THE AIM WAS TO DISCOVER WHAT KINDS OF PROBLEMS DROPOUTS FACE IN THE LABOR MARKET, THE KINDS OF TRAINING AND/OR GUIDANCE OF BENEFIT TO THEM AND WHETHER THE SCHOOL SYSTEM SHOULD PROVIDE SPECIAL TRAINING AND GUIDANCE FACILITIES. ONLY A FEW RESEARCH EFFORTS HAVE STUDIED IN DEPTH THE POST-DROPOUT EXPERIENCE OF SCHOOL-LEAVERS. FORTY-ONE BOY AND FORTY-SIX GIRL DROPOUTS WERE LOCATED AND INTERVIEWED 2 YEARS AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL. THE SAMPLE INCLUDED ONLY THOSE WHO DID NOT COMPLETE THE 12TH GRADE AND WHO DID NOT TRANSFER TO ANOTHER SCHOOL. DETAILED INFORMATION IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS--DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE, MARRIAGE AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL, DROPOUTS IN THE LABOR MARKET, DELINQUENCY AMONG DROPOUTS, CHARACTERISTICS OF DROPOUTS WITH FAVORABLE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE, AND THE POST-DROPOUT EXPERIENCE OF GIRLS. JOBS SECURED BY DROPOUTS WERE NOT COMPARED WITH THOSE SECURED BY GRADUATES OVER THE SAME TIME SPAN. SOME OF THE CONCLUSIONS DRAWN WERE THAT--(1) SOCIAL BACKGROUND DID NOT SEEM TO AFFECT THE TYPE OF ENTRY JOB SECURED BY DROPOUTS, BUT DID AFFECT RATE OF JOB INSTABILITY, (2) JUVENILE DELINQUENCY WAS NOT FOUND TO BE A GENERAL CHARACTERISTIC OF DROPOUTS, (3) ONLY LOW LEVEL JOBS ARE AVAILABLE TO DROPOUTS, (4) BOY DROPOUTS SEEMED NOT TO HAVE BEEN AS HANDICAPPED BY THEIR ABORTED EDUCATION AS GIRL DROPOUTS, (5) THE TYPE OF JOB SECURED WAS GENERALLY LIMITED WITH RESPECT TO ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, (6) MANY JOBS WERE AUTOMATICALLY CLOSED TO DROPOUTS, (7) MOST DROPOUTS DID NOT HAVE SERIOUS DIFFICULTY IN SECURING JOBS FOR WHICH THEY WERE ELIGIBLE THOUGH PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICE WAS NOT AN EFFICIENT MEANS OF FINDING JOBS. IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT A MUCH CLOSER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATIONAL PROCESSES AND AVAILABLE WORK OPPORTUNITIES IS NEEDED. A REEVALUATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, A RECONSIDERATION OF EMPLOYMENT QUALIFICATIONS BY INDUSTRY, AND TRAINING PROGRAMS BY INDUSTRY ARE CALLED FOR.