Why does the first job matter so much?
Because the evidence shows it tends to stick. Graduates who begin in a college-level job usually stay on that track, while those who start out underemployed often remain there for years.
The numbers are striking. According to the Burning Glass Institute and the Strada Institute for the Future of Work in their 2024 'Talent Disrupted' report, 79% of graduates who start in a college-level role are still in one five years later. On the other side, 73% of those who begin underemployed are still underemployed ten years on, and 45% remain underemployed a full decade out. Researchers describe this as a scarring effect, and the practical takeaway is uncomfortable but useful: the first job sets a trajectory, so the sooner you correct course, the easier the correction.
This is not about panic. It is about urgency with a plan. If you are in a role that does not require your degree, you have the most leverage right now, while your education is recent and your story is easy to tell.
How common is underemployment right now, and does my major matter?
It is very common, and yes, your major shapes your starting difficulty, though it does not determine your outcome.
The labor market for recent graduates stayed challenging through the second quarter of 2026. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's report The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates, published August 24, 2026, the unemployment rate for recent grads sat at about 5.6% and the underemployment rate edged up to about 42%. That underemployment figure, covering graduates aged 22 to 27 with a bachelor's degree or higher who are working in jobs that do not normally require a college degree, is the highest level since 2020, as reported by Forbes writer Michael T. Nietzel in February 2026.
The same reporting shows sharp variation by field. Criminal justice majors had the highest underemployment rate at 65.8%, followed by performing arts at 63.9%, with several other arts, humanities, and social science majors above 50%. If you graduated in one of these fields, you are not failing personally; you are navigating a structural pattern. Knowing that changes how you frame your search. You are competing to signal specific, degree-level capability, not apologizing for your diploma.
What concrete steps actually move you into a degree-level role?
Start by naming the exact roles you want and reverse-engineering what they require. Then close the gap deliberately rather than waiting for a better job to find you.
Begin with target clarity. Pull ten to fifteen real job postings for the kind of degree-level position you want, not the one you have. Read them for the repeated phrases: the tools, responsibilities, and outcomes that keep appearing. Those repetitions are your roadmap. They tell you what language recruiters scan for and what competencies you need to demonstrate.
Next, reframe your current job as evidence, not as a dead end. Even a role that does not use your degree produces transferable proof: you managed a process, hit a metric, handled customers under pressure, or improved something measurable. Rewrite your resume so each line leads with a result and a number where you have one. A hiring manager reading your resume should see judgment, ownership, and impact, not a job title that seems off-track. The goal is to make the leap feel small on paper.
Third, build proof of skill outside your job. This is the fastest way to counter the perception that you lack degree-level experience. Complete a portfolio project, take on a volunteer assignment that mirrors the work you want, earn a focused credential, or publish an analysis in your field. Underemployment often persists not because people lack ability but because they lack recent, visible evidence of that ability. Create the evidence.
Fourth, network toward people, not portals. Applying online alone puts you in the same anonymous pile as everyone else. Instead, identify people who already hold the role you want and ask them how they got there. Ask for fifteen minutes, come with specific questions, and follow up. Referrals and informational conversations consistently outperform cold applications because they attach a human endorsement to your name. Given the scarring effect the research describes, a single well-placed introduction can meaningfully change your trajectory.
Finally, protect your timeline. Set a review date, perhaps ninety days out, and hold yourself to concrete outputs by then: a rewritten resume, one finished project, ten informational conversations, and a set number of targeted applications. The point is to keep the search structured so that a temporary job does not quietly become a permanent one.
What if I have already been underemployed for a year or two?
You can still move, and the same playbook applies with one addition: control the narrative about the gap. Explain the pivot as a deliberate build, not a rescue. Talk about what you learned, what you built on the side, and why you are ready now.
The data on ten-year outcomes should motivate you rather than discourage you. Those percentages describe averages for people who did not intervene. They are not a verdict on anyone who acts. The graduates who escaped underemployment did specific things: they targeted, they proved skill, and they got in front of decision-makers. You can do the same, starting this week.