In Russia, 49.6% of people with higher education work in their specialty. Slightly more than half of graduates devote themselves to activities that have nothing to do with their education. People who spent five years studying one profession tell why they now make money doing something they didn’t study at all.

Vladimir Epifanov, majoring in physics, works as a web designer

By education I am a laser physicist, and I am proud of it. But, unfortunately, I was not able to work in my specialty - even during my studies, it became clear that in our country there was simply no real opportunity for a laser technology engineer to realize his potential. Although all modern microprocessor technology, on which all the latest electronics are assembled, is produced using laser technology. But Russia and the latest electronics are hardly compatible concepts. This is a fairly innovative area, and there are a limited number of enterprises and industries using its products or services. And the level of remuneration leaves much to be desired.

The knowledge gained at the university was one hundred percent useful. They don't necessarily have to be useful in the work being done today. Education provides the foundation and understanding of the learning paradigm that allows one to have the opportunity to learn almost any profession. In other words, physics is so harsh that everything else seems nonsense.

I learned web design completely on my own. IN free time, in the evenings, through trial and error. My teachers were the Internet, cracked software and pointing a finger at the sky. But still, I wouldn’t want to spend my whole life designing websites. I have a clear plan: in the summer I am leaving for Germany in order to continue my education at the Technical University of Berlin.

Evgeniy Gaevoy, a civil engineer by profession, works as a corporate client manager

I studied to become an engineer in industrial civil engineering (industrial civil engineering) and even managed to work in my specialty for 1.5 years while I was studying at the university. In the morning for classes, in the afternoon - to draw, count and design. When I studied, I understood exactly what I was learning. And I liked the work too. If it weren’t for the crisis, perhaps I would still work as an engineer. But then all the young people were fired, alas.

Now I work in a computer company, consulting clients, selecting servers, software, and components for them. I like the job: a lot new information, there is a development prospect. In addition, my position will teach you how to communicate with anyone. And perhaps, if now I returned to the time when I was choosing what and where I would study, I would go for a specialty related to IT or programming.

Today's salary level for young professionals who have just graduated from college is too low, and you want to live here and now, and not someday in five years, when you will have the opportunity to write “more than 5 years of experience” on your resume, and you you can find something worthwhile with a good salary. It’s a shame that you spend five years at the institute, they teach you, you work, and then another economic setback happens, and you have to look for work in another field. Moreover, the longer you do not use the knowledge that you have received, the murkier it becomes. Theory and practice are two things that must keep pace with each other; if something starts to limp, you won’t be able to walk confidently.

Irina Koshkina, majoring in economics, works as a photographer

Immediately after university, I got a job as an economist. At that time, I was already seriously interested in equestrian sports, which forced me to look for a job with a more flexible schedule. In my specialty, this is unrealistic; all existing vacancies are office work on a five-day system with a fixed schedule from morning to evening. This regime is not suitable for my lifestyle.

Perhaps now I would like to work in my specialty and develop, but having the opportunity to regulate my work schedule both by day and by hour. Nice to have economic Education, since working for myself is also a small enterprise in which I am my own manager.

In my experience, the first thing you need to do is get that education that cannot be obtained by correspondence. Now I would choose to study as a designer, at some art university. Perhaps I would go to Finland for educational programs, it’s near my hometown, St. Petersburg, and the direction of modern design is developed there as well as possible.

Photography was initially just a hobby, but over time I began to earn a living from this activity. On the one hand, great competition in the market devalues ​​the profession, on the other hand, it forces photographers to improve their level of skill. With all this, you need to understand: for photography to bring a stable, permanent income, a person must be able to organize himself. Not all creative people capable of combining these qualities.

Valeria Sabirova, a manager of social and cultural activities by profession, works in an advertising agency

When I graduated, it turned out that I, with my specialty, was an animal unknown to Russian culture. The control scheme we were taught does not work in practice at all. Such a position as a manager is not provided for in cultural institutions. And those who hear the name of the specialty joyfully exclaim: “Ah! Mass entertainer!” In fact, I hoped that during the process of studying I would understand exactly where I could apply my strength, that the institute would guide me and tell me where to go with my knowledge. But the years have passed, the diploma has been received, and you remain the same as the Cheburashka. And there is no one to blame but yourself.

