Background: Trajectories through child protection services involving out-of-home care (OHC) are highly diverse, yet studies of OHC and adult school-to-work transitions often overlook this heterogeneity. Methods: Using monthly records of OHC measures from ages 0 to 25 for three complete birth cohorts (1994-1996) born in Norway (N = 172 638), we identify five trajectory clusters based on placement timing, duration, and type of OHC. We then examine how cluster membership, together with care instability, is associated with precarious school‑to‑work transitions using linear regression models. Results: People in the residential care cluster have the most precarious school-to-work transitions compared with kinship care (b = -0.14, p<0.001), foster care from teenage years (b = -0.04, p<0.001), foster care from young age (b = -0.14, p<0.001), and nonOHC (b = -0.31, p<0.001) clusters. This is despite people in the residential care cluster experiencing the most stable care among the OHC groups. This stability may reflect delayed support for those in the residential care cluster and insufficient support for the mostly support measures cluster. Conclusion: Taken together, these findings imply that OHC experiences should not be treated as a simple dichotomy of “in care” versus “not in care”, but rather as heterogeneous patterns with multiple important dimensions that predict later life outcomes. Quantitative child welfare research should pay greater attention to the timing, duration, type and stability of care as distinct predictors of later life outcomes.