The degree dilemma: 11 majors that no longer promise a direct path to a paycheck

For generations, earning a college degree was viewed as one of the safest investments a young person could make. While higher education still delivers significant long-term benefits on average, the connection between a bachelor’s degree and immediate employment has become far less predictable.

Recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that labor market conditions for college graduates have weakened considerably. The unemployment rate for recent graduates climbed to roughly 5.7% in late 2025, while the underemployment rate reached 42.5%, meaning nearly half of recent graduates were working in jobs that typically do not require a four-year degree.

The challenge is not evenly distributed across all fields of study. According to analyses of graduate outcomes, some majors continue to offer relatively direct pathways into degree-required careers, particularly in healthcare, education, and engineering. Others face much steeper odds. Criminal justice graduates, for example, have an underemployment rate above 67%, while performing arts, liberal arts, and anthropology majors also rank among the fields with the highest share of graduates working in jobs that don’t typically require a bachelor’s degree.

That doesn’t mean these degrees are worthless. Many graduates build successful careers over time, pursue advanced education, or leverage transferable skills in unexpected industries. But for students weighing tuition costs, student debt, and career prospects, it’s increasingly important to understand that some majors no longer provide the straightforward “graduate-and-get-hired” pathway they once seemed to promise.

Here are 11 majors that no longer guarantee a direct path to a paycheck.

Criminal justice

Criminal justice seems like a straight path into law enforcement, the courts, homeland security, or public safety. Then reality walks in wearing sensible shoes and carrying a budget spreadsheet.

New York Fed data cited by CBS News showed that recent criminal justice graduates had an underemployment rate near 66%, one of the clearest warning signs that the major often leads graduates into jobs that do not require a bachelor’s degree. The St. Louis Fed also listed criminal justice among the majors with the highest underemployment rates, with an earlier figure of 67.2% for recent graduates.

That does not mean the degree has no value. It means students need a tighter plan than “I like true crime podcasts, so maybe the FBI will call.” Public sector hiring moves slowly; many police and security roles do not require a four-year degree; and federal jobs often require exams, fitness standards, internships, military experience, or specialized credentials.

A criminal justice major is more effective when students add skills in data analysis, cybersecurity, forensic accounting, emergency management, or legal research before graduation.

Performing arts

Performing arts may feed the soul, but the rent usually wants cash, not applause. New York Fed data cited by CBS News put recent performing arts graduates at nearly 64% underemployment, and the St. Louis Fed’s earlier table listed performing arts at 62.3% underemployment. That means many graduates still work hard, hustle constantly, and build impressive creative lives, yet the degree itself often fails to hand them a clean entry-level job offer.

This field also runs on networks, auditions, portfolios, gigs, referrals, and a little chaos sprinkled on top for flavor. A performing arts graduate may need to work in teaching, content creation, arts administration, event production, grant writing, social media management, or voice and movement coaching to build a steady income. Is that unfair? Maybe. But creative careers rarely follow the neat “major, internship, job offer, office mug” route.

Liberal arts

Liberal arts degrees teach students to read closely, think broadly, write clearly, and argue without immediately turning Thanksgiving dinner into a crime scene. Employers still value those abilities, but many hiring systems reward obvious technical fit first.

The St. Louis Fed listed liberal arts among the most underemployed majors, citing a New York Fed table that reported a 56.5% underemployment rate for recent graduates. Encoura also ranked liberal arts among the bottom 15 majors when it combined unemployment, underemployment, and early-career earnings.

The issue comes from translation. A student may know how to analyze culture, ethics, history, language, and human behavior, but a hiring manager may scan the resume and ask, “Can this person manage a CRM, build a report, write client copy, or handle operations?”

Liberal arts students can absolutely answer yes, but they need proof. Internships, writing samples, analytics certificates, project management experience, and a strong portfolio can turn a broad degree into a sharper paycheck strategy.

Anthropology

Anthropology makes people fascinating, which sounds lovely until the job board says, “Please upload five years of experience for this entry-level role.”

Encoura ranked anthropology at the very bottom of its labor market score list, combining unemployment, underemployment, and early-career earnings. The St. Louis Fed also listed anthropology among the majors with the highest underemployment rate, at 55.9% for recent graduates.

The major can still open doors in user research, public health, international development, museums, education, nonprofits, market research, and community programs. But students usually need applied experience for employers to connect the dots. Want to make anthropology pay faster?

Add survey design, statistics, UX research, GIS mapping, grant writing, or qualitative research tools. Otherwise, the degree may explain human behavior beautifully, while your bank app explains overdraft behavior less beautifully.

Communications

Communications feels practical because every organization communicates, right? Yes, and every restaurant uses salt, but that does not mean salt gets promoted to executive chef.

Encouraged communication among the bottom 15 fields for recent graduates, based on unemployment, underemployment, and early-career earnings. NACE also reported that employers now lean heavily on skills-based hiring, which means communications graduates must demonstrate measurable skills rather than just a friendly approach to group projects.

The market still needs writers, campaign coordinators, media planners, PR assistants, social media managers, and internal communications specialists. The catch? Employers now expect proof of tools and results.

A communications student should graduate with analytics screenshots, campaign samples, SEO basics, email marketing experience, video editing, Canva or Adobe skills, and maybe a few metrics that say, “Yes, people actually clicked this.” Vibes alone do not pay invoices, tragically.

