The research underlying this article seeks to improve our understanding of the processes of entry into working life of higher education graduates. In theoretical and conceptual terms, contributions from a variety of disciplines (particularly economics and sociology) and different theoretical currents and frameworks have been used to interlink perspectives which are usually developed in parallel yet separately. In empirical terms a case study was conducted on the process of entry into working life of graduates of a higher education institution, the findings of which are summarised and compared with data from other national and international studies on the same theme. The article concludes by identifying areas for further research that would benefit from Europe-wide comparison, and from interlinking theoretical and disciplinary perspectives. (Contains 18 footnotes.)