This article discusses the results of a field study conducted in 2019 at Tomsk State University (TSU) and Tyumen State University (TyumSU). The purpose of the study is to investigate the motivations behind educators’ choice of their profession and the aspects they say as its advantages and disadvantages. Methodologically, the study is based on 43 in-depth interviews with lecturers of TSU and TyumSU. These universities are located in Siberian cities and are among the group of the leading higher education institutions in Russia. The study shows that the lecturers associate the benefits of work at the university with the opportunities provided by the ‘5-100 Project’ to attain the world standards; good working conditions; prestige of work at a reputable university; stability of university employment; feeling of belonging to the academic; and so on. Most educators are dissatisfied with such aspects of university work as bureaucratization; redundancies; short-term contracts; the lack of transparency and inefficiency in funds distribution; and irregular working hours. We found that despite some divergence of views, the faculty of the TSU and TyumSU share a lot of opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of university work. Thus, the cases of the two Siberian universities provide us with the insights into a larger picture of the Russian system of higher education. These findings can be useful for HR services of universities for recruiting and retaining personnel.