The occupational prestige and modern labor preferences of the Russians

The study discusses the evolution problem of the social and professional structure of the Russian society and the prestige of certain jobs under the influence of various factors. The research presents a group of political, economic, social and cultural reasons that can affect the occupational prestige in modern society. The paper analyzes the results of the sociological studies on parents’ future career choices for their children conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center in 2017 and the findings of the original survey of high school students’ views on the prestige of modern jobs and their labor preferences carried out by the author in 2018. The researcher attempts to explain the reasons for maintaining a long-term interest in the most popular professions in Russia requiring higher professional education (doctors, military personnel and lawyers).