Feb. 27, 2013 - Issue #906: Tegan and Sara - Pop goes their world
Over qualified, under employed
Tip your barista, her degree was expensive
/ ©iStockphoto.com/steele2123
This year, thousands of Edmonton students will finish the endurance test that is higher education. Battle-scarred from four-plus years of classes, cramming and exams, they'll emerge from the jungle of academia with their prize clutched triumphantly in trembling fist: a degree.
Many will be typing BA or BSc onto their new resumés, as arts and science degrees are the most common. Then, proudly and with hard-won credentials in hand—and often in debt thousands of dollars—they'll give the job market the ol' college try. But for many, the dream of a well-paying and fulfilling career doing something challenging and stimulating will only find jobs that require, at most, a high school diploma. That dude frothing milk for your latte could have a master's degree in etymology and some hard-earned, frustrated opinions on liberal arts education.
Donald Lenz has a BA in sociology and works in the oil-and-lube bay at an Edmonton car dealership. The 30-year-old thought the job would be a stop-gap between college and a career in the public sector or with a not-for-profit. Like more than half of post-secondary grads in Canada, he owes serious money in student loans; the average debt for a bachelor's degree is $20 000 to $25 000, with a third of grads owing more than $25 000. Since he graduated in 2010, Lenz has been paying more on student loans than rent on his apartment. And he'll keep doing that each and every month—until 2025.
"When I started school, there were lots of good jobs out there and I thought I'd have no trouble paying off these loans," Lenz says. "But the jobs I wanted had so many people competing for them and there are more people graduating with my qualifications every year. You start to ask yourself: why did I do this?"
He's one of hundreds of thousands of overqualified young Canadians who thought a degree was a ticket to financial security, complete with the benefits and pensions enjoyed by their parents. A 2006 Statistics Canada report said 20 percent of university grads are working jobs that require, if anything, just a high school diploma; and nearly half of all Canadians under 30 have experienced underqualification at some time. The underemployed are paid less, have less job security and are often frustrated and dissatisfied with their jobs.
That's not to say that a degree is worthless—far from it. Nationally, university degree holders have the lowest levels of unemployment, at 4.6 percent for men and 8.4 percent for women, according to StatsCan. And more education typically comes with a higher salary, with master's and doctoral degree holders earning, on average, more than $60 000 annually.
But some degrees are more likely to land you pouring coffees or slinging beers to make rent. In follow-up surveys, a third of all liberal arts grads from Grant MacEwan and the University of Alberta said their degrees were "not at all related" to their current jobs. Just 21 percent of BA in Sociology holders from Grant MacEwan found full-time work related to their education. Representatives from the U of A declined an interview request asking for comments on the career prospects of a BA, and Grant MacEwan didn't respond by press deadline.
You've heard the old joke trotted out whenever someone with an arts degree ends up in the service industry: "Well, what did they expect, majoring in (insert ridiculously obscure topic here)." But students aren't idiots. Clearly there are more pragmatic ways of locking in a steady nine-to-five than studying philosophy texts or learning about ancient cave paintings.
Jennie Vegt says she prefers underemployment if it means she can pursue her passion for painting. Vegt, 26, considers herself a realist and originally considered being an accountant. But instead of counting beans, she studied art at Grant MacEwan and the U of A where she earned a BFA in painting. Now, she works as a server at O'Byrne's Irish Pub and paints on the side. She knew full-well the rocky career prospects as even some of her teachers at the university, who are considered successful artists, worked side jobs in retail.
"I didn't want money to be the bottom line," she says. "I've always been a bit pessimistic about my career prospects with an arts degree. I know so many people who have a degree but are doing something totally different. But I wanted to try something I loved, not just something practical."
Vegt says she has no problem waitressing, despite being overqualified. The money from tips is good and she has free time to paint and showcase her art in galleries across the city. O'Byrne's even commissioned her to paint a mural in the lady's bathroom. Although her nuanced skills with a brush and canvas aren't required in the average serving shift, the bar has crept into her painting: Vegt says she's found herself painting people sitting at tables, beer glasses in hand.
Still, she says she's "grudgingly" considering going back to school for a more-employable course on illustration. Lenz, the sociology major, is in his first year of the Human Resources Management program at Grant MacEwan, a career choice he knows is financially secure, especially with Alberta's booming job market.
And they're far from the only people heading back for more education. Nearly half of all students applying to NAIT already have some kind of post-secondary training. The polytechnic's President and CEO Dr Glenn Feltham says that's no coincidence. NAIT has active partnerships with industry, who sit down with the school to work on curricula that will produce highly employable grads. And, unlike local universities, NAIT advertises projected salaries and the chances a student will score a job in their desired field.
"The education you get at NAIT is directly relevant to getting a good career," Feltham says. "Our four pillars are science, technology and the environment, trades, business and health care. Those happen to be the four areas that have the most job shortages in this province and the four areas the Alberta government have highlighted as priorities."
The fact is, a two-year technical diploma or certificate can have much more currency in Alberta than a more expensive and time-consuming general degree—especially since the oil sands are going to need at least 15 000 more skilled workers by 2021.
Some, like Jakki Hau, are capitalizing on this statistic. The 22-year-old got her Power Engineering Third Class certificate at Portage College in her hometown of Lac La Biche. A full 12 months of the two-year course was a paid field placement. For two years now, Hau has been making more than $100 000 a year monitoring the steam-generation equipment at an oil-and-gas camp near Conklin, where she is the youngest person on her crew and one of the only female employees.
Hau says she enjoys her job and would stick with it as a career even if it paid far less.
"Money isn't everything, but I'm really blessed to be doing this job," Hau says. "Although camp life takes some getting used to, I can definitely see myself doing this as a career."
With one of the lowest unemployment rates in North America, finding a job in this province isn't a challenge. But Alberta is an exporter of oil—and unfortunately for students of the humanities and social sciences—not of cultural capital. Future scholars will want to ask hard questions about the chances of finding a career in their chosen field of study, or at least prepare to invest more money and time getting further education. For the thousands of young people graduating this year with a liberal arts degree, the real test might just be starting.
More stories in front »
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