This paper investigates the impact of perceived job autonomy on job satisfaction. We use the fifth sweep of the National Educational Longitudinal Study (1988-2000), which contains personally reported job satisfaction data for a sample of individuals eight years after the end of compulsory education. After controlling for a wide range of personal and job-related variables, perceived job autonomy is found to be a highly significant determinant of five separate domains of job satisfaction (pay, fringe benefits, promotion prospects, job security and importance / challenge of work).