Overqualified and Underemployed: Finding Purpose in the Transition

I hold multiple advanced degrees and more than a decade of coaching experience. I understand career transitions deeply because I have guided hundreds of professionals through them. Yet right now, I find myself taking part-time work whilst developing new skills in artificial intelligence, waiting for the permanent position that matches my qualifications.

This is my reality. Perhaps it is yours too.

Research shows that approximately 41% of recent graduates are underemployed in their first jobs, meaning they are either overqualified or underpaid for the positions they occupy (Admissionsly, 2025). This phenomenon extends far beyond fresh graduates. Professionals at all career stages face underemployment, particularly during economic downturns and when transitioning between countries or industries.

The psychological toll feels real. Research confirms that greater perceived overqualification correlates with greater psychological distress (Johnson & Johnson, 1996). When your qualifications exceed your role's requirements, your sense of competence and self-esteem can suffer, creating cycles of dissatisfaction and diminished well-being.

Yet I want you to understand something crucial. This season, difficult as it feels, remains temporary. Nothing lasts forever. The question is not whether this phase will end. The question is who you BECOME whilst navigating it.

The Reality Nobody Discusses

When you work below your qualification level, people judge. They question your competence. They wonder what is wrong with you and even assume you failed somewhere. The shame feels overwhelming. One researcher documented that workers described feeling embarrassed, humiliated, and like losers when underemployed (Russell Sage Foundation, 2017). Your job was a huge part of your identity and how people saw you. Without it matching your qualifications, maintaining self-perception becomes exhausting.

I understand this intimately. Explaining why someone with my background takes on roles beneath my training creates discomfort. The temptation to hide, to pretend, to feel ashamed grows daily. Yet hiding perpetuates the cycle of isolation and shame. The truth? One-third of fresh graduates work in jobs that do not align with their qualifications or study fields immediately after university (KR Institute, 2024). If you are experiencing this, you stand among millions navigating identical challenges. The shame belongs to labour market structures, not to you.

What Research Reveals About Overqualification

Overqualification creates a double-edged sword. On one side, it generates frustration. Your skills go unused. Your knowledge sits dormant. Your career stagnates whilst you tread water. Research shows this leads to emotional exhaustion, which itself reduces creativity and psychological well-being (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021).

On the other side, overqualification can stimulate growth. Some overqualified employees use their excess capacity to lead, innovate, and contribute beyond their formal roles. They emerge as informal leaders. They identify opportunities others miss. They create value in unexpected places.

The difference lies in your mindset and how you spend the transition time.

Studies examining overqualification across cultures found that personal resources, particularly optimism, help individuals cope with perceived overqualification (Journal of Personnel Psychology, 2019). Those who maintained forward-looking perspectives managed the psychological burden better than those who focused solely on the mismatch.

Bridge Building, Not Settling

Taking work below your qualifications is not settling. It is bridge building. Bridges connect where you stand to where you need to go. They provide temporary passage, not permanent residence. I work part-time roles whilst developing AI skills because I recognise where the future points. The part-time work provides income and maintains professional activity. The AI development builds capabilities the market increasingly demands. Together, they create my bridge.

Your bridge might look different. Perhaps you take contract work whilst building a business. Perhaps you work retail whilst completing certifications. Perhaps you accept a junior position whilst networking toward your target role. The specific structure matters less than the intention behind it.

Bridge employment serves distinct purposes. It maintains your professional identity. It provides structure to your days. It creates recent, relevant experience on your CV. It generates income whilst you prepare for better opportunities. It demonstrates resilience to future employers.

Research shows that overqualified workers often experience lower job satisfaction initially. However, the longevity of overqualification matters enormously (Studies in Economics and Finance, 2021). If overqualification only occurs early in the career, losses may be short-term until skills find optimal allocation. Your current situation predicts nothing about your future trajectory.

Using Transition Time Strategically

This phase offers something permanent employment rarely provides. Time for deliberate skill development. Space for reflection about what you genuinely want. Freedom to experiment with different approaches. Opportunity to build capabilities you previously lacked time to develop.

I chose AI not randomly but strategically. Artificial intelligence reshapes every industry. The skills I develop now will compound over decades. The part-time work I do today funds the investment in tomorrow's capabilities. This transforms underemployment from waste into cultivation.

Consider what your transition time could cultivate. Which skills does your target role require that you currently lack? Which capabilities would differentiate you from other candidates? Which knowledge would multiply your value in your field?

Use this time deliberately. One month focused on strategic skill development creates more value than six months of unfocused frustration. Approximately one-third of graduates remain underemployed years after graduation (KR Institute, 2024). The difference between those who escape and those who remain often lies in how they used the transition time.

Managing the Psychological Burden

Research confirms what you already feel. Perceived overqualification correlates positively with psychological distress (Johnson & Johnson, 1996). The greater the perceived overqualification, the greater the emotional exhaustion. This exhaustion then reduces creativity, job satisfaction, and overall well-being.

You need strategies for managing this burden rather than just enduring it.

