is devastating for young people in the workforce who have spent thousands of dollars on their degrees, only to find that there is limited opportunity or no opportunity awaiting them,” she says. And ultimately, it means they may just wind up taking whatever job they can get at the time.
Wells also points out something most of us know is true and have seen with our own eyes. There’s a rapid increase in available jobs that require bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees or even doctoral degrees but barely pay more than the minimum wage.
“Young professionals are realizing that working a job such as bartending, serving, or even pivoting to blue collar work often pays twice as much as the jobs that they went to school for,” Wells says.
Robert Bird, a professor of business law at the University of Connecticut, points out some other reasons why college graduates end up working in alternative fields. Some find a new interest late in their college career but finish out their current major because it is too difficult to switch, he says, whereas others find an employer-specific reason to take a different job.
“A strong corporate culture or sense of mission can attract graduates to new opportunities at an unexpected employer,” Bird says.
Grads may work in a field that does not require a degree because of better compensation, particularly in industries that offer strong financial incentives. For example, top-tier sales jobs can be lucrative in nearly any industry, and nearly any college degree (or no degree) may be enough to help applicants get their foot in the door.
“Many grads have to pay off debt, and working in a non-degree area may help recent graduates do just that,” he says.
According to Katrina Wert, vice president of workforce and community partnerships at the Community College of Denver, the financial component really does play a huge role for workers when it comes to choosing a gig. Many young people experience financial strain after they graduate and student loan payments come due, thus they take any job and worry about their long-term career prospects later on. However, some college majors tend to create more graduates who live these experiences.
“We find this occurs most often with graduates who did not choose career-oriented majors such as nursing and criminal justice,” Wert says. “Graduates often seek work outside their degree to earn higher wages and support their families.”
Is Working Outside Of Your Field A Problem? Not Necessarily
While working in low-paying jobs (or jobs outside of a chosen field of study) post-graduation has its downsides, plenty of college graduates are happily employed in careers that require a college degree but not necessarily the one they have.
Colin David Pears, Ph.D., chief retention officer and associate provost for student success at the University of New England, says many people believe you need a specific degree to work in jobs that would seemingly require a very specific set of skills. However, most fields of study are set up to provide students with both knowledge and transferable skills, he says.
“So for example, it’s not uncommon to see a psychology major with a passion for media deciding to pursue a career in marketing, or an English major who loves politics pursuing a career as a speechwriter,” Pears notes.
Pears adds that employers are much more concerned with the set of core competencies students acquire than they are about exactly what they studied. Meanwhile, colleges and universities are committed to providing their students with the widest array of opportunities they can so that students can select the career option that best fits who they are, he says.
The bottom line is winding up in a career outside of your major field of study isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, Pears says it could be “the recipe for an exciting professional life.”
“If this is you, just be cognizant of how your path has deviated from where it might have gone, celebrate that fact, and look for ways you can continue to grow and develop your expertise, whether in a graduate program or through ongoing professional development,” he says.
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