Female workers get by - and earn more - with a little help from their friends, a new study shows, but men don't enjoy the same boost from their social networks. Women who found their current job through a close relative like a parent or sibling earned $32,691 a year on average, researchers at the University of Oregon found, while those who landed a job through a close friend earned $28,546. Those with no previous connection to their employer pulled in just $19,415 annually.