Back in the 70s and 80s, we got a lot of refugees and immigrants from the middle-east and south Asia. A ton of these basically did what the Chinese did - opened

Back in the 70s and 80s, we got a lot of refugees and immigrants from the middle-east and south Asia. A ton of these basically did what the Chinese did - opened up restaurants (Kebab shops), barber shops, ethnic supermarkets, etc. Or they took on the jobs they could find, and stuck with 'em. Modern immigrants and refugees, however, seem to have more education from their home countries. We got a wave of Syrian immigrants a couple of years ago, and many of these had degrees and careers before having to leave. Now, a couple of years later, it seems that many of these are getting settled in with professional careers here. It obviously depends on the country you come from, and your background, but I think the days of the classic immigrants are starting to end. 30-40 years ago some poor teacher or engineer pretty much HAD to start their own shop, to make a decent living - but now they can relatively fluidly continue with their careers - and thus get more freedom to pursue their own things, rather than getting pigeonholed into something else.