By Marisa Balanda

Recently, Caroline Sandoval worked 59 hours over the course of two weeks. This included a stretch of ten consecutive days. Her paycheck was $398.97. After taxes, Sandoval earned just $6.76 per hour. By comparison, the federal minimum wage, before taxes, is $7.25 per hour. This meager paycheck doesn’t belong to a teenager but to a 33 year old, highly accomplished and educated woman.

Sandoval is from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. After high school, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from San Francisco State University. Then Sandoval received a Graduate Certificate in Heritage and Museum Practice from Penn State Harrisburg. Later, she earned a Master’s Degree in American Studies with a focus on Death and Mourning Culture from Penn State Harrisburg. Currently, Sandoval is enrolled in an online class on material culture through Harvard University. Yet despite all of her education (and work experience), Sandoval currently works at The Hershey Story Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Her position requires no college degrees and offers no benefits. Sandoval is doing work commonly done by a teenager as a summer job.

Even through this difficult time, Sandoval manages to maintain a positive attitude. She knows her situation is temporary and everything happening now is a part of a bigger plan for her. “There’s no point in being miserable,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval is not alone. Even though the economy has recovered significantly since the recession in the late 2000s, many American workers are underemployed. According to an expert from ManpowerGroup, which is an agency that finds employment for people, 14.5% of people are either unemployed or underemployed. Underemployment is a condition in which workers are not placed in jobs that match their degree type or experience. This results in a significantly lower pay.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, in 2000, 36% of college graduates (ages 22-27) were employed in jobs that did not need college degrees.  The Economic Policy Institute also cites that many recent college graduates work in low-wage positions like cashiers or servers.

Sandoval is currently employed at The Hershey Story Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. She was originally hired as Museum Experience Associate, where she provides information about the museum to guests. Sandoval has also worked as a Visitor Experience Associate, which involves transactions using a cash register. She also works as a Chocolate Tastings Associate, where she prepares and serves warm drinking chocolates from around the world.

Sandoval is currently being trained to work as a Chocolate Lab Associate, where she will teach classes about the process of chocolate-making. Sandoval usually earns $8.20 per hour unless she is working in The Chocolate Lab, where she can earn between $9.00-$9.50 per hour.

The Hershey Story employs people as young as 15 years old. However, Sandoval has been working since she was 14, for more than half of her life.

At age 14, she volunteered as an office assistant for the Hayward Chamber of Commerce in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. After only three months of success in the volunteer program, Sandoval was offered a job there. Sandoval has estimated that she has worked 12 jobs over the course of her life, with $17 being the most she has ever been paid per hour.

She has never been offered benefits with any job. Full-time workers usually receive benefits that include health care/insurance, retirement plans, overtime, vacation time, and sick leave, and Sandoval has never had any of these.

All of these jobs have given Sandoval a wide variety of workplace experience.  She is experienced in retail management, nonprofit management, fundraising, tourism/travel, public-heritage, museum education, exhibit design, curation, collection management, and material culture research and scholarship.

In addition to her paid position at The Hershey Story, Sandoval is also an Assistant Curator at the Dauphin County Historical Society. This job is an unpaid, volunteer position, but it allows her to use her skills to gain experience working directly in her field.

In the Hershey Story’s Chocolate Lab, where Sandoval was recently hired, the Pennsylvania State Common Core Curriculum Standards are followed. These standards are academic protocols created prepare students for the real world. Integrating these guidelines into her job is another way for Sandoval to build her résumé.

Sandoval works around 37 hours per week at The Hershey Story and at the Dauphin County Historical Society. “I work enough to pay my rent,” Sandoval said.

Low paying jobs also limit the housing options of the underemployed.  When Sandoval first moved to the east coast to study at Penn State Harrisburg she paid $530 a month for an extremely small apartment in Middletown, Pennsylvania. Sandoval still resides in Middletown with her boyfriend, Damien Wallace, but currently they pay $450 a month for a fully furnished, five-bedroom house with utilities included. One downside of this house is that there is only one bathroom.

While Sandoval was designing a walking tour app for the city of Middletown, she was introduced to a family who wanted to rent out part of their house. After only knowing them for five hours, Sandoval and Wallace were offered the house. Sandoval credits her networking skills for many of her accomplishments. Sandoval said, “We just have a tendency to make connections wherever we go. You get opportunities from the connections you make.”

Sandoval does not regret moving to Pennsylvania, even though she faces many challenges in her daily life. Sandoval’s boyfriend Wallace used to work at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center as a part-time Medical Transporter but he has been unemployed since October 31st of 2014 because of pressure from the union for full-time employees, so Sandoval has been supporting herself and her boyfriend on around $8,000 per year. Sandoval’s income is considered part of the Federal Poverty Level. In addition to paying for the cost of living for two people, Sandoval also has $67,000 and Wallace has $70,000 of student loans to pay back. These amounts are constantly increasing due to interest.

In addition to assuring that two people survive on $8,000 a year, Sandoval also has to adjust to new ways of life. Sandoval has not had health insurance since she was 23 years old, when she was cut off from her parents’ plan.

The lack of health insurance was not a major problem when Sandoval lived in California, but in Pennsylvania there are fewer options for Sandoval and other uninsured people.

If Sandoval were to purchase a health insurance plan it would cost $271 per month which is a major portion of her paycheck that goes toward her rent.

Sandoval has had to make modifications in her appearance as well. Sandoval used to get a haircut every six weeks but now only gets one once a year. She was also accustomed to having her eyebrows waxed every three weeks, but currently Sandoval only gets them waxed once a year. She does not have frequent pedicures anymore and is not able to splurge on new clothing.

