This article looks at to what extent higher education studies prepare their students for the labour market. Using comparative data from the CHEERS project (Careers after Higher Education : a European Research Survey), covering 11 European countries and Japan, we analyse the differences in early transition into the labour market, and the level and type of jobs that the graduates possess. Finally, we look whether there is a relationship, accross the different countries, between the specificity of fields in terms of types of jobs and the education requirement level of these jobs. Our results show that generally, graduates from the Nordic countries appear well prepared for the labour market, whereas those from Japan and Italy, seem to face, on the contrary, certain difficulties on entering the labour market. Finally, across the different countries, Medical studies and Engineering graduates are in favourable situation in terms of the scope of job opportunities offered by these fields. However Humanities graduates work generally in jobs that are not specific to their field and that do not require higher education.