History

History majors know that every crisis has context, which makes them excellent thinkers and slightly dangerous dinner guests. The labor market, though, often asks for a tighter job label.

Encoura ranked history among the bottom 15 majors based on a combination of unemployment, underemployment, and early-career earnings. Georgetown’s major payoff report also stressed that students need strong information because major choice now carries extra weight in a dynamic and unpredictable labor market.

History can lead to careers in teaching, law, archives, policy, research, museum work, journalism, and government, but many of those routes require graduate school, certification, or very intentional internships.

That is where the paycheck delay sneaks in. A history student who adds data visualization, public policy research, technical writing, records management, or digital humanities tools can move faster. Without those extras, the degree may build a great mind before it builds a great paycheck.

English language

English majors can write, edit, interpret, persuade, and spot a weak sentence from across the room. Honestly, that skill deserves hazard pay. Yet Encoura placed the English language among the bottom 15 majors for recent graduates based on its combined labor market score.

The problem does not stem from writing skills themselves; it stems from the crowded entry-level market for writing, editing, publishing, content, marketing, and education roles.

The smartest English majors now treat the degree like a foundation, not a finished product. They add SEO, copywriting, UX writing, grant writing, technical writing, newsletter strategy, content management systems, AI editing workflows, or communications analytics.

Ever noticed how employers ask for “excellent writing skills” and then pay more for people who also know HubSpot, Google Analytics, or product documentation? Annoying, yes. Useful to know, absolutely.

Fine arts

Fine arts can build serious creative discipline, but the job market rarely hands artists a tidy ladder with benefits, dental coverage, and a complimentary standing desk. Encoura ranked fine arts among the bottom 15 majors, and arts-related fields have shown high underemployment in New York Fed-based coverage.

The Art Newspaper previously reported that fine arts majors faced high unemployment and that more than half of fine arts, art history, and liberal arts graduates counted as underemployed in the New York Fed data it reviewed. 

The paycheck path improves when fine arts students connect creativity to business needs. Think graphic design, brand identity, animation, UX design, art direction, product photography, museum education, merchandising, or digital content. A portfolio matters more than a transcript here, which feels both freeing and terrifying.

Students who graduate with client projects, freelance experience, and software fluency often appear more job-ready than students with only studio credits.

Sociology

Sociology helps students understand inequality, institutions, family, work, identity, crime, education, and the social forces that shape daily life. That sounds deeply useful because it is. Still, Encoura ranked sociology among the bottom 15 majors, giving it a low combined score across unemployment, underemployment, and early-career earnings.

NACE’s 2026 report also shows why this hurts: employers are increasingly shifting toward demonstrable career-readiness skills, work samples, internships, and skills-based hiring.

Sociology majors can improve their odds by pairing theory with research tools. Survey methods, Excel, SQL, Tableau, SPSS, R, nonprofit program evaluation, HR analytics, or policy research can change the conversation fast.

Instead of saying “I studied society,” a stronger graduate says, “I analyzed survey data, built reports, and found patterns in community outcomes.” See the difference? One sounds thoughtful. The other sounds hireable.

General social sciences

General social sciences degrees often attract curious students who are interested in politics, culture, economics, psychology, history, and human behavior. The challenge comes from the word “general,” which can make hiring managers squint at the resume as it came with a missing instruction page.

Encouraged the inclusion of general social sciences among the bottom 15 fields in its recent graduate labor market ranking. It also noted that nine of the 15 lowest-scoring majors were in the humanities, arts, or social sciences.

That does not make social science a bad choice. It makes career planning non-optional. Students should pick a lane early, such as public policy, HR, market research, social services, education, legal support, community outreach, or data analysis.

Then they should stack internships and tools around that lane. A broad major can work beautifully, but only when students build a specific bridge from classroom ideas to workplace tasks.

Theology and religion

Theology and religion majors can offer deep training in ethics, culture, history, philosophy, leadership, counseling, and community life. But the paycheck route often depends on ministry, nonprofit work, education, chaplaincy, graduate school, or specialized service roles. Encoura ranked theology and religion among the bottom 15 majors for recent graduates, particularly because early-career wages were low in its labor market framework.

This degree can still fit students who know their calling and understand the financial tradeoffs. The danger comes when students expect a direct corporate hiring pipeline from a highly specialized humanities degree.

A stronger plan might include nonprofit management, fundraising, counseling preparation, hospital chaplaincy requirements, teaching certification, conflict mediation, or community program administration. Purpose matters, but Sallie Mae still prefers monthly payments over spiritual clarity.

Key takeaway

A degree still helps, but the major no longer does all the heavy lifting. Georgetown’s research reminds families that choosing a major now requires students to balance interests with earning potential, and the New York Fed’s 2026 data show that recent graduates still face elevated unemployment and underemployment. NACE adds the final twist: employers now care deeply about internships, hands-on experience, AI skills, and career readiness.

So here is the friendly, slightly annoying truth. Students do not need to abandon passion, but they need to package it with proof.

Pick the major, then add skills, projects, internships, software, certifications, and real work samples. The paycheck path still exists, but these days, you may need to build the bridge yourself, preferably before graduation day and before the student loan emails start acting like clingy exes.

Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information. It is not intended to be professional advice.

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