Career and professional development are more important than income for most future engineers in Russia

For most future Russian engineers, professional development turned out to be more important than salaries, according to a study of career expectations of engineering students conducted by the organizing committee of the CASE-IN championship with the support of the Presidential Platform. "Russia is a country of opportunities." 44.9% of respondents chose the opportunity to study and grow, while only 27.9% chose income. At the same time, two thirds of the respondents are ready to move to another region for an interesting job, but 85% of them count on the company's help with housing, and 80% with transport. A total of 300 students from architects to power engineers took part in the 2026 survey.

The respondents included undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students of various degrees. Students named the possibility of training and professional development as the main factor in choosing a future employer – 44.9% of respondents chose this option.

"The main trend of this year is that young people are looking for an environment for high-quality professional development. Employers who are able to offer transparent career plans and corporate support will gain an advantage in competing for young engineers.", – said the founder of the CASE-IN championship Artem Korolev.

Wages were ranked first by 27.9%. Significantly less often, the study participants named a friendly team – 6.4%, rapid career growth – 5.7%, the company's leading position in the market – 4.9% and a convenient work schedule – 4.2%. The ability to engage in large-scale tasks became the main criterion for 2.1% of respondents.

At the same time, the expectations of young professionals regarding remuneration remain quite high. 48.1% of respondents expect an income of 70 thousand rubles, and another 39.6% expect a salary of 50 thousand rubles. 9.5% of the study participants are ready to start with a monthly income of 40 thousand rubles.

Thus, the level of pay remains a significant factor, but for a significant part of future engineers, it is not the only or main criterion for choosing a job.

Another notable result of the study is related to the labor mobility of future specialists. 66% of respondents are ready to change their region of residence for a suitable job. However, willingness to move is accompanied by certain expectations from the employer. 85% of respondents expect to receive assistance in solving the housing issue in their new place, and 80% expect to use transport to their place of work at the expense of the company.

These data are especially important for large industrial enterprises located far from the largest urban agglomerations: the opportunity to attract young professionals from other regions is directly related to both the salary level and the relocation infrastructure.

The majority of the study participants positively assess the quality of education at their universities. 87% believe that their university trains in-demand specialists, and only 1% assesses the level of education as low.

At the same time, 83% of respondents consider their university students to be in demand in the labor market and note the interest of companies in young people directly at universities. 77% reported that the university provides them with places to practice at enterprises, while 13% face a certain shortage of such offers.

Among the professions attractive for future careers, respondents named both traditional engineering specialties – energy engineer, mining engineer, technologist, designer, chemist, metallurgist and geologist - and relatively new professional areas, in particular BIM management.

The study participants were also asked to name companies where they would like to practice or start a career. "SIBUR", the System Operator of the Unified Energy System, "Gazprom Energoholding", "Rosseti" and ALROSA are among the top five.

The study also showed a change in the channels of acquaintance of future specialists with employers. More than 57% of the respondents reported that they had learned about the companies they were interested in through their participation in the CASE-IN engineering championship. For comparison, 18% of respondents named career days at universities as the source of such information.

The data obtained, according to the authors of the study, show that the competition of industrial companies for young engineers is gradually moving beyond the offer of a higher starting salary. Additional training opportunities, mentoring, a clear professional trajectory, corporate culture, and employee support when moving to another region are becoming important.

A source: Russia is a land of opportunity