A study by the EDULOG think tank, from the Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation, concluded that the field of study is the most determinant factor for job quality, even surpassing the importance of the institution attended, whether public or private, university or polytechnic. Graduates in Arts, Psychology, Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics, Humanities and Languages present a probability of unemployment at least 10 percentage points higher than that of graduates in Engineering, Manufacturing Industries and Construction, both at labor market entry and five years after completing their studies. The final course grade is the variable most consistently associated with unemployment, while a master's degree reduces the probability of unemployment only in the first year.
The study analyzes five dimensions of job quality: hourly wage, contractual stability, satisfaction, overqualification, and alignment between education and employment. ICT and Engineering stand out for the best salaries and satisfaction levels, while several areas in Arts, Humanities, Well-being and Services fall at the opposite end. Overqualification is the most frequent form of misalignment, reaching 50.6% in Humanities and 50% in Services, compared to only 6.2% in Medicine and Dental Medicine.
Female graduates face significantly less favorable situations in the labor market, with less contractual stability, lower wages, lower levels of satisfaction and greater risk of overqualification. Women, graduates with lower academic performance, non-university pathways and part-time workers are more likely to face multiple disadvantages simultaneously.
The study's coordinator, Ricardo Biscaia, argues that it is necessary to ensure that students and families have access to rigorous information about the professional outcomes of different fields of study, including data on remuneration, contractual stability and alignment between education and employment. EDULOG recommends caution in using employability as the sole criterion to adjust the supply of places and suggests that better information at the field of study level can function as an equity instrument.
