Young cultural studies specialists in the labor market: positioning problems

The article discusses the idea of culturology as a profession in modern conditions, requiring specificity, the narrowest possible specialization and applied opportunities. The problem ofthe demand for cultural studies in the labor market is considered within the framework of this article from three positions: through the eyes of the applicant, the employer and the graduating specialists of universities. From the standpoint of the applicant, cultural studies as a future profession cannot compete with other in-demand specialties, such as law, IT, economics, finance, etc. The position of employers in relation to culturologists can be traced through the analysis of vacancies for the request "culturologist" in Russia. From the standpoint of training specialists in culturology by universities, the diversity of the approach to culturology is noted. Further, the facts of employment and professional implementation of cultural specialists in the city of Ulyanovsk are considered on the material of graduates of the Ulyanovsk State University. Based on a review of three different positions and an analysis of the facts of employment of culturologists in their specialty, the article formulates the main problems of positioning young specialists in cultural studies in the labor market, in particular, the problem of the novelty of the profession, the problem of the breadth of professional competencies, the problem of "author's" specialty profiles in different universities of the country, the problem significant lag of the domestic cultural cluster of the economy. The competitive advantages of a culturologist in theory and practice are analyzed. As a result, the author proposes the directions for solving the issue of promoting cultural studies as a promising and in-demand profession.