Of the knowledge I acquired at university, office management was probably the only thing that was useful to me. And then, it is now very different from what we studied in ancient textbooks. And also marketing. Our agency employs people of various professions, we even have a chef by training, but there are no people who studied advertising specifically. I think that says a lot.

Everyone knows that the cultural sector is not very profitable to begin with. Of course, I would like to follow my chosen path, to work only where my heart lies. Maybe I will eventually open my own business and use it to finance my own cultural projects.

Branimir Parshikov, a journalist by profession, works as a musician

After several years of working in the field of journalism, I realized that this was not my thing at all. When I entered university, I had an overly idealistic, romantic idea of ​​the journalistic craft. In reality, everything turned out to be pragmatic and uninteresting - for me personally, and not in general. And most importantly, I came to understand my complete incompetence. In this area, I cannot bring any benefit to myself, nor to the founder, nor to the reader, much less to humanity. And if that’s the case, then why serve your number and fill in the empty space?

The issue of postgraduate mobility is loved and discussed by many. Dissertations are written on this topic, conferences are held and reports are made. For example, in 2009, Russian Reporter correspondents went to a city that at that time was one of the record holders for unemployment - the city of Ufaley, located in the north of the Chelyabinsk region. Lyudmila Nazdracheva and Igor Naydenov studied how people survived in a new economic situation. Residents of Ufaley found solutions to the problem in different ways: some went to work in Yekaterinburg and worked in shifts, some took on any job, and some were indignant at the Employment Center.

The hero of the report is just one of these: a middle-aged man with a heroic appearance shared with the correspondents a sore point: “They say: “Relearn.” Why should I relearn?! I graduated from university. The state invested money in me. I am now an intellectual investment in Russia. And if I go to work not in my specialty, then in this way I plunder the people's property. A person with a specialty is like a blast furnace: you can’t stop him, then you can’t ignite him.”

Do you work in your specialty?

Or maybe it wasn't a dream? Many schoolchildren, when choosing a profession, began to be afraid of taking the Unified state exams and choose those items that they can write with confidence. However, these items no longer correspond to their intended profession. Because of the fear of not passing the Unified State Exam, children give up their dreams, and perhaps their entire lives. Teenagers believe that if they don’t pass the exam, life ends: “I won’t go to university, I won’t be highly paid and permanent job, I’ll go sweep the floors,” the schoolchildren reason.

Psychologists say that children speak in the words of their parents and teachers. Elizaveta Matrosova, family psychologist:"Ask yourself, 'What's the worst that could happen if my child fails the test?' Then answer this question honestly and specifically, putting aside emotions and panic. And you will understand that nothing terrible will actually happen. If a child fails an exam, life does not end there. And there will always be different paths in which he can go further, it is only important to see them, and not to be blinded by misfortune.”

Once the parent has realized this situation, it is necessary to convince the child of this. Convey to him the idea that an exam is not the meaning of life. And not even a goal, but only a means by which you can evaluate your knowledge. Tell your child that no matter what grade he gets on the exam or fails at all, your attitude towards him will not change.

Grigory Raiko (23 years old) I wasn’t afraid to take school exams. Received two degrees: accountant-economist and tax inspector (SINH). However, he has not connected his life with these areas; he works as a senior shipping operator at METRO.

- I have a family, so I had to combine study with work. I could not follow the profession I received as an accountant, because... it’s almost impossible to combine a five-day working day with training (i.e. I didn’t get any experience, and without it they don’t hire me anywhere). Therefore, when I was in my second year, I got a job at METRO, where they paid 22 thousand. I have been working at METRO for the second year, where I already have some experience, and I am (albeit at the initial level) on the development ladder. Here it’s much easier for me to apply my economic knowledge for 22 thousand than to do it as a tax inspector for 10,” says Grigory.


Many graduates, like Gregory, are not satisfied with the work schedule. Study Federal service government statistics showed that 75 percent of respondents were quite satisfied with it. Next come: duties performed (68%), distance to work, working conditions (64%), moral satisfaction, job security and professional satisfaction (approximately 55% each).

