ABSTRACT This article addresses how the type of higher education participation an individual has chosen is related to his/her success on the labour market after graduation. In the first part of the analysis, the ideal types of ‘from school-via higher education-to work’ transitions are formed with the help of cluster analysis. In the second part of the study, the relationship between the type of transition and the socio-economic prestige of the occupation obtained after graduation is analysed through regression analysis. Data used in the analysis comprise educational and labour market histories of graduates with master's degree in seven European countries. Results indicate that there are significant variations among European countries in terms of the most common types of transitions. In addition, the study shows that the socio-economic level reached soon after graduation does in fact depend on the type of the transition, independently of other individual characteristics.