City students staying positive

Moscow students may be facing tougher times due to the crisis, but many are determined to stay positive and overcome whatever problems may come.
Karina, 20, a student in the faculty of management and political economy at Moscow State Open University, started to work in a real estate agency before the crisis, and said the problems had hit the real estate sector harder than education. "My boss is suffering in the crisis, that's for sure - and we don't hire anyone anymore," she said. Karina's friend has troubles with education payments, but not because she doesn't have money to pay. She simply works so hard that she can't find time to go to university for that purpose. "Of course the crisis is tough," said Karina, "but the show must go on."
Despite the crisis, some lucky students have found a job recently. Maria, 21, a student in the same faculty, got a job in a bank debts collection agency. "It's not only students struggling to find a job," said Maria, "it's almost everyone's problem. And yes, paying students have more difficulties now. Some of them are trying to switch to a non-paying education. There are rumours at the dormitory that they even have to pay extra money to be switched to a free education."
A lot of non-paying students are from other towns and live here on their own, without parents' support. Natalya, 18, a student at the university's Business and Management faculty, started to work part-time as soon as she entered the university, because she has to rent a flat. She works in a governmental organisation and feels that state-backed enterprises are more secure now than commercial ones, though none of her acquaintances lost their job yet, and some of them found a job recently. The crisis could even be a good opportunity to get rid of people who can't do their job properly, she said.
The university's employment centre offers only temporary jobs, which doesn't suit many graduates looking to build a career. Natalya, 19, from the Linguistics faculty, agrees that students and graduates are having a hard time now trying to find a job. She's working part-time now and plans to go abroad after graduating.
First-year students from Moscow often live with their parents and more of them can study full-time. Vladimir, 19, and Yury, 18, students at the university's radio technology and electronics faculty, said they don't plan to start to looking for a job until next year. "We'll solve the problems when they come up," said Vladimir. "Who knows what will happen with the government next year?"
Zhanna Avanesyan, the dean of the university's Linguistics and Cross-Cultural Communication faculty, which currently has 10 free and 90 paid places, said that one-quarter of students had already expressed doubts they can pay their fees for next year.
"We're working with each student individually," she said. "Some can switch to non-paying courses, while others are going on to evening classes, which is half price."