Beginning in 1966, the relationship between levels of formal education, specifically the attainment of an associate degree from a two-year college, and quality of employment among young adults reared in rural areas, was examined in a multi-phase, longitudinal sampling procedure which obtained data from a pool of high school sophomores from counties designated as rural and economically disadvantaged in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas. Samples from this pool were surveyed again in 1968, 1972, and 1979, resulting in data from 964 subjects who were 35.3% black and 45.5% female. Dimensions of job quality measured income earned, amount of supervisory responsibility, and autonomy over work speed, breaks, and hours. Job quality increased across levels of education from high school diploma, vocational/technical school degree, associate degree, and baccalaureate degree. Associate degree recipients achieved, to a lesser degree, most employment advantages associated with a college degree. The associate degree was an intermediate level of education that led to better employment situations in its own right. Whites, males, and migrants achieved higher scores on each job quality indicator than did nonwhites, females, and nonmigrants. It was concluded that junior colleges provide a necessary service to rural youth as an opportunity to upgrade quality of employment. (NEC)