[ghaff]

I generally agree with your comment though I'm not sure what underemployment in philosophy even looks like. (And I could probably say the same of a lot of liberal arts.) Yes, it's not working at McDonald's But it could mean not making a whole lot more working at a publishing house.

[shagie]

Underemployment is working at a job that doesn't require that degree.

https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market#--:...

> What is your definition of underemployment?

> The definition of underemployment is based on the kinds of jobs held by college graduates. A college graduate working in a job that typically does not require a college degree is considered underemployed. This analysis uses survey data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Education and Training Questionnaire to help determine whether a bachelor’s degree is required to perform a job. The articles cited above describe the approach in detail.

> Some additional research that utilizes these data include “Working as a Barista After College Is Not as Common as You Might Think” (Liberty Street Economics).

https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2016/01/workin...

[ghaff]

I read it as a little more general than that.

>A college graduate working in a job that typically does not require a college degree is considered underemployed.

So, it's not just about philosophy majors working in a job that doesn't require a philosophy degree but about any college grad working in a job that doesn't require a degree--which according to this thread presumably includes developer jobs but that's a bit of a stretch :-) given that it often requires a degree.

[shagie]

My read on it is that it doesn't require that degree.

Working in a job that requires a college degree (but doesn't care what it is) would be underemployed for anyone with a degree... even though it requires a degree.

The "does it require a degree" is likely based on the BLS definition for the job... even if people say that you can get it without.

Developer - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/...

Computer support - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/...

Food server - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/food-an...