Why do higher graduates regret their field of studies? Some evidence from Catalonia, Spain

The present paper focuses on transitions from school to work for recent higher education graduates in Catalonia, Spain. In particular, we concentrate on the relationship between mismatch and disappointment with the chosen university career. For that purpose, we employ cross-sectional survey data provided by The Quality Assurance Agency for the University System in Catalonia, covering a sample of individuals who graduated in the 1997/98 academic year from one of the seven public Catalan universities. The results show that regretting the chosen field of education turns out to be associated with mismatch as well as other factors: personality, ageing, educational characteristics (such as final university grades or the specific field of study) and regretting the attended institution.