Underemployed: The War On Job Satisfaction by Payscale
Job Satisfaction – Overview:
PayScale provides to you the percentage of underemployed workers, along with the reason for their underemployment, broken down by:
- Overall
- Educational level
- Gender
- Degree level + Major combination
In addition, the top 10 skills and top 30 job titles that are most relatively common among underemployed workers are listed.
Underemployed Overall
% Underemployed | %Underemployed Reason: Not Using EducationTraining | %Underemployed Reason: Part-Time Seeking Full-Time | |
Overall | 46% | 76% | 24% |
For underemployment reason, workers were further prompted, “Tell us more about your employment situation.” Response choices were between:
- “I am not working in a job that uses my education or training.”
- “I am working part-time but want full-time work.”
- We collected data from 962,956 workers between 3/21/2014 and 3/21/2016 to create this report.
Job Satisfaction – Underemployed By Education Level
Underemployed: The War On Job Satisfaction – Highlights:
- Overall, 46% of survey respondents consider themselves underemployed. Of these respondents, 76% say they are not using their education/training while 24% say they are working only part-time but would like full-time work.
- There is a general trend where those at lower educational levels are more likely to be underemployed than those at higher educational levels.
- Doctors of Medicine (MD) degree holders (30%) have the lowest percentage of underemployment, followed by Doctorate (Ph.D.) holders (34%).
- Workers with some college coursework but no degree (57%) have the highest percentage of underemployment, followed by GED holders and high school graduates (52%).
- Interestingly, the percentage of underemployment is higher for workers with some college coursework but no college degree (57%) than for workers with only a GED or high school diploma (52%).
- 90% of underemployed MBA degree holders reported they are not using their education and training.
- Females (49%) are more likely to be underemployed than males (43%). Among underemployed females, the majority (73%) are not using their education/training.
- The most relatively common jobs among underemployed workers are system support technician (2.30), front end supervisor (2.03), and dog groomer and bather (1.96). There are many service jobs on this list.
- The top three job titles of workers who are most often working part-time but are seeking full-time work are: 1. System Support Technician; 2. Front End Supervisor; 3. Dog Groomer and Bather.
- The Degree Level/Major of workers who most commonly report being underemployed are: Physical Education Teaching/Bachelor (% Underemployed: 56.4%), Human Services/Bachelor (55.6%), Illustration/Bachelor (54.7%), Criminal Justice/Bachelor (53%), Project Management/Bachelor (52.8%)
Underemployed by Degree + Major
Rank | Degree Level | Major | % Underemployed | %Underemployed Reason: Not Using EducationTraining | %Underemployed Reason: Part-Time Seeking Full-Time |
1 | Bachelor | Physical Education Teaching | 56.4% | 79.1% | 20.9% |
2 | Bachelor | Human Services (HS) | 55.6% | 82.2% | 17.8% |
3 | Bachelor | Illustration | 54.7% | 74.5% | 25.5% |
4 | Bachelor | Criminal Justice | 53.0% | 87.4% | 12.8% |
5 | Bachelor | Project Management | 52.8% | 91.5% | 8.5% |
6 | Bachelor | Radio/Television & Film Production | 52.6% | 68.4% | 31.6% |
7 | Bachelor | Studio Art | 52.0% | 69.0% | 32.2% |
8 | Bachelor | Health Care Administration | 51.8% | 83.3% | 16.7% |
8 | Bachelor | Education | 51.8% | 77.7% | 22.3% |
10 | Bachelor | Human Development & Family Studies | 51.5% | 75.0% | 25.0% |
11 | Bachelor | Creative Writing | 51.1% | 76.2% | 23.8% |
11 | Bachelor | Animal Science | 51.1% | 83.7% | 16.3% |
13 | Bachelor | Exercise Science | 51.0% | 65.6% | 34.4% |
14 | Bachelor | Health Sciences | 50.9% | 77.1% | 22.9% |
14 | Bachelor | Paralegal Studies | 50.9% | 86.7% | 13.3% |
16 | Bachelor | Theatre | 50.8% | 72.9% | 27.1% |
17 | Bachelor | Art History | 50.7% | 77.4% | 22.6% |
1 | Master | Criminal Justice | 54.3% | 89.2% | 10.8% |
2 | Master | Master of Human Services (MHS) | 51.6% | 80.0% | 20.0% |
3 | Master | Public Administration | 49.1% | 87.1% | 12.9% |
4 | Master | Business Management | 48.6% | 92.3% | 7.7% |
5 | Master | Mental Health Counseling | 48.0% | 66.9% | 33.1% |
