A college education is undoubtedly one of the vehicles leading to a successful career and higher salary. However, not every major might actually yield successful careers and higher income. At this juncture, you might be wondering which college majors yield higher income and which do not. This is what experts experts have to say about the issue.
The latest report from Degreechoices, an education research degree, found that criminal justice graduates had the highest level of under-employed at 71.5%, while hospitality, art history, performing arts and liberal arts majors lagged behind shortly.
The unemployment rates for these majors were relatively high as well. The other majors saw an unemployment rate of between 4 and 8, while criminal justices witnessed a rate of 2.8.
The study was based on the New York Fed 2022 data on the share of graduates who find themselves in jobs that do not require a college degree after graduating with certain majors.
Under-employability was also partly explained by the median wage for each college degree for early and mid-career graduates.
The top five most underemployed majors are:
- criminal justice
- performing arts
- art history
- leisure and hospitality
- liberal arts.
Performing arts majors witnessed even lower median wages of $38,000, while the median wages for criminal justice was $41,000 for those in their early careers.
Hospitality majors saw an underemployment rate of 57.6% with a median wage of $39,700 in their early career, while liberal arts majors witnessed an unemployment rate of 7.9% with a median wage of $38,000.
Degreechoices’s spokesperson stated, “This research highlights the importance of understanding the career prospects associated with different college degrees.” “With Criminal Justice graduates experiencing the highest levels of underemployment at 71.5 percent, it is crucial for students to be informed about potential job market challenges they may face upon graduation.”
HR consultant Bryan Driscoll argued that students continue to be pushed into certain career paths that fail to live up to their price tags despite the high levels rates in some majors.
Driscoll told the media that “Criminal justice, for example, is high on the list because it’s sold as a path to law enforcement or legal careers.” “But the reality is that many of these jobs pay poorly and offer little room for advancement. When you’re trained for a narrow industry, you’re stuck if the job market shifts or those fields become oversaturated, as they often do.”
Driscoll urged students to question what they are being sold before choosing a major.
He stated: “College isn’t a path to a job like it used to be.” “And when that path now leads to massive debt and limited opportunities, then maybe it’s the system that needs fixing.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told the media that “Most of the majors among the top 10 have struggled for years with both unemployment and underemployment.”
“Some jobs, like those in the performing and fine arts, aren’t as easy to obtain and can ultimately lead the graduate with that degree to rely on other endeavors to supplement their income.”
Beene stated that jobs are not necessarily hard to obtain for criminal justice majors specifically; however, there are other concerns driving the under-employability.
Beene stated: “Many facilities are desperately promoting to attain new talent. It has more to do with the stress of those roles, mixed with long hours and income that while decent seems inadequate given the numerous responsibilities required.”
