Forbes has published a list of 17 college majors that carry high underemployment rates.
Grads in these degree fields find it hard to get the jobs they went to school for. They tend to make less money than they should be making, and a lot of them live with this discouraging realization: “I might have just wasted all that time and money I spent on college; I’m not even using the degree I worked so hard for.”
Help your kid stay off of the path to underemployment.
According to Forbes, here are 17 College Majors That Tend to Lead to Underemployment:
- Physical Education Teaching: 57% grads are underemployed
- Human Services: 56% grads are underemployed
- Illustration: 55% grads are underemployed
- Criminal Justice: 53% grads are underemployed
- Project Management: 53% grads are underemployed
- Radio/Television & Film Production: 53% grads are underemployed
- Studio Art: 52% grads are underemployed
- Healthcare Administration: 52% grads are underemployed
- Education: 52% grads are underemployed
- Human Development & Family Studies: 52% grads are underemployed
- Creative Writing: 51% grads are underemployed
- Animal Science: 51% grads are underemployed
- Exercise Science: 51% grads are underemployed
- Heath Sciences: 51% grads are underemployed
- Paralegal Studies: 51% grads are underemployed
- Theater: 51% grads are underemployed
- Art History: 51% grads are underemployed
(This information is based on PayScale data collected from 962,956 workers.)
But wait–there’s good news in this Forbes report too!
In every one of these college major fields, some of the graduates are working. A good number of them (in some cases almost 50%!) are employed in their career fields, fulfilling their potential, making money they’re happy with.
What sets the fully-employed grads apart from the underemployed ones?
One thing I know for sure–the grads who completed extensive job shadowing and multiple paid internships in their career fields are doing far better than those who failed to complete these important steps during college.
You can see two extremely helpful posts I’ve written about internships here and here.
If your kid loves a field with low employability, have him or her try this:
Take the advice of Gwen Burrow from Find Your Calling, who tells students: “Ask yourself–do you really need two or four years of full study in subjects like studio art, creative writing, or theater? Is that something you could do with just a few classes, plus practice on your own time?”
Your child could also consider combining the less desirable major with a potentially more lucrative minor. Combine a “health care administration” major with an accounting minor, for instance, or an “illustration” major with a marketing, advertising, or art education credential.
I’m not sure I’d advise your kid to pursue a college major in Studio Art, Theater, or Art History…
Those fields are notoriously difficult when it comes to finding full-time jobs after college.
But I can tell you this. Being strategic about job shadowing and interning can make the difference between depressing, low-paying, motivation-sapping underemployment and a truly fulfilling long-term career that makes perfect sense.
(Many thanks to Gwen Burrow from Find Your Calling for the help she gave me writing this article.)
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Read just one chapter of LAUNCH every 1-3 months while your child’s in middle school and high school, and you’ll know every viable strategy for debt-free college at exactly the right time to implement it.
And if your child’s already well past middle school? That’s OK; you can run to catch up. But the process of getting your kids through college debt-free goes more smoothly the earlier you start it – especially if you’re not planning to save up any money to pay for college.
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Who is Jeannie Burlowski?
Jeannie is a full-time academic strategist, podcast host, and sought-after speaker for students ages 12–26, their parents, and the professionals who serve them. Her writing, speaking, and podcasting help parents set their kids up to graduate college debt-free, ready to jump directly into careers they excel at and love. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, USA Today, Parents Magazine, and US News and World Report, and on CBS News.
Jeannie also helps students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school at her website GetIntoMedSchool.com.
This article was updated on September 25th, 2024. No part of it was written using AI.