Talent+Disrupted+02212024.pdf

Detailed Summary of the Study: "Talent Disrupted – February 2024"

Key Findings:

• High Rates of Underemployment:
  • 52% of college graduates are underemployed within one year of graduation.
  • 45% remain underemployed even after ten years【8:15†Talent Disrupted.
  • Underemployment is particularly persistent for those who start in non-college-level jobs, with 73% remaining underemployed a decade later.
  • Severity: five years after completion, 88% of the individuals were severely underemployed, that is, working in jobs that typically require only a high school education or less, such as jobs in office support, retail sales, food service, and blue-collar roles in construction, transportation, and manufacturing.

• Impact of First Job:
  • Graduates who begin in college-level jobs have an 86% chance of remaining employed in such roles ten years later.
  • Conversely, starting with underemployment significantly limits long-term career prospects.

• Degree Field Disparities:
  • STEM fields such as engineering, computer science, and math have higher employment rates (e.g., 74% of engineering graduates secure a college-level job).
  • Fields such as biology and liberal arts face lower employment rates, with only 53% of biology graduates in college-level jobs five years post-graduation【8:0†Talent Disrupted】.
  • Math-intensive business majors like accounting and finance report higher employment rates compared to general business majors (76% vs. 30%)【8:0†Talent Disrupted.

• Earnings Disparities:
  • College-level employed graduates earn a median annual salary of $60,000.
  • Underemployed graduates earn $40,000—33% lower than their counterparts in degree-required roles【8:9†Talent Disrupted】.
  • Severely underemployed graduates (those in jobs requiring no formal education) earn only $32,000 per year.

• Role of Internships:
  • Graduates who complete internships are significantly less likely to be underemployed (by approximately 31.5%)【8:14†Talent Disrupted】.
  • Internship experience is one of the most influential factors in securing a degree-relevant job.
• Influence of University institutional type: