Social Networks and Occupational Attainment in Australia

This article contributes to exploring the comparative effects of market mechanisms and social networks and the interplay of human capital and social networks in western labour markets. We examine social networks and occupational attainment by using data from the 2007 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes and provide three major findings: (1) as a job search method, social networks are associated with lower earnings and occupational status and a lower probability of entering a professional or managerial position than market-oriented job search methods; (2) jobs that are found using strong ties have lower occupational attainment than jobs found using weak ties; and (3) the poorer occupational attainment outcomes associated with social networks are only observed among those without university degrees.