Talented young people are leaving small cities for the big and promising urban centers

The closer my graduation comes, the more I’ve been thinking about education in my country. And mostly Im worried. During the 3.5 years I’ve spent at my second university, I’ve talked with dozens of students about their views of the future, and I’ve heard their opinions about the situation today. I did the same at my former university, and I would say it’s like this: Many students who study in big cities and well-known universities (at least in Russia) are aiming to apply for positions in international companies so that they “get out of the country.” Just a few of them added “… and come back after having gained some experience there.”
Those in regional universities (like my fellow students here) are either confused about their future (I touched upon the young’ expectations here) or want to leave for big cities to get a second education there (having one degree doesn’t always mean getting a job as Emmy wrote) and eventually follow the same path of emigration.

Russia is the largest country by size in the world, but young brains get concentrated in just several points on the map. So what about the rest of the country? I think many local universities are underestimated. Their curricula are pulled up to modern standards, but there is a lack of young staff able to operate modern technical devices.  Many regions don’t develop as much as they could because the youth is moving to better places.

I have often wondered: is our minister of education in the government qualified enough? Doesn’t he notice this trend? Russia could offer so many opportunities to encourage active citizens to develop the country, to increase the standard of living and to make its economy stronger. Right now, our economy depends far too much on oil, wood and natural gas. Having a lot in stock, the country (among the top ten countries by oil reserves in 2009; among the top five by gas reserves in 2010) gets the biggest part of its GDP from them. Easy money often does little good. Instead, it corrupts.

So what do we end up with?

Deep contrasts emerge between Russia's urban and rural areas

1. A dominant industry that’s in need of regulation. In some cases, industry can dictate its conditions to the market. Entire regions in the North and East have oil wells as their main source of work. A number of small towns live from oil alone, and a crisis can be deadly for them.

2. A lot of applicants for majors in economics and state governance as it’s the easiest way to make a career in that sphere (but that has nothing to do with flexibility, which is vital and was covered by Kathrin.

3. Local and municipal authorities who don’t put enough effort into developing their regions.

As a result, most money is thrown into the oil hole, rather than being spent on scholarships or stimulating science or small businesses. The bureaucracy that remained from the former epoch slows Russia down, and it’s a burden. That all doesn’t sound typical for a democratic state, but it’s a common situation in authoritarian states.

However, I feel really hopeful as I see that my generation doesn’t want to accept the situation. Civil society is making itself heard in Russia now much more than 10 years ago. I believe that, with so many opportunities and an enormous country here, we shouldn’t seek some land of dreams abroad. Living as an au pair is not the top career abroad that you deserve. Job markets in Europe, America and Australia don’t have enough positions for everyone, and qualified specialists are preferred. We should try to create something similar here.

Stick to your hometown, or follow your dreams?

Reading Hellgurd’s article about women made me think about what we Russians do after university.

In the intro film to our educational blog I mentioned that I’m pursuing two degrees – I’m just interested in both spheres and can organize my life so that I have enough time to reach this goal. I also take online courses from American universities because the quality of education in my native city doesn’t suit me, and I want my skills to meet the global market’s requirements.

What worries me is that many young people choose majors not according to what they feel they are good at but according to what seems to be popular on the job market. Maybe that situation will change by the time they graduate. However, the winner is usually the one who takes not just rationality but also a bit of soul into account in making decisions.

At the same time, a lot of people’s expectations end up stopping them from building their futures. Lots of people think that staying in your hometown after school and getting a diploma there means you’ll spend the most of your life there, rather than working abroad or in another city. But that’s up to you to choose: the world is going global! Either you are an open-minded person and don’t take heed of this stereotype – maybe you’re also the kind of person who can move away without losing touch with relatives – or, on the other hand, you’re the type who follows the same path as your grandparents.

There’s been a lot of discussion about salary and gender in the blog. In the state sector in Russia, you will either be paid well enough or poorly regardless of your gender. If you’re well paid, you’re probably an official – and that is a trap. Too many people want to occupy this social position because of the money they will invariably get, but there’s a good proverb in Russia – too many cooks spoil the broth. The added number of officials doesn’t necessarily result in sage authorities. But other state employees like doctors or teachers earn less than their colleagues in Europe – and you won’t find many males in schools as many people believe a man should be the breadwinner; so men tend to build careers in other spheres.

As for the private sector, your income depends on your efforts to make a good business. A friend of mine used to work in a library for several months, but she realized from the very beginning that the pay there was not enough to lead the life she wanted, so she is running her own business now, and it’s much more interesting. Unfortunately, in order to register the company, she had to face the same level of bureaucracy – regardless of her gender.

Taking things into your own hands - visiting the cafe my friend owns

Another case is the head of our language school – starting as a teacher in private sector, she managed to open her own school after 2 years. Now our chain is developing, offering more courses and opportunities to its pupils.

A friend of mine is a promising student who moved to our capital as his local university was not the gate to the global academic world. I won’t be surprised if he ends up getting some prestigious prize for research in economics. And that’s not even because he’s somehow privileged – the thing is, he’s doing what interests him.

The conclusion is: instead of doing nothing and complaining about how unsatisfactory life is, I think people start doing what they believe they’re interested in and they’ll have good results!