The working unit Returns to Education and Post-School Education examines the outcomes of education, i.e. the complex and dynamic processes through which qualifications, skills and educational certificates have an impact on very different aspects of life. 
It also considers educational trajectories, processes and transitions following the completion of the first general education school paths.

The initial focus is to examine the monetary and non-monetary returns of education. Education is a fundamental prerequisite for stable labor market integration and economic independence. It also influences numerous other areas of life during adolescence and adulthood, including health, satisfaction, and active participation in social and political life. Low or inadequate education not only poses a variety of risks for the individual, but also results in higher costs for society as a whole. The working unit contributes to the measurement of educational outcomes as part of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) within the subunit "NEPS Returns".  In addition, it is dedicated researching these relationships, for example in the project "PEPP-COV-Political attitudes and political participation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic".

The second focus of the working unit is on educational trajectories, educational processes and transitions following completion of the first general education school paths. In particular, the focus is on the very complex transitions from school to vocational preparation, vocational training and academic education as well as the subsequent transitions from these educational stages to the labor market, with specific reference to Germany. Furthermore, the working unit addresses catching up on general education qualifications, retraining and new vocational qualifications. The subunit "NEPS Post-School Education" accompanies the implementation and recording of these educational processes in starting cohorts 4, 6 and 8, and conducts research on the content and methodological aspects of these processes.