In labor economics, education is usually measured as the number of years spent at school. This purely quantitative approach does not take into account the qualitative aspects of the educational systems. This thesis contributes to the literature by separating workers on the basis of their education type, taking advantage of the Swiss educational system. The results show that education types is more determinant than education length regarding the different labor market aspects analyzed. General education is found to have several advantages over specific education: (1) it better protects against human capital depreciation; (2) it permits a steeper wage growth over the career; and (3) it allows more job mobility.