The main dissatisfaction among students is salary. Only every fourth person is satisfied with her. The study also revealed a direct dependence of salary on the level of education: “The higher the level of education, the more professional and moral satisfaction a person has, the more satisfied he is with his salary.”

Another example - Daria (20 years old) received an education in hotel business, but is forced to work as a waiter: “To work in education, you need experience that graduates do not have,” the graduate shares with us. Indeed, many students are concerned about the question of how to get experience if they don’t take you without experience?

There is an exit! University teachers assure: “Some companies actively recruit interns. This is a great way not only to gain first work experience, but also to determine your own future career aspirations.” Is it true high salary at the initial stages you don’t have to wait, but you work according to your profession.

Among older generations, the reason for working outside of education is different. Bogdanov Alexey Nikolaevich (58 years old) believes that the attitude of the state towards people has a huge influence. Alexey is an infectious disease surgeon by training and works as an auto electrician.

- Doctors, teachers, police officers, military men - everyone felt that he was performing some kind of state task. This sense of self-worth outweighed both low salaries and harsh working conditions. Everyone knew for sure that there was a large and strong state behind them that would support and help. After the state changed, the attitude towards work also changed: medicine, education, safety became everyone’s personal business. Those who could not fit into the new realities had to reorient their lives. I had to get out of it: learn other professions, change my place of residence. My profession as a doctor has no prospects, so there is no point in working in my specialty.

Olga Anatolyevna (49 years old) trained as an engineer for automation of production processes. Today he works as a merchandiser at a grocery store.

- Soviet state prepared for itself a literate and developed population. Everyone could, according to their abilities, get an education and work in their specialty. That's how I became an engineer in 1990. After graduating from college, I went to work at a factory. Career growth was very successful. But the collapse of the country, non-payment of wages, and two small children in my arms - forced me to leave my favorite job. The search for at least some income led to trading. I had to build my life again, endure humiliation and retrain.

Having worked in trade for 20 years and having reached certain heights in it, I now cannot return to the engineering profession - I have no experience...


Each Russian has his own reason why he does not work in his specialty. For students this is time and low wage, most of them want to get “everything at once,” but “you can’t even pull a fish out of the pond without difficulty.”

It is much more difficult to keep up with the fast pace of development modern world to the adult generation. After all, these people were born in the USSR. They had to go through perestroika, change their lifestyle and, possibly, their profession.

Anastasia Timiryanova

I like

Why don't you work in your specialty?

    I would like to work in my specialty, but again it all comes down to money. In addition, it is simply impossible to work as a teacher in our city. Well, I went to school, they gave me half the salary, and then what? How can a person live on that kind of money? My husband just laughs at me. That’s why I work as an administrator in a restaurant, and on weekends I work as a tutor. After all, I’m a physics teacher and it’s not in vain that I studied.

    Does everyone go to study consciously? Sometimes they act for company, or because educational institution close to home, or to avoid the army (at least that was the case, I don’t know how it is now). Or maybe just to get the coveted crust. There are a lot of reasons, everyone has their own. It happens that with age, your views on life and preferences change, and payment is also important. That’s why we change our profession or specialty. For example, I am a teacher by profession. But I have been working as a chief accountant for more than 10 years now. And I realized that I have a mathematical mindset after I finished my studies. And I like my current job better. So, rather than going to a job you don’t like in your specialty, it’s better to reconsider your knowledge, skills and abilities and find something you like.

    Because I realized that it was not mine. That I lack certain qualities to do my job at the level I want. That it is difficult for me to communicate with people as much as required.

    And the salary was not quite what I expected.

    I want to work in my specialty, but universities organize employment poorly (or not at all), so you have to look for it yourself and hope that someone will like you with your wealth of knowledge.

    Also, working in your specialty, you will not provide yourself with the necessary wages for more or less normal well-being, because... very few employers can adequately pay the work of a young employee.

    People do not work in their specialty in two cases: if their soul does not lie in their specialty, but lies in another job, if work in their specialty does not satisfy material demands or it simply cannot be found (such a rare and unclaimed specialty).

    I was choosing where to go when I was 15 years old (after 9th grade). At that time, there were no special priorities for anyone to study for. Therefore, when I finished my studies, I realized that I didn’t want to work a five-day job all my life (my specialty is financier). And my interests in life have also changed.

