The Beliefs of Scientific Researchers About Which Professions Are the Most Suitable for Their Children and Grandchildren

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of a survey of scientific researchers and academic instructors that questioned the expert respondents about the field they would advise their children and grandchildren to enter and which of these career paths would be the most suitable (promising) for the rising generation in 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. If they recommended a scientific, engineering, or technical career, then a follow-up question was asked about which new areas they would recommend and which scientific disciplines they thought would be the most relevant in 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. The results of the survey showed that the respondents prefer that their children and grandchildren choose a career in science, health care, education, or culture and the fine arts, although a fairly large number of the answers exhibited a preference that their children enter engineering. It is notable that finance came in near the bottom of the list, beating out only trade and agriculture among the least popular fields. We analyzed the survey responses across various dimensions, including gender, geographical location, and other criteria. Apparently, the selected priorities reflect the hopes of the respondents that their priorities for the economy will win out eventually and their understanding of the role that science should play in society, since they justified their responses by stating that by pursuing careers in scientific research, young people would be able to benefit Russia. They also reported that they thought Russian society could benefit from more specialists in culture and fine art, teachers and educators, and service personnel in the armed forces. Respondents indicated that they believed that there was a fairly significant gulf between the values and preferences of scientific researchers, educators, instructors, and employees of cultural heritage institutions, on the one hand, and popular opinion, on the other.