6 | Master | Organizational Leadership | 47.2% | 93.6% | 6.4% |
7 | Master | Theology | 47.2% | 59.3% | 40.7% |
7 | Master | History | 47.1% | 79.2% | 20.8% |
9 | Master | Education | 47.0% | 76.0% | 24.0% |
10 | Master | Human Resources Management (HRM) | 46.9% | 85.3% | 14.7% |
11 | Master | Project Management | 46.8% | 90.2% | 9.8% |
12 | Master | Counseling | 46.4% | 70.6% | 29.4% |
13 | Master | International Relations | 45.7% | 91.0% | 10.1% |
14 | Master | Master of Fine Arts (MFA) | 45.6% | 58.3% | 42.4% |
15 | Master | Psychology | 45.3% | 80.2% | 19.8% |
1 | MBA | Global Business Management | 50.3% | 90.0% | 10.0% |
2 | MBA | Human Resources Management (HRM) | 49.2% | 87.6% | 12.4% |
3 | MBA | Leadership | 49.0% | 90.1% | 9.9% |
4 | MBA | Business Management | 45.3% | 89.9% | 10.3% |
5 | MBA | Project Management | 45.2% | 88.3% | 11.7% |
6 | MBA | International Business | 44.4% | 91.4% | 8.6% |
7 | MBA | Operations Management (OM) | 42.4% | 90.9% | 9.1% |
8 | MBA | Health Care Administration | 42.1% | 95.0% | 5.8% |
9 | MBA | General Business | 41.5% | 90.3% | 9.7% |
10 | MBA | Marketing | 41.4% | 83.9% | 16.1% |
11 | MBA | Master of Business Administration (MBA) | 41.3% | 89.9% | 10.2% |
12 | MBA | Accounting | 41.0% | 88.6% | 11.4% |
13 | MBA | Management Information Systems (MIS) | 40.6% | 84.6% | 15.4% |
14 | MBA | Supply Chain Management | 39.9% | 95.4% | 6.2% |
15 | MBA | Entrepreneurship | 36.5% | 88.2% | 11.8% |
1 | PhD | Computer Science (CS) | 31.3% | 75.6% | 24.4% |
2 | PhD | Clinical Psychology | 31.4% | 56.1% | 43.9% |
3 | PhD | Mechanical Engineering (ME) | 34.2% | 87.5% | 12.5% |
4 | PhD | Doctor of Education (EdD) | 42.8% | 69.8% | 30.2% |
Job Satisfaction – Underemployed By Gender
Job Satisfaction – Definitions:
Relative Commonness (For Underemployed): This is the relative commonness for underemployed workers compared to all U.S. workers. For example, the relative commonness for filing skills among the underemployed is 1.59, therefore, it is 1.59 times more likely for an underemployed worker to have filing skills than the average U.S. worker.
% Underemployed: This is the percentage of respondents who answered “Yes” to the question “Do you consider yourself underemployed?” or answered “I’m not sure” and did not answer “I am happily employed” when further prompted “Tell us more about your employment situation.”
% Underemployed Reason: Not Using EducationTraining: This is the percentage of respondents who answered “I am not working in a job that uses my education or training” when asked to “Tell us more about your employment situation.” This only applies to those who respond “Yes” or “I’m not sure” to the question “Do you consider yourself underemployed?”
% Underemployed Reason: Part-Time Seeking Full-Time: This is the percentage of respondents who answered “I am working part-time but want full-time work” when asked to “Tell us more about your employment situation.” This only applies to those who respond “Yes” or “I’m not sure” to the question “Do you consider yourself underemployed?”
Underemployed – Most Common Job
Rank | Job Title | Relative Commonness |
1 | System Support Technician | 2.30 |
2 | Front End Supervisor | 2.03 |
3 | Dog Groomer and Bather | 1.96 |
4 | Assistant Warehouse Manager | 1.94 |
5 | Yard Foreman | 1.93 |
6 | Restaurant Supervisor | 1.90 |
7 | Office Assistant/Database Administrator | 1.89 |
8 | Program Assistant, Non-Profit Organization | 1.88 |
9 | Assistant Restaurant Manager – Casual Dining | 1.87 |
10 | Shipping Manager | 1.84 |
11 | Assistant Office Manager | 1.82 |
12 | Hotel, Motel, or Resort Desk Clerk | 1.80 |
13 | Cafe Manager | 1.78 |
14 | Systems Technician (Computer) | 1.76 |
14 | Membership Coordinator | 1.76 |
14 | Dog Kennel Manager | 1.76 |
17 | Project Specialist | 1.75 |
17 | Senior Personal Banker | 1.75 |
19 | Bilingual Customer Service Representative | 1.74 |
20 | Meat Wrapper | 1.73 |
20 | Food Service Supervisor | 1.73 |
22 | Customer Support Specialist | 1.71 |
23 | Sales & Marketing Assistant | 1.70 |
23 | Embroiderer | 1.70 |
25 | Head Housekeeper | 1.69 |
25 | Financial Advisor Assistant | 1.69 |
25 | Construction Administrator | 1.69 |
25 | Technical Support Representative | 1.69 |
29 | Warehouse Team Leader | 1.68 |
29 | Dietary Supervisor | 1.68 |
Job Satisfaction – About PayScale:
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