Coaching and connections may eclipse credentials.

When it comes to underemployment, first-generation college graduates are hit harder than those with college educated parents. Studies found that 80% of first-generation and continuing-generation graduates were employed one year after earning their degrees. Only 44% of first-generation college graduates were working in jobs that required that earned degree compared to 52% of continuing-generation students.

Even with identical credentials, first-generation college graduates have a harder time finding a job than their counterparts who are better-coached and-connected. Many first-generations grads don’t have experience in the basics of professional job searches and don’t have parental guidance to aid them. Studies found that they are less knowledgeable as to how to compose resumes, how to act in interviews, and are less self-confident than continuing-generation grads. We have all heard that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know when it comes to landing a professional position.

First-generation graduates do not have the same professional connections or access as those whose parents are educated and are working in the professional realm. This often leads to them taking jobs in public and not-for-profit sectors which tend to offer lower salaries than private and for-profit employers. A study conducted in 2021 showed that households headed by a first-generation college graduate had a median income of almost $40,000 less than households headed by those with at least one college educated parent.

Although first-generation college graduates may have earned the same degree from the same university as continuing-generation graduates, the playing field is not level. A small number of institutions have created initiatives to assist these students with career building, however, studies show that first-gen students participate in extracurricular and cocurricular engagement at a much lower rate than continuing-gen students so these programs may not be heavily utilized. This gap is also evident in how individuals finance their education; first-generation college graduates are more likely to take on debt to pay for their educations than those with a college-educated parent. In fact, approximately only 20% of first-generation students participated in research projects or had internships while earning their degrees and were far more likely to accept full-time work rather than pursue graduate degrees than their counterparts. While anxious to begin earning an income, first-generation graduates tend to accept offers more quickly, accept lower pay and take jobs that they are overqualified for, thus falling into the cycle of underemployment. With these factors in mind, it is reasonable to conclude that financial concerns are a major factor in first-generation graduates falling into the cycle of underemployment.