Abstract:

In modern studies of education in Russian colleges and universities, the problem of its influence on the life success of students and their assessment of the possible results of this influence is of great interest.

The object of the study is students of secondary vocational education institutions (colleges) and higher education (universities) of the Sverdlovsk region.

The purpose of the article is to identify and analyze students' assessments of the education they receive as a factor of their future life success.

The empirical basis of the article is presented by the results of a study conducted by a research group of the Ural Federal University under the leadership of the author in January-February 2021. A mass online survey covered students of colleges and universities in the Sverdlovsk region. The sample size was 2302 people, the sampling error did not exceed 2%. For the general characteristics of students, we used statistical data on students of colleges and universities in Russia and the region under consideration, as well as the results of a secondary analysis of research data close to the topic of the article.

Results:
1. Education is considered by students of colleges and universities as one of the main factors influencing the achievement of life success. However, the range of student assessments of this role of education is very wide-from full recognition to complete denial of the impact of education on the achievement of life success. Studies have shown that the richer the human capital of students, the more complete the recognition of the importance of education as the most important factor in achieving life success in the main areas of activity.
2. According to the research, students understand the existence of good health, financial well-being, their own family, decent work, the possibility of self-realization, the implementation of plans, and the achievement of goals. The high score of each of these success indicators depends to some extent on the academic success of students.
3. The main qualities of a person necessary for converting the received education into life success are, in the opinion of students, purposefulness, hard work, good knowledge, professional training, initiative, organization. The presence of these qualities is, on the one hand, a necessary prerequisite and an important condition for educational success, on the other – its result and a significant contribution to the achievement of life success.
4. According to the study, the influence of education on the life achievements of a future employee is due to the action of such factors as successful studies, educational and professional (labor) motivation, personal initiative, energy, entrepreneurship, intellectual abilities, and the ability to show their best side.
5. A comparative analysis of college and university students' assessments of the role of education as a factor in achieving life success has shown that these assessments are mostly higher among university students than in colleges. Hence, we doubt that the purposeful state orientation of a significant part of school graduates to continue their education in colleges instead of universities will lead to an increase in the quality of their human capital, and through it – to achieve life success in the labor market and in society.

Keywords:

College and university students, secondary vocational and higher education, life success of graduates of educational institutions, students' assessments of the impact of education on success.