The Experience
Lilly Welsh (Not her real name. She asked that her name not be used.) wakes up every Tuesday morning at 6 a.m. and starts her day by dressing her 3-year-old daughter and getting her ready for daycare. Welsh then drives seven miles to drop her daughter off and then another 45 minutes to her first job, waitressing at a restaurant.
Welsh has a bachelors in business but is working as a waitress due to the continuation of the struggling economy, but she explained that it is convenient. “Most restaurants make you work at least three shifts a week, but since I opened the restaurant at this location [when she lived in the area], the managers allow me to work only two shifts each week because I have another job.”
After Welsh leaves her shift, (making only $36 after dividing with her busser, bartender and food runner), she then goes to the daycare, picks up her daughter and drops her off at her grandmother’s house on the way to her second job.
She clocks in at 5 p.m. and begins her eight-hour reception shift at a hospital. By the time she gets home, it’s long past 1 a.m. She wakes up and does the same thing over again the next day, except this time, she doesn’t work at the restaurant, so she has a chance to sleep in. Her only day off from the hospital is on Sundays and that is the day where her ex-husband has visitation with their daughter.
The Problem
There are approximately 37-million people in the United States borrowing money towards student loans and 40 percent of those borrowers are under the age of 30. Although it may seem like the problem is paying back the debt, the real issue lies in those borrowers like Welsh who are underemployed.
Underemployment is commonly referred to as working in a job that requires less than a four-year college degree. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 48 percent of college graduates are underemployed.
Underemployment has been prevalent since the 1970s, but in recent years the 2001 and 2008 recessions have brought the trend into the limelight more often. It’s very common for college graduates to accept low-wage jobs or work part-time just to start paying back the debt.
Congress frequently argues on how to fix the high unemployment rate, but questions are being raised about the focus being on the rising underemployment rate. The current rate for underemployment is at 33 percent, meaning that one in three college graduates have a job that doesn’t require a degree. Although that doesn’t factor in the five-million college graduates in jobs requiring less than a high-school diploma.
Many people go into retail but approximately 14.3 percent with a bachelors degree or higher decide like Welsh and go into waitressing.
Welsh graduated from Archbishop John Carroll High School, right down the street from Cabrini, and then went on to pursue a business degree at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas, where she graduated a semester early.
Welsh originally worked part-time at the hospital and full-time at the restaurant, but since her ex-husband was laid off in 2011, she currently works full-time at the hospital on the overnight shift, as they are the only hours available for full time staff. Welsh then works two days a week making extra cash waitressing or whenever she feels the need to pick up extra shifts. She lives in New Jersey and easily builds up mileage and gas costs, but is considering moving to Philadelphia in the near future.
With things a little closer to home, 10 percent of Cabrini’s graduating class of 2012 reported they were employed (at the time of survey), but not in major-related work.
Gianna Shikitino, a Cabrini communication graduate from the class of 2011, says she has been on countless interviews. “A lot of the interviews were for jobs that were ‘scams’ or door-to-door sales jobs that I felt I was overqualified for. It became extremely disheartening, but on the bright side of things, I have used those experiences as practice and I’ve learned from them,” Shikitino said.
The Reality
Statistics evidently show that job growth has declined across the past five years and the drop will likely result in a continuation of underemployment across the next 10 years.
From bachelors all the way to doctorates, Americans will continue to obtain degrees, but projections estimate that jobs requiring at least a bachelors will drop significantly.
It is evident in today’s economy that not all majors are equal. Whether it’s education, the social sciences, engineering or any other major, the choice is not expected to be simple. Although it is taught to follow what you love, it is also important to follow what is practical.
BLS statistics show that 55 percent of students with a technologies degree are underemployed. Yet, on the other side of the table, only about 20-25 percent of engineering and education graduates are underemployed, evidently showing the importance of the choice.
As Welsh struggles with underemployment and putting her business degree to good practice, she is debating going back to school to get a degree in nursing, which hopefully will enable her to work up the ladder at the hospital.
But for now, she has decided waitressing is the best option.
“This job is easy. You come in, make cash, and don’t have any worries about what you have to do the next day. No paperwork either – you just leave when you’re done and go on about your day and you don’t bring any work home,” Welsh said. “Plus, the availability is really flexible. The management staff works with you. If you have kids, like I do, they’re there to make sure you get scheduled for shifts in which you can actually work.”
Although Welsh may be underemployed, she appreciates the convenience of her career. “I started working here thinking I would just be in the business for a year or so,” Welsh said. “I didn’t think I would be able to make a living out of it, but at the end of the day it really is convenient.”