Separate your worth from your current role. Your employment status right now does not define your value as a professional or a person. Research examining overqualification's impact found that individuals with strong personal resources, particularly optimism, managed the psychological burden more effectively (Journal of Personnel Psychology, 2019). Your current role tells you about labour market conditions and timing. It tells you nothing about your inherent worth.

Find meaning beyond the job. When work fails to provide purpose, seek it elsewhere temporarily. Volunteer using your actual skills. Mentor others in your field. Write about your expertise. Contribute to professional communities. Create something. These activities maintain your professional identity whilst your employment situation sorts itself out.

Connect with others in similar situations. Isolation magnifies shame. Community normalises struggle. Find other professionals navigating underemployment. Share strategies. Support each other. Realise you are not alone. Research shows social support systems act as buffers when individuals experience work-related stress (Current Psychology, 2025).

Celebrate small progress. Each new skill learned. Each networking conversation completed. Each application submitted. Each day you maintained dignity and purpose despite difficult circumstances. These victories matter. They accumulate. They build the bridge you walk across.

Practical Steps This Week

Identify one strategic skill to develop. What capability would significantly increase your employability? Choose something specific. Research the best resources for learning it. Commit to focused practice.

Create a skill development schedule. Allocate specific hours weekly for strategic learning. Treat this time as seriously as you would a job. The investment compounds over time.

Connect with one person working in your target role. Ask about their path. Understand what skills they use daily. Learn what differentiates successful professionals in that space. Build relationships intentionally.

Document your progress. Keep a record of skills developed, projects completed, insights gained. This becomes evidence of productive transition rather than empty gap. It demonstrates initiative and growth mindset to future employers.

Find one way to use your actual qualifications. Volunteer consulting. Guest lecture. Mentor someone. Write an article. Do something, even unpaid, that activates your genuine capabilities. This maintains your professional identity and creates current examples of your expertise.

The Larger Truth

This season will pass. Research examining overqualification dynamics found that the persistence of underemployment varies significantly based on individual responses to it (Studies in Economics and Finance, 2021). Those who used the time strategically and maintained forward focus found paths out of underemployment more quickly than those who remained passive.

You stand in a difficult place right now. I stand there too. The temptation to despair, to feel like failure, to question everything runs strong. Yet thousands have navigated this exact transition successfully. The common thread among those who emerge well? They used the time strategically whilst refusing to let temporary circumstances define permanent identity.

Your qualifications remain real. Your experience still counts. Your capabilities have not diminished. The market conditions that created this situation will shift. New opportunities will emerge. The skills you develop now will compound over years.

Today, you might serve coffee whilst holding advanced degrees. Today, you might answer phones whilst possessing decades of expertise. Today, you might work part-time whilst qualified for leadership. Tomorrow looks different. Next month changes and next year transforms completely.

Nothing lasts forever. Not the good seasons, certainly not the difficult ones. This phase of your career, challenging as it feels, represents a chapter, not the entire story. You get to choose what this chapter builds toward.

I am in this transition with you. I understand the frustration, the shame, the exhaustion. I also understand that this time creates opportunity for those who use it well. We are building bridges. We are developing capabilities. We are positioning ourselves for when circumstances shift.

They will shift. Until then, we keep moving forward. We maintain dignity. We use the time well. We refuse to let temporary underemployment define permanent identity.

Your season of working below your qualifications will end. Make sure when it does, you have built something valuable during the crossing.

References

Admissionsly. (2025, August 4). College graduates unemployment rate (By the numbers, 2025). Admissionsly. https://admissionsly.com/college-graduates-unemployment-rate/

Johnson, G. J., & Johnson, W. R. (1996). Perceived overqualification and psychological well-being. The Journal of Social Psychology, 136(4), 435–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1996.9714025

Journal of Personnel Psychology. (2019). Perceived overqualification and psychological well-being among immigrants: The moderating role of personal resources. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 18(1), 34–44. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000219

KR Institute. (2024, February 23). Underemployment and overqualification among fresh graduates. KRI Publications. https://www.krinstitute.org/publications/underemployment-and-overqualification-among-fresh-graduates

National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2021, October 29). Perceived overqualification, emotional exhaustion, and creativity: A moderated-mediation model based on effort-reward imbalance theory. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), 11367. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111367

Russell Sage Foundation. (2017, April 1). The emotional toll of long-term unemployment: Examining the interaction effects of gender and marital status. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 3(3), 222–244. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2017.3.3.11

Springer. (2025, February 21). Study on the relationship between employee perception of overqualification, job burnout, and impulsive buying behavior. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07557-w

Taylor & Francis. (2021). Dynamics of overqualification: Evidence from the early career of graduates. Studies in Economics and Finance, 38(4), 832–858. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2021.1882391

About the Author

Francis Oyeyiola, MA Edu., AmO, MSc. Econ. (Industrial Management), BEng. IT, founder of CoachMe2.fi, specialises in helping professionals navigate career transitions in the Finnish market and across continents. With more than 10 years of experience in career coaching and a deep understanding of workplace cultures, Coach Oye has guided hundreds of international professionals towards meaningful work aligned with their authentic capabilities.