Do you feel stagnant in your job that doesn’t challenge or offer the opportunities you want? Or, Are you feeling undervalued and underpaid in your current job? Actually, this is the feeling of many employees who are doing jobs or are employed.
In the current situation, every year, lakhs of people are completing their graduation or above degrees and are just hoping to get a job. They struggled and studied hard to rank top in college. It’s all for getting admission to top colleges so that they can get high-packaged jobs. But unfortunately, many of them are either not getting jobs or are forced to do very low-rank jobs as per their qualification. Many people who are working always feel jobless or underemployed. Why did such happen? Then, what is the meaning of underemployed? How are underemployed people different from unemployed ones? How can we change it?
In this article, you get the answer to all the questions. Read it!
What is the meaning of underemployed?
Underemployed is a condition when employees or workers working in any job do not use their skills, qualification, and experience to the best of their potential. It is a situation where a candidate does not get the appropriate money or value according to their skills, qualification, or experience. Overqualification can also be called underemployment because an employee can not be able to make proper use of what they already have. In simple words, underemployed means when an employee does not get enough money for their living.
For instance, you might have heard the news of West Bengal, where 11 lakh people, including Ph.D. and postgraduate degrees, have applied for the School Service Commission’s 9000 vacancies for Group D and clerical posts.
Here is also news of another example Uttar Pradesh.
3,700 PHDs holders, 50,000 graduates, 28,000 Post Graduates have applied for 62 posts of "Peon" in UP police. #graduates #Jobs#2CroreJobs https://t.co/UZg7d04zBU
— Dr Vivek Pandey (@Vivekpandey21) October 21, 2018
We can get countless such examples if we read, watch, or listen to the news.
How are underemployed people different from unemployed ones?
Unemployed people are those people who are capable of doing work but are not engaged in any work that pays them. They are not engaged in any gainful or profitable occupation. In simple words, they are known as jobless or unemployed. But underemployed is a little different from this. Underemployed people are those people who are not paid enough or are not doing work that makes their full use of abilities and skills. Any people who are searching for jobs but fail to get according to their choice and finally are forced to do a part-time job in place of full-time jobs can also be termed as underemployment.
Signs of underemployed
Overqualification
Actually, there is no problem in acquiring the highest degree or multiple degrees. It gives you a special identity in society. But many people who hold the highest degree do not get jobs per their qualifications, skills, and experience. They are bound to do work below their educational level.
Work the same thing everyday
Everyday day in and day out. It’s the exact same thing, with no changes and no surprises. This is the thing that makes you feel bored and stuck in one place. It demotivates you as you do not find any growth in money or position. You feel aimless in your life. Hence it hurts your career and soul in the long term.
Prefer profession over passion
There are many people for whom getting a job is a dream. On the contrary, there are many people who are working in various organisations or companies. Among them, some are satisfied, and some aren’t. Though there are many reasons but one of the big reasons is engaging in a profession that is not their passion. Passion is your inner desire or own choice, but a profession is something you are forced to do to earn your livelihood.
Increases poverty level
When an employee accepts a job that does not match their skills, they get a poor wage, and their families are unable to consume numerous products and services. It decreases consumer demand, inhibits economic expansion, and raises poverty rates.
Earning low than your actual value
If you are well-skilled, qualified, and experienced and not getting paid according to that, it means you are underemployed. Also, if you are not getting any desired jobs being a highly qualified and experienced candidate, it means you are underemployed.
Don’t feel challenged
When you begin to work with any company, you are very excited because you will be able to learn something new each day. But eventually, your excitement wore off because no new projects came your way, and you found nothing new to learn. Then you started feeling that your career has become stagnant and that there is no future scope for progress and promotion.
Feeling disengaged and unmotivated
You’re more prone to lose interest in and lose motivation at work if you’re not challenged, learning new things, and doing the same thing repeatedly. It’s uncommon to find someone who enjoys their job every minute of every day, but in general, those who have occupations that are a good match for their degree and experience tend to be driven and enthusiastic about what they do.
Having low or no experience
While you are studying at schools, colleges, or universities, always try to learn things in a practical way rather than only theoretically. Practical things help to strengthen your experience. There are many jobs that prefer experience rather than qualification. Hence your low skill or no experience can be a great cause of underemployment.
Too much competition from technology
With the advent of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), much work can be done within a short time. They have become an important part of many organisations or companies. Hence many people fear losing their jobs. If you do not improve your skills, you may face the situation of underemployment.
Ways to change it
To avoid the issues of being underemployed, read the below-mentioned ways:
Maintain a record
Every day maintain a work-to-do list and check what you have done and what is yet to be. It is a great way to keep a check on you and track your work progress.
Careful about time
You might have heard a common quote “Time is money, and money is time.” It means saving you time is equal to saving your money. Complete your task within the time. Don’t procrastinate.
Gain experience as per job requirement
If you think that only pursuing the highest degrees will going easy for you to get jobs, then you are wrong. You must understand the job requirement and the learned skill according to that.
Pursue professional course
Add a professional course to your career because it will help you to get jobs easily.
Design your resume perfectly
Your resume acts as your biodata, where you have mentioned all your skills, qualification, experiences, and many more. It is such a paper that creates your first impression. So it is essential to make it presentable and attractive.
Build a strong network
Networking with others is a fantastic strategy to increase your chances of being offered a good position. Attending various networking events and meeting new people can help a lot to get your dream job. These people could be able to put you in touch with open vacancies and facilitate your hiring for a full-time, well-paying position.
Do Internship
Many government or private companies want to hire only experienced candidates. So while you are studying in your final years in your colleges or universities, start doing the internship.
