The article is devoted to the study of a career as a life strategy for rural youth. In an everchanging society, youth’s views on career and behavior patterns are changing. In rural conditions, youth career strategies may differ from the career strategies of city residents. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the need arose to find a job as a graduate on their own, which led to a new direction in research - the study of the initial stage of a youth career and issues related to their construction. A study conducted in institutions of higher professional education in the city of Novosibirsk showed thestudents’attitudes toward the beginning of a career, minimum wages, the need or absence of the need for part-time work during studies, the importance of career growth, the value of a diploma.