Russian and post-Soviet professionals in Australia have competitive advantages if they don't lose heart

In Australia, migrants from Russia and CIS countries often feel like second-class people — due to prejudice or the difficulty of adaptation. In reality, however, post-Soviet professionals possess serious advantages: education, practical experience, and cultural flexibility, which allow them to earn several times more and climb the career ladder faster than local Australians.

What stops migrants from seeing their advantages

People often limit themselves by accepting social stereotypes about their place in society’s hierarchy. Australia sees many migrants from different regions — India, Pakistan, Nepal, other Asian countries. But post-Soviet people, due to their educational background, are in a good starting position. Russia and the former Soviet Union still have a high level of education — the country hasn’t lost what was built during Soviet times. This applies both to fundamental knowledge and engineering thinking.

Migrants from the post-Soviet space usually don’t arrive as the poorest — their financial situation is comparable to or better than that of migrants from Latin America and Asia. At the same time, Australians themselves aren’t particularly focused on accumulating capital.

Real paths up the Australian hierarchy

If a person has good English, general knowledge, and is willing to adapt, their career can rise quite quickly. The key is to become part of the local culture. That means mastering the language, understanding and adapting to Australian culture, and thinking and speaking like a local when needed.

Connections play a decisive role — marriage, acquaintances, colleagues’ recommendations open doors far more effectively than a resume. An employer who wants to hire someone through a trusted person’s recommendation simply throws the rest of the resumes in the trash. A position nominally paying $80,000–100,000 a year can, in practice, bring in $300,000–500,000 if a person is in the right place, knows the right people, and behaves well with colleagues and management.

The advantage of stereoscopic vision

Post-Soviet professionals, especially engineers and managers, often work far more effectively than Australians two or three levels above them. The reason is simple: they have a stereoscopic view of any specialty — experience from different countries, different systems, different approaches to solving the same problem.

Australians don’t have this. They grew up in one system, got educated under one scheme. When a migrant offers an alternative approach or recalls how something was solved in another country, locals often exclaim: ‘Wow, no way!’ Talented post-Soviet people, even those who might be called personal enemies, actually perform much better in practice.

English — the bottleneck

The main problem is that migrants often don’t develop their English to the level needed for success. Over the past five years, hardly anyone has truly raised their English level. Among students and other professionals, there’s a general decline in language proficiency.

But there are exceptions — people who scored all nines on the international IELTS exam. Such people really do land good positions and even outperform local employees. This gives them a powerful competitive advantage and opens access to high-paying positions.

Cultural heritage as a resource of influence

Post-Soviet people are interesting in Australia precisely because of their history, culture, and knowledge. Australians either aren’t interested in such things or already know everything about each other. When someone arrives who can talk about their history, culture, and has encyclopedic knowledge — it sparks interest, builds connections, and opens paths.

This cultural capital can be used to move up the social and career ladder. Such experience and knowledge make a person more valuable in the eyes of both employers and the community as a whole.

Examples of elites in Australian society

Australia’s Prime Minister is Italian. Nine out of ten of the country’s wealthiest people are Jewish. The most talented athletes, scientists, and figures in culture and art are also not Australian by origin. All these people are migrants or their descendants who achieved success. If they could do it, it’s possible for others too, as long as they’re willing to put in the effort and believe in their potential.