As bright as the sun might shine on any student’s long-awaited college graduation day, ominous skies have a knack for following. The new MTV series “Underemployed” follows a group of Chicago twentysomethings who spend days enduring the humiliation of shifts at the nearby donut shop and stripping to make ends meet in hopes that they’re one upward-facing penny away from some good fortune. If we get down to brass tacks, though, a respectable career is still probably a loooooong ways away.

In the collection of character profile clips below, you’ll get a brief glimpse into the lives of each of the show’s five begrudging underachievers. There’s Daphne, whose put-together guise masks the fact that she can’t manage to turn her internship into a paid job (maybe sleeping with the boss will help…?), benevolent Lou, who only wants to make a difference in the world, but whose efforts are rewarded with unplanned fatherhood and then, of course, there’s academic-standout Sophia, whose dreams of slinging ink amount to asking customers if they meant to ask for chocolate-frosted or chocolate-glazed desserts. Yes, friends, this is post-grad life at its finest.

Check out the videos below, and head over to the show’s site for more on Raviva, the musician-turned-mommy, and Miles, whose thirst for the spotlight has only led him as far as semi-nude cocktail-serving.