    It is impossible to get a job without experience, and now time has passed, it is necessary to renew knowledge, but I do not give up trying, I hope that I will still be able to work in my specialty, because I studied precisely according to my desire. And I would really like to work in my specialty.

    Because normal money had not been paid on it before. Nobody needed landscape geographers in the 90s.

    It is very difficult to apply without work experience. Although you say that there is practice, they are not satisfied with it.

    To get a job where I want, I don’t have any connections or work experience. In general, the situation with experience is interesting. Almost all companies want specialists with work experience, but where to get it if no one takes it is the question. Although, like Alenchik, I would really like to work in my specialty. Moreover, I chose my profession consciously.

    Well, the first thing that didn’t suit me about working in my specialty was that no matter how high the salary, you still can’t get above average in 90 percent of cases. In answering this question, I am not one hundred percent sure, because... Actually, I rely on my personal views on further earnings.

    And I strive to have an income without depending on other people. Having your own business, and with a good head on your shoulders, will always bring in much more income in the end than working for someone else.

    I would be glad to work in my specialty, but in our post there is no work at all, well, for an instrumentation mechanic, which I am, even more so. So it all comes down to circumstances that are simply impossible to correct, although I really liked my specialty and worked in it quite a lot.

Despite the increase in the number of workers with a diploma (from 23.8% in 2001 to 32.2% in 2014), every fourth Russian who graduates from a university performs work that does not require higher education. At the same time, about 30% of workers believe that they are not working in their specialty. The authors of the study came to these conclusions High school economics "Where and with whom highly educated Russians work." TASS studied the work to find out which specialists work more often in their acquired profession, who occupies leadership positions, and whose potential is not fully used.

According to the study, among working Russians, the most holders of diplomas are economists and engineers, the fewest are farmers, art historians and specialists in natural sciences and mathematics. Moreover, among men there are technical specialists, and among women there are economists and teachers.

The authors of the work note that the education of young and older workers differs. Among young people, diplomas in economics predominate, and among workers aged 40 years and older, engineering training comes first. From this, experts conclude that both groups do not compete directly in the labor market, as they demand different jobs.

More than half of certified workers (55.8%) occupy specialist positions top level qualifications. The majority of such employees are among graduates of medical universities, the smallest among engineers and farmers.

Almost every sixth university graduate ranks leadership position. Most often, engineers, agricultural specialists, as well as economists and managers sit in the leadership chair.

A quarter of those with higher education (26.6%) work in a position for which it is excessive. The clear leader here is graduates of agricultural universities. Physicians are less likely than others to perform work below their qualifications.

As for the subjective assessment of the compliance of the work performed and the specialization indicated in the diploma, 71.4% of working Russians note that they work by profession. This opinion is mainly shared by doctors, but among specialists in the field of agriculture there are many more those whose education has nothing to do with their current work.

Thus, the authors of the study state that graduates of medical universities can be considered the most prosperous group: they do not waste their time at the university, since they later work in their specialty and occupy positions that require high qualifications. The situation is worst for farmers, whose profession, more often than others, turns out to be unrelated to a diploma, and moreover, often does not require higher education at all. True, among them there is a fairly high percentage of managers.

From 2020, Russians may lose the right to work outside their specialty. This will happen if amendments to Labor Code proposed by the government. For each profession, it is planned to draw up a standard, one of the main criteria of which will be specialized education. This innovation may affect officials as early as 2016.

  • RIA News

The publication notes that the ideas set out in the bill were supported by the State Legal Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia and Russian Union industrialists and entrepreneurs. However, the latter suggested taking into account personal characteristics employee, which are important when assessing professional suitability.

Let us recall that in 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the topic of mandatory application of professional standards in Russia.

“The state must give a clear signal that the standards will be implemented in practice, so I propose to start, as they say, with ourselves: professional standards should first of all become mandatory for government organizations, for state-owned companies, for budgetary institutions“,” RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.

Putin emphasized that in preparation professional standards Quality must be considered first. “There is no need to chase quantity,” he said. “The main thing is to ensure the quality and relevance of the standards being developed.” The Russian leader recalled that the task of developing professional standards was formulated in the May decrees of the President of the Russian Federation.