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But where, after all, is the main part of this flow of those seeking a change of scenery directed? Where is the promised land, the kingdom of great opportunities, the paradise for the energetic and enterprising? The one-story country that Vladimir Pozner told us about in his television programs? Clearly, it is America. Over two centuries, this country has received millions of poor and rich, hard workers and adventurers, desperate fugitives and optimists seeking a better life. How many dizzying careers have been made! And how many disappointments, ruined destinies - probably hundreds of times more than successes... But nothing, probably, will convince residents of other continents that if there is a country where success lurks behind the nearest tree for everyone, it is America...
America - for Americans?
And today, from foreigners who have gone to seek happiness in the New World, one can hear the most contradictory judgments. "Nobody needs us here, it's impossible to earn money, Americans are only concerned with themselves, and in general I don't understand their English" - this is one extreme, into which, unfortunately, not only elderly residents of Brighton Beach fall, but also quite energetic people. "Only here can you realize yourself and earn money, only in America is there true personal freedom" - this is another, and into it fall not only those who have become millionaires (are there any at all?), but quite ordinary workers, for example university professors. Well, apparently, bearers of the first opinion are lazy and incurious, while adherents of the second have been very lucky or simply have a happy character.
But maybe that's not entirely true. Simply, those wishing to work in America (this, by the way, applies not only to the USA but also to Canada) should, before rushing headlong across the ocean, ask themselves a couple of questions. First: "What will America give me?" Panikovsky's attitude - "Give a million, give a million..." - is fundamentally wrong and will lead only to trouble.
The second question is no less important: "What will I give America?" The "fig in your pocket" attitude is wrong. This kind of thing is not needed here. There are plenty of their own idlers and incompetents. But if they still somehow nurse their own (though, of course, not as much as in some European countries), they will not tolerate such from a foreigner. After all, they are pragmatists, not for nothing did they build the consumer world. And they are going to consume you - your experience, qualifications, competence. Are you ready to share?
As in all other countries of the world, America has unemployment. Nevertheless, in some areas of activity there is a catastrophic shortage of workers. This refers not only to unskilled and low-paid labor of stonecutters and diggers. But, for example, medicine. Until recently, it was believed that domestic doctors had nothing to do in America. But now diplomas from our medical universities have a chance to be in demand overseas, because US hospitals are simply groaning from a shortage of staff, especially junior and middle-level.
Schools are also not in the best condition. There are truly egregious cases when our compatriots teach... English in American secondary schools. What can we say about mathematics or chemistry!
Of course, frankly speaking, the professions of a nurse or a school teacher are not the most prestigious and highly paid. And they hardly fit into our ideas about realizing the American dream. But who prevents us, while working, from improving our qualifications, studying, for example, through distance or evening programs at universities or colleges? In the USA, these forms of education are very common. After all, it is not considered here that a person who has chosen a profession must be tied to it for life. On the contrary, the fact that people constantly change their specialization and try themselves in various fields of activity is a common thing here.
The boom in information technology in the world, including in America, seems to have passed. In any case, the labor market in this field has become quiet. But, oddly enough, the USA still willingly hires our "IT specialists," valuing their high education.
A well-known "loophole" into the American or Canadian labor market is the service sector. Of course, in order to even eventually get a decent job, it is not enough to get a job delivering pizza or washing mugs in a pub. But from small positions in a hotel or restaurant, it is quite possible to move up higher - if, of course, you manage to win the employer's favor. And again - you need to study, improve your qualifications.
What does a manager manage?
Of course, business and management seem to us to be the most "American" specialties, indeed invented in the New World. Probably no one knows how many managers of various levels and specializations there are in America, and the demand for them does not fall - someone must constantly keep this grand economic system in order. Moreover, with the growth and development of various types of industry, new "varieties" of management constantly emerge. Managers are required not only in the usual traditional areas such as manufacturing, finance and banking, trade, human resources, etc., but also in medicine, sports, education, cinematography - indeed almost everywhere, up to agriculture.
But before you dream of becoming a manager in the USA or Canada, you should understand that this is a profession "with a catch". Because the title "manager" is held by employees at almost every level of the American "table of ranks". Among them, the majority are not "privy councillors" - directors and senior executives - but "collegiate registrars", petty office underlings who, if they manage anything at all, manage only their own workplace. Yes, a bank director is a manager, but so is, say, the head of delivery at a district post office. And these people, frankly, are not paid all that well. Another question is that with certain business and personal qualities (above all ambition and drive), even the most minor position can serve as a springboard for substantial career growth. Again, for this you need to improve your qualifications - in America they value those who are always learning something.
In general, there will be no instant takeoff. The essence of the "American dream" is not that you receive "all the capital at once" - that is rather the dream of Rodion Raskolnikov, a Russian of Russians. It is that everyone is given the opportunity to achieve their set goal. So, having come here to work, you should climb the career ladder from beginning to end. But only if you have not only a prestigious diploma in your pocket but also work experience and relevant recommendations can you count on a more or less high position (although, of course, not on a directorship at a bank or enterprise).
Through thorns to the stars
There are also some categories of compatriot workers who can achieve success in the USA fairly quickly - provided they are highly qualified employees. These are research scientists, especially in the natural and exact sciences. It is no secret that our school of physics and mathematics enjoys enormous authority in the West - far more than at home. This is what causes the brain drain that we so like to lament. Americans are happy to invite our scientists to their universities and research institutes, where they drive progress. Being pragmatists, they prefer those whose work is related to applied knowledge, including talented engineers, but theorists also have a chance. And humanists often find refuge in departments of Slavic studies, history, or general philology. But, I repeat, this applies only to scientists who, if not famous, at least have obvious scientific merits. And in no way to graduate students or recent graduates, who, to achieve a position in America, will have to walk the entire thorny path "to the stars", starting almost from a laboratory assistant's job.
Things are much the same for people in creative professions. Our filmmakers, artists, and animators are frequent visitors to the USA, but again the "hunt" is primarily for well-known names. Some, however, do manage to interest American producers and impresarios even without wide fame - they acquire it there. Americans are also ready to sign contracts with our musicians. Here it sometimes goes as far as offensive absurdity: as soon as our young performer "shines" at an international competition - and that's it: bye-bye, homeland, hello, America! And about five years later, the world-famous American pianist Sidorov comes to us on tour...
Postscript
And do you know which professions are the most common in the USA, besides, of course, managers of all stripes? They are lawyers and psychoanalysts, of whom, as Americans themselves joke, there are already more than people. The former simultaneously satisfy and generate a national passion for litigation, the latter - an equally nationwide craving for mental health.
But this is not work for us. After all, our lawyers are trained quite differently, and our legal system itself is very different from the American one. And psychoanalysts are not properly trained at home at all. So these professions must be mastered in the States. Or even better - to be born an American. There is far too much national specificity in such work.