Just last week we asked "Is college waste of time and money?" [4] It appears, based on the latest data from the BLS, that for all too many, it absolutely is. As CNN Money reports [5], about 260,000 people who had a college or professional degree made at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 last year.
[6]
Via CNN Money [5],
Experts point to shifts in the post-recession labor market as the reason for so many college graduates in low-paying jobs.
"The only jobs that we're growing are low-wage jobs, and at the same time, wages across occupations, especially in low-wage jobs, are declining," said Tsedeye Gebreselassie, a staff attorney at the worker advocacy group National Employment Law Project.
...
Some 58% of the jobs created during the recent economic recovery have been low-wage positions like retail and food prep workers, according to a 2012 NELP report. These low-wage jobs had a median hourly wage of $13.83 or less.
Perhaps the following sums it all up perfectly...
"My family told me, 'just get your degree and it will be fine,'" Bingham told CNNMoney. "A degree looks very nice, but I don't have a job to show for it."