15 Worst College Majors for Today’s Job Market

While a degree is still an advantage in today’s job market, the right major can make the difference between being happily employed and woefully underemployed. Some majors are clearly failing. Millions of Americans are underemployed, according to a new report from PayScale.

Not using their education and training is the primary reason why respondents consider themselves underemployed. In the survey, 79% of men and 72% of women say they are underemployed because of their education and training going to waste. The report elaborates:

People who can’t find full time work in the field they studied often end up taking part time work, or working in jobs unrelated to their field of study. The danger of underemployment is that if you’re not using the skills you learned and want to develop, those skills will atrophy, leaving you less able to compete for the jobs you actually want.

Additionally, underemployed workers begin to disengage from their jobs, resulting in sub-par performance, further damaging future job prospects.

In general, you’re more likely to feel underemployed if you have a lower level of education (no higher than an associate’s degree, GE, or high school diploma). However, a bachelor’s degree isn’t necessarily your ticket to professional bliss. Let’s look at the 15 worst college majors for today’s job market, according to PayScale.

15. Paralegal

• Underemployed level: 50.9%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 86.7%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 13.3%

14. Health Sciences

• Underemployed level: 50.9%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 77.1%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 22.9%

13. Exercise Science

• Underemployed level: 51%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 65.6%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 34.4%

12. Animal Science

• Underemployed level: 51.1%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 83.7%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 16.3%

11. Creative Writing

• Underemployed level: 51.1%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 76.2%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 23.8%

10. Human Development & Family Studies

• Underemployed level: 51.5%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 75%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 25%

9. Education

• Underemployed level: 51.8%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 77.7%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 22.3%

8. Health Care Administration

• Underemployed level: 51.8%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 83.3%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 16.7%

7. Studio Art

• Underemployed level: 52%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 69%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 32.2%

6. Radio/Television & Film Production

• Underemployed level: 52.6%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 68.4%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 31.6%

5. Project Management

• Underemployed level: 52.8%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 91.5%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 8.5%

4. Criminal Justice

• Underemployed level: 53%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 87.4%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 12.8%

3. Illustration

• Underemployed level: 54.7%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 74.5%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 25.5%

2. Human Services (HS)

• Underemployed level: 55.6%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 82.2%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 17.8%

1. Physical Education Teaching

• Underemployed level: 56.4%
• Underemployed for education reasons: 79.1%
• Underemployed due to part-time work: 20.9%

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