There is no such thing as "underemployed" if all you have is a piece of paper hanging on the wall.
How about a condensation-There is no such thing as "underemployment". It is a silly fascist myth. Or an insult.
I myself have an MBA, I actually found it invaluable in understanding economics(since I questioned what I was presented), and am even pursuing a MA in History. The MBA is little more than a badge though, if that, in the business world, whereas my History MA will be in essence a teaching degree(and I'm on a long term Doctoral track). Here though I know the system is utterly flooded with government booty, I have the sense I might do some good-after all, everyone must take a entry level history course. I'm a voluntaryist, so my History class might be a bit...unique. (actually, I'm hoping to get my thesis, The Propaganda of Knighthood as it Relates to the Growth of the State in the Hundred Years War, published academically with the help of my Prof.-quite a coup, and a virtual guarantee of teaching jobs...even before the doctorate).
I sell toilet paper wholesale, and enjoy my gig, and am not "underemployed". What an insulting term for anyone who works for a living...seriously, take that odorous, statist, terminology and go get fucked. Now.
How about there is such a thing as underemployment. Unemployed is defined as people who cannot find jobs - they were laid off, are between jobs, or have an excuse (albeit it often is a shitty excuse).
Underemployment is people who were employed, became unemployed, then managed to find employment below the compensation standards of their previous employment or in hours, or they are employed in a capacity under that of their trade. For example an experienced welder who cannot find a welding job, working as warehouse labor.
Underemployment is usually a temporary phase in the job cycle of the individual, where the local economy is not in a boom phase and the job seeker has to "settle". People with experience really don't like to do the settling, because they have to learn a new job and it drastically impedes the job hunt in their field - everyone knows its pretty hard to get to the interview when you have a job-related commitment.
Similarly there is underemployment in the white collar world as well, there is competition in the job market between graduates and the experienced for a limited number of professional positions. Their degree may have been ill-chosen, and there are
no positions. And just as likely, there are a limited number of positions in a saturated market, and the new graduate has to deal with the catch-22 situation of need experience to get the job.
The experienced manager is all-too aware of these difficulties in the job market, and has reasons for not wanting to hire the inexperienced graduate. Mostly because its more economical to hire an experienced person over an inexperienced one, because of the learning curve parallels. A new employee with experience will still have a learning curve within the job, until they become proficient with the localized specifics. But they know the inexperienced graduate may be using them to gain entry-level experience, and is prone to flight when a better employment source takes them on, which wastes the valuable job training and high turn-over is extremely expensive.
Where the term of underemployment does not fit the definition is when the inexperienced graduate wrongly assigns it to himself. They are not underemployed until they have a skillset which includes experience. If they are employed in a job that does not correspond to their degree, they are simply employed and seeking a career in their field of study.
Even more laughable is when the inexperienced assigns himself the presumptuous title of "overqualified", which should be reserved for the experienced professional who is getting squeezed out of entry-level positions by new grads for similar reasons, mainly the risk of short-term expectations based on an outstanding resume' which includes experience, and not a simple accumulation of certifications. The overqualified will be a saturation effect as a boom cycle begins to contract, but since salary commensurates with experience it may be a more economically viable option to choose the less experienced candidate, put him in an entry-level position and raise the workforce from within. The existence of overqualified applicants seeking underemployment will give a more positive light to the graduate, as it is a signal that upward flight is less likely due to the saturation from above which is necessitating the overqualified to seek underemployment.
Personally, I don't care what the degree or field is, because the applicant isn't worth much without experience - which is doubly proven by a employers willingness to take them over the overqualified - that experience is a valid argument for a higher wage.
If you have an MBA you should know that.
The Free Talk Live BBS
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Topic: Underemployed with MBA's (Read 18075 times)