Salary expectations and willingness to migrate in post-graduation employment among student youth in Omsk oblast

This article addresses the critical issue of youth migration from Omsk Oblast. To mitigate this trend, it is essential to determine the influence of economic factors on migration attitudes. The study aims to establish a correlation between the salary expectations of Omsk’s student youth and their readiness for labor migration after graduation. The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 2,139 students from four Omsk universities across 52 specialties, conducted in September 2023 as part of the federal project “Runway for Young Professionals (2023)”. The study identified three distinct groups based on postgraduation salary expectations: low (I), median (II), and high (III). The findings confirm that low pay is the primary driver of youth migration, but its significance varies among the groups. As a push factor, it is less critical for Group I and more decisive for Group III. The higher a student’s salary expectations at the start of their career, the more likely it is that low wages alone are a sufficient reason for them to migrate. Furthermore, among respondents who do not rule out relocating from Omsk Oblast for employment, students with high salary expectations predominate: of the 259 respondents in this category, only 6.2% were from Group I, compared to 46.7% from Group II and 47.1% from Group III. These established correlations contribute to migration theory and highlight the importance of the remuneration factor for young people in regulating regional migration processes. The study is relevant for university departments overseeing graduate careers and employment. Its observations and conclusions underscore the need for further research into the mechanisms shaping student salary expectations at different stages of their academic programs. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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