This book offers information from research on how 1,584 graduates from the British public higher education and from private universities fared in the labor market in comparison with each other; whether graduates in some subjects do better than others and the value of first destination statistics (employment information data 6 months after graduation). A questionnaire was sent to a sample of final year undergraduates in 1982 and a second to the same group 3 years later. Chapter Two presents an analysis of the participants' qualifications and career aspirations in 1982. Chapter Three discusses their early destinations, and Chapter Four looks at their career opportunities and prospects in 1985. Chapter Five reveals the extent to which early aspirations were realized, and Chapter Six treats levels of income. Chapter Seven examines graduates' retrospective evaluations of first degree courses in the light of their experiences in the labor market. Chapter Eight presents a comparison test of the value of first destination statistics. In the final chapter the authors conclude that university graduates in engineering, the sciences, and business related social sciences experienced the least unemployment; that graduates from private institutions do better than those from public institutions, and that first destination statistics are accurate enough to be useful. The text includes 34 tables and six figures, five appendixes on study methodology, 43 references and an index. (JB)