Description: In the latest years, transitions from higher education into professional environment have been taking a growing social visibility, and difficulties in employment access by higher education graduates are highlighted. A great number of studies centred on higher education graduates' professional pathways. At the same time, a research field focusing on the relationships between education and employment has been developing with contributions coming from several academic subjects (with a special emphasis on Economics and Sociology) as well as different theoretical frameworks. An educational perspective towards the transitions between education and employment allows us to understand that besides the issue of access to employment by graduates (a recurrent theme in this type of research) there are other important aspects relative to professional transition as a process of personal learning and training (transforming knowledge) as well as of building an individual idnetity (professional and social identity). Within this educational perspective, the paper draws on data from an ongoing research project (supported by the Portuguese Ministry of Higher Education and Research) developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers. This research project is centred on the study of the professional and educational pathways of higher education graduates as well as on the analysis of the curricular, pedagogical and educational structure of master and PHD degrees in universities. Methodology: This research project is centred on the study of the professional and educational pathways of higher education graduates as well as on the analysis of the curricular, pedagogical and educational structure of master and PHD degrees in universities. The paper intends to discuss some preliminary results that follow from the analysis of a set of 7 interviews with coordinators of master degrees and from a quetsionnaire that enable us to characterise the academic and professional paths of 145 masters and PHD holders. When possible we compare those reuslts with data from other research work done in Portugal and abroad (namely in Canada, France and United Kingdom). Conclusions: The aim of the paper is to discuss the relationship betweem higher education and the world of work. What is the value given to a master or a PHD degree by its holder and by academics? Are people looking for a master or PHD diploma in order to undermine the difficulties in access to employment? Is it possible to identify changes in their professional pathways after concluding a master or a PHD degree? Do academics understand master degrees as a response to economic needs? What is the relationship between academics and the professional and economic environment? The findings suggest preliminary responses to these questions and enable us to reflect up on the relationship between higher education and the world of work in the "risk" societies of today.