Winners and Losers

Abstract

Both objective and subjective determinants of success and failure in the labour market are examined. The objective indicators are the employment situation and the wages earned; the subjective measures concern work values and the realization of these values, and job satisfaction. Almost three quarters of all graduates were in “relevant” employment, that is, held a job that matched both their level and field of higher education. The shares of unemployed, “vertically mismatched” and/or “horizontally mismatched” differ by country, by level and field of education, and by personal or higher education characteristics. Large wage differences persist according to gender, field of study and type of employment contract. The analyses distinguished three types of work orientations: Career and status orientation; professional/innovative orientation; and a social orientation. Males scored higher than females in most countries on the career dimension, while females scored clearly higher than males on the professional/innovative and especially the social dimension in all countries. Almost two thirds could be classified as winners on the professional/innovative dimension (succeeded in realizing the underlying values), whereas just over one fifth of graduates were winners on the career dimension. More than two thirds of all graduates reported that they were satisfied with their current work. Those who are winners on the professional/innovative dimension are most often satisfied with their job.