Non-standard employment relationships are not a homogeneous category and fulfill diverging functions foremployers. On these grounds the present contribution argues that different types of contract offer their own specific opportunity structures and thus career prospects for employees. This is an outcome of the structural location of differentemployment relationships in the labor market rather than personal qualities or self-selection. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) this investigation finds a higher probability of atypical employees entering regularemployment if they are fixed-term employees rather than part-timers or temporary agency workers; marginal employment yields the lowest chances for upward mobility. These results cannot be fully explained either by differences in observed characteristics or by preferences of part-time employees for shorter working-hours, albeit a strong effect of thelatter for employment transitions is visible. These findings document an independent structural influence of the type ofcontract on careers. Furthermore, heterogeneous effects on qualification levels and workplace context are examined.