Migration and social transformation

Uneven professional paths: A study on highly qualified Chinese and Indian migrants in Germany

“…There is a growing body of literature that addresses highly qualified migration to the EU (Faist et al., 2017; Pitkänen et al., 2017; Cairns et al., 2017; Brooks and Waters, 2011). With regard to social capital, the pertinent literature identifies migrant networks and social capital as factors that reduce the risks and costs attendant to migration, because they facilítate the provision of information on jobs, housing and other key information to prospective migrants (Massey et al., 1998).…”

“…The reasons for this unequal treatment can be related to factors, such as, integration policies (Aksakal and Schmidt, 2019b; Aksakal and Reslow, 2019) and institutional practices (Aksakal and Schmidt, 2019a). In addition, language barriers can also pose an important challenge, as in the case of highly qualified migrants in Germany (Faist et al., 2017). Thus, understanding the mechanisms that result in inequalities can provide significant insights in explaining the uneven career paths and different outcomes of international migration.…”

“…Several highly qualified migrants spoke about the “awfully long process” that it took to complete the process of formal recognition of their qualifications. An Indian highly qualified interviewee had difficulties because the documents are in German (for details, see Aksakal and Schmidt, 2019a, 2019b; Faist et al., 2017; Aksakal and Schmidt, 2017). Universities also impose requirements that are burdensome, and sometimes, not relevant.…”

“…This type of literature has addressed issues such as the definition and conceptualization of the highly skilled (Weinar and Klekowski von Koppenfels, 2020), drivers and policies (Czaika, 2018; Cerna, 2016; Brooks and Waters, 2011) or impacts (Cairns et al., 2017). Very few researches have focused on the role of temporariness in highly skilled migration (Pitkänen et al., 2017; Faist et al., 2017) and its relationship to social inequalities. This article analyzes the subjective dimension of highly qualified migration.…”

“…In this paper, highly qualified migration refers to the movement of people who work in skilled occupations, that is, those requiring at least tertiary education, as well as to international students. By including students into the category of highly qualified migration, it is emphasized that although differences exist (e.g., the initial aspiration to obtain formal education vs. to get a job), qualified workers and international students share common characteristics, such as having a university degree and work experience prior to or during their stay abroad (e.g., internships or part-time jobs) (Faist et al., 2017; Aksakal and Schmidt, 2019a). Thus, this paper approaches foreign-born professionals and students as two unique, but sometimes overlapping, sub-categories of highly qualified migrants, and explores their career experiences.…”