The Science Labor Market in Russia and Abroad (Based on the Largest Science Job Portals)

This article provides an overview of the main Internet-sites for scientific vacancies. The scientific labor market is analyzed on the basis of data from the internet portal "ученые-исследователи.рф". It is revealed that the distribution of vacancies on the portal in different areas of science is uneven, most of the vacancies posted on the site are SMET vacancies (Science, Math, Engineering and Technology), there are much fewer vacancies for scientists of the humanitarian profile. The geographical distribution of vacancies is also uneven (with Moscow and Moscow region leading by a large margin). The absolute majority of employers’ organizations registered on the portal are government agencies, mostly organizations subordinate to FANO. Average salaries are extremely low, lower than average income by region. Abroad, journals like Science and Nature both have big Internetsites for scientific vacancies. Placement of announcements about scientific vacancies on these sites is a paid service. Science is more focused on the American market, while Nature is more international. In any case, both sites have a more extensive geographical coverage in comparison with the site "ученые-исследователи.рф". Moreover, a significant part of employers on these sites are private universities commercial enterprises. The average salary for vacancies posted on these sites is much higher than for vacancies on the site "ученые-исследователи.рф". It is concluded that if the government of the Russian Federation wants to use the internet portal “ученые-исследователи.рф” as a tool to boost academic mobility in Russia, increase in salary in Russian universities and institutes is necessary, as well as a real representation of these salaries in job descriptions on the website.