Experts from the consulting company Yakov & Partners have assessed the current situation and career opportunities for young professionals after graduating from educational institutions in Russia. According to the results of the study “Analysis of Labor Market Demand,” engineering and IT fields lead in both income levels and employment rates.
The report is based on the Rostrud Graduate Employment Monitoring, which includes data on employment and income for more than 1.5 million graduates, and provides an in-depth analysis of current labor market trends for graduates of colleges, bachelor’s programs, and master’s programs.
According to the experts, college graduates earn on average 25% less than the median income in Russia during their first year after graduation. Meanwhile, bachelor’s degree graduates surpass the national median income within two years of graduation. At the same time, master’s degree holders earn 23% more than bachelor’s graduates.
Engineering and IT specialties lead in income levels, with salaries 30–40% higher than the national average. Majors in economics and law, although popular, provide only average levels of employment and income, which may indicate a potential oversupply of specialists in these fields, the experts believe.
Success factors: an in-demand specialty and the right level of education
For a number of fields of study, additional levels of education—bachelor’s and master’s degrees—increase income and improve employment prospects, experts note. However, for some areas such as physical education, air navigation, and agriculture, entering the labor market earlier through college education may be more advantageous, since employers in these sectors tend to value practical experience more than additional years of study.
One of the most important factors influencing graduates’ career prospects is the choice of educational institution. The difference in income between graduates of different universities and colleges in the same specialty can reach 2.5 times, even within the same region. In some cases, it may be better to enroll in a high-demand college rather than a less competitive university. In particular, graduates of strong colleges in fields such as geology and mining earn 1.5–2 times more than graduates from universities that are not among the top 40 institutions in terms of demand. This highlights the importance not only of choosing the right specialty but also the level of education and the educational institution, which can significantly influence a graduate’s success in the labor market.
Interestingly, graduates of regional universities and colleges sometimes earn more than their peers who obtained the same specialty at metropolitan institutions. For example, the median income of graduates from Siberian Federal University in Applied Geology is 64% higher than that of graduates from universities in major cities, according to the experts. At the same time, strong colleges—especially in fields such as oil and gas and mining—can provide their graduates with better employment prospects and higher incomes than universities that are not among the top 40 in demand.
What to do: focus on labor market requirements
According to the experts, applicants are advised to carefully choose both their field of study and educational institution, relying on data about the actual demand for graduates in the labor market. At the same time, employers should develop partnerships with educational institutions to attract highly qualified specialists and build strategies to retain talented employees. Educational institutions, in turn, should cooperate with employers and align their programs with current labor market requirements in order to provide their graduates with better chances of successful employment, the experts conclude.
