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Soviet Union [USSR] Occupational Prestige
In surveys questioning Soviet citizens about occupational
prestige, professional and technical positions, especially those in
science, medicine, and the arts, ranked high consistently;
unskilled manual labor, agricultural labor, and sales and service
jobs consistently ranked low. In general, Soviet citizens viewed
the scientific professions as the most prestigious. While manual
labor was glorified by the party and the press, it was not pursued
and was even looked down upon. Nonmanual labor was considered
cleaner, less tiring, and more prestigious. Agricultural jobs were
considered less desirable than industrial jobs even in cases where
the qualifications required for the job were equivalent. Urban work
was considered more desirable than rural work, which was considered
backbreaking, dirty, and offering few possibilities for
advancement. The city also offered more amenities than the
countryside, where most of the underpaid, unskilled jobs were
located.
Earnings and benefits seemed to play a key, although not
exclusive, role in this social ranking. Generally, nonmanual
workers received higher wages than manual laborers, but pay scales
often overlapped, and many exceptions existed. For example, the
low-prestige jobs, such as unskilled manual or nonmanual labor,
were low paying, but not all of those in the high-prestige
positions received high wages. Medical doctors, for instance, were
highly esteemed, but their income was not high. Low prestige was
attached to mid-level white-collar jobs because of their low pay
and reduced benefits; coal miners, in contrast, had greater
prestige because of good pay and benefits.
Data as of May 1989
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