Purpose - The study examines the level of satisfaction amongst Lebanese university graduates on their training/education in light of their current occupational level. Design/methodology/approach - Focus groups were interviewed to understand factors that helped graduates in their occupation. These factors were turned into a Likert-scale questionnaire in which a large sample (n=604) of university graduates from public and private universities in Lebanon were asked to report the utility of their university education and training required for their current job. Findings - Findings showed that graduates from private universities documented greater satisfaction in their education and training, especially in the fields of engineering, medicine, and information science, than did graduates from the public sector of higher education. Graduates in the low occupational status category perceived university education as important in the performance of their occupation. Research limitations/implications - The study was intended to find if graduates were satisfied with their university education. Satisfaction in that sense is used as a proxy for quality. The need to refine the concept of quality in higher education is recommended in any future study to provide a possible measure of value to higher educational training. Practical implications - Importantly, public higher education in Lebanon need to compete aggressively with private institutions to provide key "soft skills" needed at the work place. Originality/value - The paper offers some empirical data in an under-researched field.