Half of graduates end up underemployed — what does that mean for colleges?
Lilah Burke
March 25, 2024
Researchers examined what kind of jobs graduates were landing and whether they required a college diploma.
As the American public has lost confidence in higher education over the past few years, policymakers have begun talking more about return on investment. In the simplest terms, they say that graduates who invest time and money pursuing a college education should see an earnings bump from their degrees.
In a recent report from the Strada Institute for the Future of Work and the Burning Glass Institute, researchers have attempted to push the conversation beyond earnings by looking at the kinds of jobs graduates are getting.
They issued a big finding: 52% of graduates with only a bachelor’s degree end up underemployed a year after getting their diploma — that is, they work in jobs that don’t typically require a college degree. Ten years on, that number only drops to 45%.
