Using the general hypothesis that job quality returns to education are positive for all employment indicators among race and sex groupings, a sample of young adults originally from southern rural areas and small towns was queried concerning the status ranking of their current occupation, income earned, supervisory responsibility, and extent of work autonomy. A mail contact procedure (supplemented by telephone and personal interviews) was conducted in 1979 and produced 964 completed questionnaires from a group previously studied in 1972. Of the respondents, 35.3% were black and 45.5% were female. Educational attainment was associated with occupational status within all race-sex groups. The largest percentage gain in occupational status for both race categories was at the bachelor's level; however, the gain for blacks relative to whites was much greater. Supervisory responsibility was associated with educational level among white males and females but not for blacks. White men and women were more likely to attain better job quality than black men and women at the lowest educational levels, but this difference diminished at the bachelor's level and favored blacks with a post college education. In general, whites achieved more job quality returns to education than blacks, and males accrued more returns to education than females. (BRR)