Today Ukrainian youth is obsessed not only with what educational institution to choose, but how to find money for higher education. The practice of offering student loans is just beginning in Ukraine: in the year 2003 banks providing such loans helped out only about a thousand college and university freshmen.
In 1992 Ukraine became independent and lost its not very generous but still Soviet and thus 'total' social guarantees. In my student years, still during the Soviet times, I had, like all students did, a monthly stipend of an equivalent of about eight USD and an allowance of about four USD a month from my father. The university taught me at state expense and provided a place in a dormitory for free. To have pocket money, occasionally at nights I unloaded railroad cars with fish and groceries. Once I worked in the summer in a student group of builders - money from this endeavor substantially filled my budget.
Contemporary Ukrainian students cannot let themselves work 'on the side' from time to time. Their lot is to work hard every workday and still make sure that it does not have a negative affect on studying, or else they could be expelled from college.
Aptly named 'budget people', or students whose tuitions are covered by the state are looking for jobs. These students make up about 50 per cent of the student population. Tuition is paid with state budget resources. 'Budget people' get a stipend of an equivalent of 10 USD, though their purchasing power is by far lower than my eight-dollar stipend back in the 1950s.
The remainder of the roughly two million-student community especially needs money. These are the students whose families are not considered among the most needy families and are not eligible to have their sons and daughters educated at the state expense. Entrants from these families create tough competition for enrollment at 'cheap' educational institutions, where one year of tuition costs about 500 USD. At these institutions there is also strong competition on the student labor market, which still doesn't have a proper infrastructure. Those six million Ukrainians who work abroad make the problem of financing tuition less acute. Many of them are able to pay for their children's tuition at higher education institutions.
Who helps students to find jobs? Regarding this matter I called the Ministry of Education, but it appeared that this institution doesn't have information on how students, without state support for paying their tuition, 'survive'. So, at my request, my grandson organized a tea party at our apartment with about ten of his acquaintances that combine studies with work.
First of all, we talked about employers who provide more or less permanent jobs. Students find these employers in specialized publications, which are lumped together with the generic name 'Job offers'. One can also get necessary related information at employment centers. Sometimes a lucky chance helps, such as a phone call from an acquaintance who offers some work. That's how my grandson, an electrical engineering student, found his position. Now he works in a group of people that repair and sell used electronic appliances. Many students of the college department that my son attends work as cashiers and consultants at Internet clubs.
Those who found jobs in fast food cafes are considered fortunate. Small restaurants, cafes and snack bars offer flexible work hours and decent money - up to 100 USD per month. Participation in promotions and other similar events is considered to be an elite and well-paying endeavor. But in such cases one has to pass a selection contest, has to look good in clothes with a company logo and be able to skillfully offer the goods or services of that company.
The spoilt children of fortune are those students who are entrusted to unload in the evening and morning hours foreign-grown flowers out of cargo airplanes and refrigerator trucks. Goods that spoil very fast require fast delivery from manufacturers to end consumers - and people who help in this process get paid pretty well.
Some students work night shifts at food shops, distribute various printed publications, but most often students work as messengers delivering packages and orders.
'Outsiders', loading-dock helpers, and they comprise the most part of students, get supported by recruiters who are students themselves. They possess information on what company, when and how many loaders or helpers it needs. Offering one's labor for such companies, primarily at night, for two-three hours of work can net one an equivalent of up to six USD payable right away when the job is finished.
Ukraine, where half of the population lives at poverty level, feels the increasing prestige of higher education. Compared to Soviet times, the number of students tripled in this country. However, my new young friends enjoying tea explained this phenomenon differently. Some young people came to Kyiv from provinces where youth unemployment is still pretty high. Others dream of achieving material success with the help of their future professions.
But a good career in Ukraine, like basically anywhere in the world, can be guaranteed now only if one has a diploma of an elite academy. Rich parents easily pay two or three thousand dollars for tuition of their sons and daughters. So, an overall stratification of the Ukrainian society is obvious, with the isolation of the majority of population from opportunities to acquire the most prestigious professions.
During our conversation we recalled that famous Henry Ford started his career washing dishes. But here there is one nuance. If in Ukraine one had the same hourly wage as the 'dishwasher' Henry Ford had, then could contemporary industrious Ukrainian students get any prestigious education, working hard at night?
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