Like many engineers (mechanical, nuclear, electrical etc) were doing low paid jobs in the west when the east block collapsed. I guess it's what it's, in this situations better be alive and have food on the table than struggling to meet end meals
This fails to mention that US plumbers were getting higher salaries than Russian engineers, or higher on average than most of people in the West.
In my small hometown in Russia, everybody can't get more amused that the best wage for immigrants there is paid by agricultural college diplomas.
The biggest mansions in the town are of: 1. local gang boss, 2. agronomists who went to US for work. (Russian agronomist salary was like 9000 roubles a month 15 years ago)
Now with $3000/month ($36,000/year, before tax) you live pretty well in Bucharest, better than the plumber in US that is making the same or more.
Computer science/coding seemed to have travelled the same trajectory before the stigma faded. A very in demand trade that nobody really wanted to do despite basics being available to many.
Back at home, people, including my parents, were categorically refusing to believe that starting salary of a banker could be as low as below $30k (per year) in US, or Canada.
That is after many spent their entire life savings, and sold their houses to give their children "business" eduction in the West.
When people imagine bankers making a lot of money, they are talking about investment bankers. When people talk about bankers making $30k, they're talking about retail bankers.
These careers have nothing in common with each other. It's like comparing a McDonald's retail employee to a chemical engineer.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-18/junior-ba...
And that's also a niche of the bankers, not everyone of them are ending up on top banks.
These are personal choice beyond what me or you think about, need to be respected.
So said, many researcher today are paid very little and they could get a better pay in private sector yet they don't bother to.
Really? Anyone who thinks that America, or anyone else, has any sort of open-door policy towards immigration is kidding themselves. Setting aside whether a Russian engineer would be allowed to leave Russia, the process of immigrating to another country is never easy. It costs money. Lots of it.
> whether a Russian engineer would be allowed to leave Russia
Why not? I live in a country that is not US nor Russia and I know few very good Russian engineers. They worked in US too, some of them returned to Russia eventually. So I don't understand where you get your basis. People are allowed to leave Russia they're not trapped (not to mention the many I've met when traveling was allowed)
Convenient decision when the KGB has the location of all your extended family in it's database!