Sandoval said, “We save as much as we can.”

One thing Sandoval splurges for is a Netflix account, but she shares it with some friends. In exchange, they share their HBO Go account and Amazon Prime membership with her and her boyfriend. Sandoval and Wallace also pay for cell phones and internet, but they do not own a television.

Extra money in the Sandoval and Wallace household goes into a drawer and is designated into one of two places: a moving fund and a birthday fund. Sandoval and Wallace do not plan to settle down anytime soon so the moving fund is put toward possible relocation for a job. They have each agreed to apply for any positions within their respective fields and to not be limited by geography.

“Our friends call us gypsies,” Sandoval said.

Wallace is searching for jobs in radiotechnology and Sandoval’s employment goals are museum education and interpretation. Sandoval would ultimately like to focus on material culture and the education of school groups. Sandoval and Wallace both celebrate their birthdays in May, so the birthday fund is used for a trip around their birthdays. They have traveled to Salem, Massachusetts and New York City during previous birthday outings.

Sandoval and Wallace have been dating for three and a half years, and Sandoval predicts a wedding in the future but not anytime soon.

“We can’t have a wedding if we can’t afford a ring,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval insists on being married before having children. If they ever have children, Sandoval and Wallace will not permanently settle down until these hypothetical kids have reached junior high school.

Sandoval knows that she qualifies for government assistance but she has never used it. “The number one thing is that I know neither of our parents will let us starve,” Sandoval said.

Her parents help support her in many ways. For example, Sandoval’s mom pays for her to go to the dentist. Also, Sandoval and Wallace share one car, that is insured by Sandoval’s parents. Sandoval said, “Without a support system, I don’t know how you would do it.”

A gender pay gap exists that may affect Sandoval either now or in the future. According to the Economic Policy Institute, women who are young college graduates earn 15.7% less than men who are young college graduates.

Another local worker who is unemployed also finds part-time employment at The Hershey Story Museum. Brendan Demmy was hired as a Visitor Experience Associate at The Hershey Story where he makes between $8-$10 per hour. Like Sandoval, he has worked in different areas around the museum since being hired.

Demmy is 23 years old and has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with a concentration in Public Relations from California University of Pennsylvania. He also has a minor in Leadership Studies.

Demmy was recently hired as a Stakeholder Relations Associate for the Arthritis Foundation of Central Pennsylvania where he makes between $17-$19 per hour. This is a part-time position that does not provide health benefits. Demmy, like Sandoval, does not have health insurance but he plans to use the extra money he is making to purchase a plan.

Unlike Sandoval, Demmy is fortunate that he splits time between both parents’ houses, so rent and food are not an added expense. He has a total of over $40,000 worth of student loans, and he also has to pay for bills and gas. He chooses to subscribe to Netflix and a cell phone plan, so these are two added expenses.

Demmy estimates that he works an average of 45 hours a week between his two jobs and

Demmy mentioned that seeing college classmates being hired for jobs right after graduation was disappointing, but he tries to practice  patience, perseverance, and positivity.

His new position at the Central Pennsylvania Arthritis Foundation has helped him financially and emotionally. “It will allow me to have my foot in the door somewhere; I will be gaining relevant, valuable experience,” Demmy said.

Someday Demmy would like to work in Senior Management for a non-profit or social justice institution, where he would like to participate in lobbying and advocacy.

Even though Sandoval and Demmy are extremely educated, experienced, and connected, they have not found permanent, full-time employment in their  fields. An expert in the field suggested many strategies for underemployed. Jill Kempka is a North American Marketing Manager for  ManpowerGroup Headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ManpowerGroup is an agency that focuses on putting people to work by matching people with jobs based on their skillsets. Kempka explained that there are two main categories of underemployed people.

The first type of underemployed workers cannot find jobs in their fields after college. Sandoval and Demmy fall into this category. Kempka noted that this type of people are often employed in low-wage positions that do not match their degree type. Sandoval knows she can get a higher paying job at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center as a clinic receptionist but she continues working at The Hershey Story Museum in order to build her career working at museums.

The second type of underemployed workers are people who are the victims of downsizing or cross cutting in corporations. Kempka predicted that most people in this situation are probably in the baby boomer age demographic who might have previously had positions in marketing or finance.

According to Kempka, 55% of college graduates have difficulty finding a job right after college. “[Underemployed] People do feel pressured to take a job that they do not really want,” Kempka said.

Due to the current integration of technology into many aspects of life, many jobs are changing in order to conform to the times. Kempka suggested that students should choose a college major based on a combination of their passions and where jobs are predicted to be. Additionally, jobs in technology are increasing in importance in our society. In contrast, Kempka said jobs in the arts and humanities are harder to find and are transforming to incorporate more technology.

Using technology is not the only way for prospective employees to gain an advantage in the job market. Kempka offered other suggestions for the underemployed. She reiterated that networking is a crucial part of finding employment. In addition, Kempka advised that underemployed people should tweak their skills, participate in training (which is offered through ManpowerGroup), and learn how to use changing technology.

For workers like Sandoval, with multiple degrees and much experience, Kempka said that employment depends on competition in the field and what sets candidates apart from one another.

Kempka recommended that underemployed workers should participate in volunteer work in order to expand their skillsets and to network with people in their fields. Sandoval is involved in volunteer work through her position at the Dauphin County Historical Society where she assists the curator and participates in exhibit design. Demmy is an alumni volunteer communications chair for his co-ed service fraternity.

Sandoval feels that it is an accomplishment to persevere in her situation. Sandoval said, “Living on $8,000 a year is a life skill. We make it look good.”