Underemployment still issue in Wiregrass

A college degree does not guarantee a job.
Just ask Ellen Bura.
After earning her bachelor of science degree in business administration in December of last year, Bura expected to face some difficulty in her hunt for administration jobs, especially given the country’s economic downturn. She just didn’t expect to be shut out completely.
“I knew it was going to be tough, but I didn’t think it was going to be as hard as it was,” said Bura, 23, who now works as a teller at Regions Bank in Dothan. “It was hard to even get an interview. I would get letters back saying I’m not qualified and won’t even get an interview, or the position’s been filled.”
Her problem is not an uncommon one.
According to Sam Addy, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, 24.2 percent of full-time working Alabamians are underemployed.
Addy is completing a study on underemployment for the state after tracking underemployment numbers for three years. He defines underemployment as the number of full-time workers whose skills and education are not utilized properly in their current jobs.
Scott Crews, 24, works as a server for Santa Fe Cattle Co. Steakhouse in Troy after graduating last December with a degree in sports and fitness management. He blames his own procrastination and the limitations of his degree for his difficulties finding a job in his field.
“I was not prepared for a job right when I got out, because I was still debating whether to go to grad school, and I didn’t have a job lined up,” Crews said. “I went to a couple of job fairs trying to find a job that I could use my degree for, but not a lot of job fairs have occupations that are related to my major. It’s kind of a new skill, since the major’s only about 10 years old.”
Crews’ story is similar to that of Matt Reynolds, though their degrees are completely unrelated.
Reynolds graduated in May 2007 with a bachelor of science degree in biology. He, too, waited until after graduation to begin his job search. He quickly discovered he’d need more school before finding a biology-related job.
“I honestly wasn’t that aggressive (before graduation),” said Reynolds, 26, who now works as a teller at Redstone Federal Credit Union in Huntsville. “I wish I had started earlier. Looking for a job is not a very ego boosting experience. I worked at a restaurant for a while before I found the job I have now. I only applied for science-type jobs, but when I didn’t hear back, I started applying anywhere.”
Addy says underemployment can be caused by an array of issues.
“The major cause of underemployment is the innate productivity growth, because people have the ability to learn,” Addy said. “When people learn at their job, they tend to do things better and quicker, often to maximize their leisure time. Others are underemployed because they live in places where there is a lack of job opportunities.”
“Some are underemployed because of retirement or disability. They adjust to their disability status and become less productive,” he added. “Others are underemployed by choice, because they take part-time jobs, maybe because a spouse takes a really, really good job. Others are forced to be underemployed because of child care and other family care-type situations.”
For some, it comes down to surviving until they can catch a career-related break.
“It took me three years to get a job in my field,” said Kerry Wilson, who graduated from Troy in May 2005 with a degree in print journalism. “It took me eight months just to get a job at all (after graduation), and I put in over 100 job applications. I got, maybe, eight to 10 interviews out of that. My main problem was I was either overqualified because I had a degree or underqualified because I had no experience. In the real world, employers would rather hire someone with no education and 15 years of experience as opposed to someone with a college degree.”
The reality is the job market largely depends upon the degree.
“With college graduates, it depends on what you majored in. The evidence shows that unemployment rates decrease as education attainment increases,” Addy said.
For many college graduates, Addy says, the problem lies not in the field, but in their own geographical preferences.
“Typically, as you find someone like that, it is probably because they are not willing to move where the job is rather than they can’t find a job, because all you have to do is take a bunch of Sunday papers and you’ll know there are jobs for people,” Addy said.
Several Troy graduates admitted they limited their job searches to within the state.
“I was wanting to stay in the Troy area. I liked it too much to leave,” Crews said. “I started applying for jobs between Dothan and Montgomery.”
Bura, Reynolds and Wilson also kept their applications limited to within the state after graduation. Crews, however, says he’s learned a valuable lesson.
“I’m still searching for a full-time job. I’m concentrating more on (my degree), and a couple have popped up, one in Montgomery and one in West Virginia,” he said. “One of the things I have to realize is if God’s calling me to go elsewhere, to stop searching in Troy and find a better job somewhere else.”
According to Addy, many college graduates limit their searches because of a desire to pursue masters degrees.
“They may be considering continuing school. We find those who would like to go to grad school don’t mind at all taking a job that doesn’t challenge their skillsets,” he said.
Reynolds took some time to consider graduate school, which he views as a requirement for biology graduates, but decided to pursue “the real world.”
“A biology degree is meant to go to med school or pharmacy school. I decided I didn’t want to go back to school,” Reynolds said. “I decided I wanted to work instead of go to more school.”
Reynolds is now seriously considering graduate school, while Crews is growing less interested in that prospect.
Crews says he would like to pursue a masters in the future, but is now more willing to search for jobs outside the state and look for full-time employment.
Bura says she enjoys her current job, but is still searching for opportunities.
“I love my job, and I love the people I work with, so I’m willing to stay and work my way up, but I would still love to go ahead and have a job in my degree,” Bura said.
According to Wilson, Bura’s wait could be a long one.
“Somebody just has to take a chance on you. Usually, you’ve got to know somebody to get (a job in your chosen field). If you don’t know anybody, you’re screwed,” Wilson said.