“Since Many of My Friends Were Working in the Restaurant”: the Dual Role of Immigrants’ Social Networks in Occupational Attainment in the Finnish Labour Market

This article considers the dual role of immigrants’ social networks in occupational attainment in the Finnish labour market. Drawing on the empirical observations gained from investigating the entire occupational careers of 40 immigrants, it argues that while ethnically dominated networks act as a crucial resource-opportunity structure to help get immigrants a foothold in the local economy and society, at the same time, they can also operate as constraining factors by confining them to low-prestige occupations in which the chances for occupational mobility are rather restricted. Overall, the article aims to suggest that although deficiency in locally gained human capital creates obstacles to better labour-market integration, the kinds of social networks in which immigrants are embedded can also significantly contribute to their low occupational attainment in their new country.