An electrical engineer who is teaching physics in a secondary school is said to be

Step 1: Analyze the question An electrical engineer is trained for engineering work, but he is teaching physics in a secondary school. The question asks what this kind of employment is called.

Step 2: Key concepts

• Unemployment: a person is able and willing to work but has no job at all.
• Underemployment: a person is working, but not using their full skills, qualifications, or capacity. This also covers working fewer hours than they would like.
• Full employment: a person works in a job that matches their skills and capacity.
• Technological unemployment: job loss caused by machines or technology replacing workers.

Step 3: Apply the concepts

• The engineer has a job, so he is not unemployed (B is out).
• He is not out of work because of machines replacing him (D is out).
• He is not working in his field of training, so his skills are not fully used. That rules out full employment (C).
• Teaching physics uses only a small part of his engineering training, and he is probably paid less than an engineer would be. This is underemployment.

Step 4: Answer The engineer is under-employed.

Step 5: Exam tip Ask yourself two questions. Does the person have a job? If yes, are their skills being fully used? If the person is working but in a job below their qualification or capacity, the answer is underemployment. If they have no job at all, it is unemployment.