In this article, the relationship between study programs in higher education and the risk of holding a temporary contract is investigated in a comparative perspective. We find that the effects fi elds of study have on the type of contract can be better explained by their link to occupational positions than by field specificity differentials. Furthermore, fields of study are more important in explaining the individual risk of holding a temporary contract in the German rather than in the UK labor market. This may be attributable to the higher degree of standardization of the German educational system