Most never catch up. The vast majority who start in non-college-level jobs “remain underemployed a decade later,” according to Talent Disrupted, a study by Burning Glass Institute and the Strada Education Foundation. Five years after graduation, 88 percent of underemployed graduates are in jobs that require only a high school diploma or less, such as office support, retail sales, food service and construction.
“Getting stuck early on in such jobs can ripple across a lifetime of earnings, since the premium from a college degree multiplies over the span of a person’s career,” write Fuhrmans and Ellis.