Young engineers: work values and professional identity
The paper is devoted to the analysis of work values and models of social self-identification typical for a new generation of engineers employed in the Russian industry. The study investigates the dynamic changes in the structure and social status of professional group and also treats the contradictory con-clusions made by researchers about youth values and settings. What takes the young people to workshops and con- struction departments of industrial en-terprises? What is important for them in their job? What are their aspirations and salary expectations? And finally, what are their social perceptions in professional environment? The focus groups’ data in-volving young engineers do not prove the idea that the young generation strives to maximize their rewards and to minimize efforts and risks defined as ‘comfortable materialism’. Self-identification reflects a trend towards particularistic values; it differs substantially from the ‘class subordination’ pattern common for the professional environment of the older generations.