College majors with the highest and lowest underemployment
Underemployment means to work in a job that typically doesn’t require a college degree.
As of May 2024, about 40% of recent college graduates were underemployed.
The majors with the highest levels of underemployment are criminal justice (71.5%), performing arts (65.9%), and art history (62.3%).
Graduates who majored in nursing, engineering, and education enjoy the lowest underemployment rates overall.
With average college tuition fees as high as $40,700, to secure a job after graduation that requires a college degree is a reasonable expectation. However, the reality of post-graduation employment paints a different picture: around 40% of recent graduates find themselves in jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. This phenomenon is known as underemployment.
College students can reduce their chances of underemployment by choosing the right major, with some majors much more likely to lead to early-career underemployment than others.
In this article, we uncover which college majors lead to the highest and lowest rates of underemployment based on U.S. Census Bureau data.
What is underemployment?
Underemployment means having a job – just not one that typically requires a college degree. This happens when college graduates are unable to land jobs that match their educational credentials, pushing them into lower-skilled jobs they may be overqualified for.
Several factors can cause underemployment, ranging from external forces like economic recessions, to individual considerations like choice of major and career stage (i.e., early or mid-career).
» Read more: Useless degrees and what to study instead
Examples of underemployment jobs
Jobs that do not usually need a college degree are wide-ranging, and not all low-skilled or low-paid. According to an analysis from New York Fed blog Libert Street Economics of American Community Survey data, non-college degree jobs are present in these categories:
- Low-skilled service
- Arts and entertainment
- Information processing and business support
- Healthcare technicians and assistants
- Office and administrative support
- Skilled trades
- Sales
- Public safety
- Managers and supervisors
- Physical laborers
In the same analysis, most (25%) of underemployed recent graduates worked in office and administrative support jobs, followed by low-skilled service jobs (19.3%) and managers and supervisors (13.1%).
Majors with the highest underemployment
Underemployment rates across college majors offer a window into the economic value of different bachelor’s degrees as it relates to future success on the job market.
Criminal justice is the major with the highest underemployment with a rate of 71.5%, perhaps in part because many positions in law enforcement, such as police officers and detectives, only require a high school diploma.
Half of the top 10 majors for highest underemployment are in the arts and humanities. These include performing arts (65.9%), art history (62.3%), and fine arts (55.5%), fields where graduates often face intense competition for limited job openings.
Some majors high in underemployment are in industries where degrees are less important (leisure and hospitality). Others are less conducive to securing relevant jobs at the bachelor’s level (business management and history).
While STEM degrees are often associated with college-level jobs, life sciences majors are high in underemployment.
Below are the college majors with the highest underemployment rates. The average underemployment rate among recent college graduates is 40.5%.
To make this list, we sourced labor outcomes data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s “The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates.” The report is based on a 2022 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (IPUMS). Underemployment rates are for recent college graduates (those aged 22-27 with at least a bachelor’s degree).
1. Criminal justice
Criminal justice graduates face the highest levels of underemployment at 71.5%.
They also face an unemployment rate of 2.8%. Those graduating with a bachelor’s in criminal justice in their early career can anticipate a median wage of $41,000. Folks settling into their mid-career can look forward to a median wage of $70,000.
2. Performing arts
Graduates of the performing arts major face an underemployment rate of 65.9%. They face a higher unemployment rate than the top-ranking entry on this list at 5.5%. The median wage for performing arts graduates in their early careers is $38,000 and $64,000 in their mid-careers.
3. Art history
In third place is art history, with an underemployment rate of 62.3%. Art history graduates also face the highest levels of unemployment at 8.0%. Early-career graduates with an art history degree can expect a median wage of $41,000, while mid-career graduates can look forward to a median wage of $72,000.
4. Leisure and hospitality
Ranking fourth is leisure and hospitality, with an underemployment rate of 57.6%. This major also has an unemployment rate of 4.1%. Early-career leisure and hospitality graduates have a median wage of $39,700 and a mid-career median wage of $67,000.
5. Liberal arts
Liberal arts is next on this list, with an underemployment rate of 56.7%. They also have an unemployment rate of 7.9%. The median salary for early-career graduates with a Liberal Arts degree is $38,000, and the median salary for mid-career graduates is $65,000.
6. Animal and plant sciences
Animal and plant sciences comes in at number six. This major has an underemployment rate of 56.3%. Graduates of this degree will be relieved to hear that it has a low unemployment rate, at 1.6%. The early-career median wage for this major is $41,000, and the mid-career median wage is $70,000.
7. Fine arts
Graduates with a fine arts degree have an underemployment rate of 55.5%, and an unemployment rate of 7.9%. Recent fine arts graduates in their early career have a median wage of $40,000, while those in their mid-careers have a median wage of $68,000.
8. Miscellaneous technologies
Next is miscellaneous technologies, with an underemployment rate of 54.8%. This degree also has an unemployment rate of 6.4%. Miscellaneous technologies graduates can look forward to a competitive median wage, $50,000 for those in their early career and $80,000 for those in their mid-career, the highest in our top ten list.
9. Business management
The penultimate entry on this list is business management, with an underemployment rate of 53.6% and an unemployment rate of 3.2%. Like miscellaneous technologies, business management has an early-career median wage of $50,000 but a slightly lower mid-career median wage of $78,000. Business management is often regarded as one of the easiest college majors.
10. History
Finally, rounding off the top 10 is history. History degree graduates have an underemployment rate of 53.5% and unemployment rate of 7.5%. These graduates can expect the same early-career median wage as fine arts graduates ($40,000) but a slightly higher median mid-career wage of $70,000.
Majors with the lowest underemployment
The college majors with the lowest underemployment are overwhelmingly in engineering, education, healthcare, and other specialized fields.
Among the majors lowest in underemployment are those that prepare students for licensure in specific professions, such as education or nursing, along with several in STEM (e.g., computer science and engineering) that lead to jobs requiring the specialized knowledge a degree provides.
Nursing is the bachelor’s degree that produces the lowest underemployment overall (11.1%).
More majors with the lowest underemployment rates are below:
| Major | Underemployment rate | Unemployment rate |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing | 11.1% | 1.3% |
| Special Education | 12.1% | 3.2% |
| Computer Engineering | 13.3% | 2.3% |
| Elementary Education | 13.5% | 1.5% |
| Civil Engineering | 15.9% | 1.9% |
| Computer Science | 16.7% | 4.3% |
| Chemical Engineering | 17.8% | 2.0% |
| Aerospace Engineering | 17.9% | 7.8% |
| Early Childhood Education | 18.2% | 1.9% |
| General Education | 19.6% | 1.5% |
| Mechanical Engineering | 20.3% | 1.5% |
| Miscellaneous Education | 20.6% | 2.5% |
| Electrical Engineering | 20.9% | 2.9% |
| Accounting | 21.0% | 1.8% |
| Secondary Education | 22.0% | 1.6% |
| Pharmacy | 23.5% | 3.4% |
| Industrial Engineering | 24.6% | 0.2% |
| Architecture | 25.1% | 3.3% |
| Miscellaneous Engineering | 26.2% | 2.5% |
| Electrical Engineering | 27.6% | 2.9% |
Final thoughts
Nearly half of college graduates today are working in jobs that are out of line with their educational credentials. This reality, coupled with an intensely competitive job market for entry-level workers, can make investing in a college degree (one which may not yield success in the job market) a scary undertaking.
The good news is that you can influence that success through your choice of a college major. Chosen wisely, and your first job out of college could be the right one for your skillset and degree – setting the tone for the rest of your career.
Ready to explore your degree options? Choose a major below for a curated list of the best-value colleges for that field.
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