Employment in the performance of pre-paid educational and scientific works: social and economic aspects

Relevance. Currently, the market for custom-made educational and scientific work is a large segment of the shadow economy characterized by significant volumes. In the structure of this market, we may observe the formation of special types of social and economic agents and their interaction practices. However nowadays both the essential social and economic characteristics of such employment and its cultural value aspects, which form the social subjectivity of the performers of the work, have not fully become the object of scientific reflection. The purpose is to study the social and economic aspects of employment in the field of contract work. Objectives : to reveal the theoretical and methodological foundations of actualization of employment for the performance of commissioned educational and scientific works in the general structure of freelancing; to specify the content of the main social and economic characteristics of the performance of commissioned works; to implement a typology of motivation of authors of commissioned works; to determine the current directions of further scientific research on the stated problem. Methodology. The article uses sociological concepts of post-industrial society and sociological theories of postmodernity. Special attention is paid to the provision of a number of basic general scientific methods, as well as modeling and generalization methods. The empirical basis of the study was the results of the author's sociological study conducted by the method of an expert online survey (N=50). Results. The employment volume in the sphere of contract work in the general structure of freelancing was considered in the article. The content of socio-economic characteristics of employment in the performance of commissioned works (at the personal and subjective levels) is revealed as well as the typology of value and motivational orientations of the authors of commissioned works was carried out. Conclusions. Pre-paid educational and scientific works tends to professionalize, though this sphere is hindered by the low average income from this customers. It is financial motivation that is predominant in the structure of work factors for the authors of commissioned works.