Using data from the 2003 Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth (LSAY), this report addresses the first research question of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage project (LP120100212), namely What are the principal educational and occupational pathways followed by school leavers and tertiary-educated graduates? It does so by examining differences in early labour market outcomes of young students starting off in regional Victoria and Melbourne, and by exploring the key educational and employment transitions underlying these differences.