The study of socio-demographic characteristics and professional strategies of graduate students of the Far East based on the results of a questionnaire survey

Abstract

This article presents the results of a questionnaire survey of the social well-being of graduate students of federal universities and scientific institutes in Vladivostok (Primorsky Krai) and Yakutsk (Sakha Republic). The purpose of the work is to identify problematic aspects of the professional realization of graduate students in the Far Eastern region, taking into account the point of view of the students themselves. The paper analyzes the basic educational characteristics of students in graduate school, their socio-demographic characteristics, as well as academic and career plans. Typical problems for postgraduate studies in the Far East are outlined. The conducted research confirms the problematic aspects of modern Russian postgraduate studies noted in most researches: weak financial support for graduate students, a significant proportion of those who refuse to make their PhD dissertations, uncertainty in the implementation of professional strategies. At the same time, it is noted that a considerable number of graduate students strive to ensure the staffing of educational and scientific institutions. A sociological mass online survey of students of universities and research institutes of the Far East, using the example of institutions in Vladivostok and Yakutsk. Our survey identified the socio-demographic characteristics that need to be taken into account when planning to improve the effectiveness of postgraduate education in the Far East and in Russia. The problematic aspects of the social well-being of graduate students noted by us, on the one hand, confirm the judgments of researchers about the typical difficulties of students in graduate school. On the other hand, in our opinion, there is a positive potential in graduate schools in the Far East, which can be used as a sure start to improve postgraduate education. Thus, our conclusions are substantially consistent with the results of the study made by A.V. Shapieva (it was conducted in 2021-2022 on the basis of Zabaikalsky State University): "... the presented analysis shows that the Far East faces a serious challenge... At the same time, educational organizations of higher education in the Far Eastern Federal District have significant potential..." [Shapieva, 2022: 175]. The continuation of our work should be the correlation of the data obtained during the survey with statistical studies of the state of Russian postgraduate studies in general and in certain regions.