The relationship between education and job satisfaction has not been sufficiently well documented to qualify as unquestionable. Published research on the subject either fails to adequately assess the influence of education on job satisfaction or is too occupationally and/or geographically limited to form the basis for generalization. To examine on a larger scale the association between education and job satisfaction, four national household surveys of the American work force conducted by the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center in 1969, 1971, and twice in 1973 were analyzed. One hypothesis was that in small occupationally homogeneous samples those with higher educational levels would be less satisfied than others. Regarding education and overall job satisfaction, no support was provided for assuming that job satisfaction increases with each advance in educational level attained. On the other hand, overall quality of employment was associated with educational level, but large increments in quality of employment occurred only at those points where educational credentials are conferred. Future work on the relationship should involve several types of secondary analyses: treating education operationally in terms of quality and type rather than simply level; identifying the contribution of education to the relative importance that workers assign to different aspects of their jobs; and accounting for modifications in individual aspirations throughout life. (JR)