People generally know when they are unemployed. But do you know when you are underemployed? One of the global trends nowadays is underemployment. This is when someone is working at a lower level than they are qualified for. You might be trained to be an office manager but you’re working as an office assistant. Your skill level is a lot higher than your job gives you an opportunity to use.

Maybe this is because you went to school and got a higher education degree. And then you haven’t been able to find a job to suit your skill set. Or maybe you have been working at a company or in a certain industry for a while and now you have hit a glass ceiling. So it might be time for you to move from one company/industry to another. It might even be time for you to move from one country to another. But before you take this big step, try asking yourself the following questions to determine if you are indeed underemployed:

Do You Feel Happy at Your Job?

A lot of people feel a lingering sense of discontent in their jobs which they are usually unaware of. You don’t become aware of it until you actually ask yourself that question. So make sure you ask yourself the question from time to time. You might notice that as time goes on, that sense of discontent which started out small increases.

This may not necessarily mean that you are underemployed. There are many reasons why people feel unhappy with their jobs. Their company culture may not be good. Or their company might be very disorganized in terms of management. So there are a number of factors which determine whether or not you’re happy with your job. But underemployment is also one of them.

Do You Feel Challenged at Your Job?

One of the main things that determines happiness at a certain job is whether it is challenging enough. This might seem incredible to you. After all, what’s wrong with having an easy job? Well, an easy job might seem good enough at first but as time goes on, everyone wants to grow and develop further. It’s a human imperative. And if that imperative is thwarted, you feel like you’re not achieving your full potential which makes you unhappy in the long run.

Where in the World Are You Employed?

Of course, there can be underemployment in any part of the world but there are certain parts of the world where it is more rampant. And they tend to be parts of the world where there are good systems of higher education or where higher education is cheaper or free. This is one of the reasons why India turns out so many engineering graduates who later move to Silicon Valley. Higher education in India is generally subsidized. So anyone who has good enough marks can study engineering, medicine, business etc.

In other parts of the world such as the US or Europe, the educational system might be good but it is expensive. So they do tend to churn out large numbers of graduates and post graduates but possibly not as much as countries with cheaper educational systems.

Being underemployed can be very dissatisfying. You’re never able to function at the top of your game. You’re never able to fulfill your potential. And this can be really frustrating. One way out is to relocate to a different part of the world where your skill set is in greater demand. Relocation can mean a huge upheaval in your life. Or it can be easy and fun. It all depends on where you’re relocating to, whether you have to learn a new language and whether you have a family.

But no matter what your circumstances, keep in mind that there’s a great job out there waiting for you at one of our partner job boards.

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