Four College Majors Most Likely to Leave Students Unemployed

A college degree is seen by many as a path to career success and a higher salary, but some majors may actually make you more likely to remain unemployed. Experts talked to Newsweek about why this is so.

A new report from education research group Degreechoices found that criminal justice graduates have the highest rate of underemployment at 71.5 percent, while performing arts, art history, hospitality and humanities majors are soon behind.

The unemployment rate in all sectors of the economy was also relatively high. While criminal justice had an unemployment rate of 2.8 percent, other degrees ranged from 4 to 8 percent.

The study was based on 2022 data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the share of graduates working in jobs that do not require a college degree in a specific field.

Underemployment was also determined in part by the average salary for each college degree for both early- and mid-career graduates.

The list of the five most underemployed majors was as follows: criminal justice, performing arts, art history, leisure and hospitality, and humanities.

While the average salary for criminal justice majors for those just starting their careers was $41,000, performing arts majors had an even lower average salary of $38,000.

The hospitality industry had an underemployment rate of 57.6 percent and an average early-career salary of $39,700, while humanities majors earned just $38,000 and an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent.

“This study highlights the importance of understanding the career prospects associated with different college degrees,” a Degreechoices spokesperson said in a statement. “With criminal justice graduates having the highest rate of underemployment at 71.5 percent, it is important that students are informed of the potential job market challenges they may face after graduation.”

Despite high underemployment rates in some of these majors, human resources consultant Brian Driscoll said students continue to be pushed into certain career fields that don’t fit their price tags.

“For example, criminal justice is high on the list because it is touted as a path to law enforcement or a career in law,” Driscoll said. News. “But the reality is that many of these jobs pay poorly and offer little opportunity for advancement. When you prepare for a niche industry, you get stuck if the job market changes or those fields become oversaturated, as they often do.”

Driscoll urged students to think about what they are being sold on before choosing a major.

“College is not the pathway to a job like it used to be,” Driscoll said. “And when that path now leads to massive debt and limited opportunity, then perhaps this system needs to be fixed.”

Americans currently owe about $1.75 trillion in student loan debt, but President Joe Biden has approved various forms of loan forgiveness.

“Most of the majors in the top 10 have struggled with both unemployment and underemployment for years,” said Alex Bean, a professor of financial literacy at the University of Tennessee at Martin. News.

“Some jobs, such as those in the performing and visual arts, are not that easy to get, and ultimately a graduate with this degree may have to rely on other endeavors to supplement their income.”

For criminal justice professionals in particular, jobs aren’t necessarily hard to come by, but there are other issues that lead to underemployment, Bean said.

“Many businesses are desperate to attract new talent. It has more to do with the stress of these positions mixed with long hours and an income that, while decent, seems insufficient given the numerous responsibilities required,” Bean said.