Spanish graduates’ regret about program of study from the perspective of education-job mismatch

Abstract

The main objective was to describe the influence of education-job mismatches in Spanish university graduates’ expressions of regret about their program of study. The data from the Survey of Labor Insertion of University Graduates 2019 were analysed, revealing that the mismatch related to the study area is the factor that most increases the probability of graduates regretting the degree. Other factors, such as overqualification, salaries, or educational investment are also relevant. The influence pattern of these variables was maintained when analyzing groups of graduates of programs in the social and legal sciences and engineering/architecture separately. Women graduates in engineering/architecture also express greater regret than men with their chosen degree. Educational institutions must consider the intrinsic expectations for which students choose their university programs.