Some Degrees are More Equal Than Others

No offense to my fellow political science majors, but ours is not exactly the most productive degree in the eyes of the broader economy, so I'm less than shocked to hear many graduates with less than valuable degrees are having trouble finding well paying jobs:

Brian Hackett, who graduated with honors from the College of New Jersey in 2010 with a political-science degree, is among those who haven't found full-time work. Instead, the 25 year old works part-time doing clerical work and conducting phone interviews—and he is hardly the only one at his company with advanced credentials.

"There are people with master's degrees and bachelor's degrees and even people with law degrees applying to work for $10 an hour," Mr. Hackett said. Mr. Hackett is hoping to start a new, full-time job in political consulting in a matter of weeks. But most of his friends remain either without jobs or underemployed. Many are back in school pursuing advanced degrees in the hopes of getting an edge.

Corporate leaders often complain that there are too few workers with the right set of skills, particularly in high-end manufacturing and certain trades. Mr. Beaudry said it is possible such shortages exist in specific industries.