Predictive Characteristics of Adequate Employment in Baccalaureate-Prepared Graduates

Abstract

Underemployment, which occurs when baccalaureate degree holders are employed in occupations that do not require or fully use a college-level degree (Lederman, 2018), challenges the notion that a college degree alone adequately prepares a student for a satisfactory level of employment based on education level. During 2018 and 2019, the higher-ed capstone team conducted this study to identify predictive characteristics of underemployment among undergraduate alumni from a large, public, urban, Tier-1 research university. Although identifying underemployment characteristics was the primary impetus for the research, the team instead discovered three primary predictors of adequate employment from the analysis. Higher education institutions and policy leaders may be able to better ensure students gain employment, particularly during challenging economic times, by encouraging student participation in internships, extracurricular activities, and the selection of STEM majors.