IT Graduates at ITMO Amongst the Highest Paid in the Country

The “Superjob for students” web portal, posted a ranking of the best universities in Russia according to IT graduates salaries. There were 49 universities and institutions from different cities in Russia included in the list, but as with the previous years, the top places went to universities in Moscow. First place went to the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), the second place was shared between the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" and Bauman Moscow State Technical University and third place was also shared between the Perm State University and Lomonosov Moscow State University.

ITMO University was the first and only university in St. Petersburg that made it to the top 5. According to Superjob, the average salary of ITMO University graduates, taking into account regional factors is about 87,000 rubles.

"It's no secret that ITMO University graduates are highly valued among employers: our students win different championships, competitions and contests in the programming and information technologies fields. Naturally, this is reflected in various rankings. The Superjob rating has of course changed over time, since in 2011, ITMO came 30^th in the ratings, and within five years has already made it to one of the leading positions. " – says Denis Zhuk, the Head of Business Cooperation of the Department of Human Resource Management at ITMO University.

According to the Dean of the Information Technologies and Programming Department at ITMO University, Vladimir Parfenov, the high level salaries for IT-specialists is due to the fact that software is now replacing human beings.

"In the banking sector, computers, cloud computing, and mobile apps are replacing managers, autopilots will replace drivers in the future. There is an increasing demand for services such as, for example, Uber, since it is becoming cheaper to order a taxi than to have your own car. Developing technology such as this is an important trend for the next 10-15 years, and at our University we teach students to create such technology", – said Vladimir Parfenov.