The national unemployment rate is 4.3%, but it’s higher for recent college graduates, 5.7%. The underemployment rate for new college grads is shockingly high, at 42.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Nobody dreams of working a nightmare job, but almost everyone eventually ends up in one. But, here’s the twist: they’re often the best classrooms, and they teach hard truths that stick with you far ...