Field of study and the subjective labour market outcomes of UK graduates: examining meaningful work, career progression, and skills utilisation

Field choice in higher education has been shown to be highly influential on earnings and employment, yet little is known about how field of study affects recent graduates’ subjective labour market outcomes. This article uses ‘Graduate Voice’ data from the 2018/19 UK Graduate Outcomes survey to examine the effect of field choice on three subjective measures: whether work is meaningful, career is on track, and using graduate skills. Employing a selection on observables approach with logit regressions and robustness checks using Nearest Neighbour Matching, we reveal significant differences across fields of study. While graduates across all fields report positive outcomes, certain vocational fields – particularly medicine and dentistry, allied health fields, veterinary science, and education – show exceptionally strong results. These patterns generally hold across sex, ethnicity, and social class, with interaction effects showing little significant effects. These findings support previous research linking vocational education to smoother labour market entry for young people. The positive subjective outcomes across all fields challenge assertions about ‘low value’ degrees in the UK, suggesting the need to consider both objective and subjective measures in field of study decisions and policy discussions on returns to higher education.