ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the divergence between traditional career guidance models in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the dynamics of the digital economy, conceptualized as a distinct outcome of specific socio-economic conditions. The study examines the drivers of youth “digital emigration,” analyzes the underlying structural interests of global digital platforms, and explores how these factors redefine contemporary career trajectories. The objective is to theoretically framework digital labor as an adaptive strategy for mitigating domestic systemic anomalies, while simultaneously delineating the structural differences between conventional and digital employment. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the working conditions of digital workers operating within Bosnia and Herzegovina, who concurrently navigate a pronounced deficit in institutional support. Utilizing multiple regression analysis, this study evaluates the impact of the independent variables “Average Monthly Net Wage in BiH” and “Above Basic Digital Skills” on the dependent variable “Hourly Wage of Digital Workers,” thereby empirically validating the formulated research hypotheses. The paper concludes that the career development of digital workers is decoupled from the conditions of the domestic traditional economy, macro-dependant instead on the global economic landscape and the proficiency of their digital skills.