This study revisits the question of whether the effect of education on occupational position declines in affluent societies. Based on the European Social Survey datasets 2002–2016 we investigate, first, to what extent this relationship really declines. Second, we examine the effect of education and occupational position in cross-national settings, which have their own history and specific labor-market organization. Third, we test the hypothesis that the connection between education and occupational position for women has been stronger as compared to men. Using log-linear models we find scarce support for the prediction of a long-term decline in the market value of educational levels. As regards country-specific settings, the study shows that education had a higher impact on occupational position in Eastern and Mediterranean countries and especially appeared to have a lower impact in countries with liberal regimes. Our analyses demonstrate a consistently higher effect of education on occupational position among women.