College graduates in 2020 are choosing new paths for their future
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E-mail Beijing Review, July 21, 2020
Wang Qiwen graduated in June from the Communication University of Zhejiang, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province in east China. However, in contrast to many fresh college graduates who are still struggling to land a job, Wang has already quit her first job.
As a broadcast major, she worked as an intern at a radio station and a TV station during her college years. Upon graduation, the 22-year-old was hired by a multi-channel network, but she wasn't happy because she felt that she couldn't fully use her creativity and realize her value.
"I just didn't feel the job was right for me, so I quit," she said, adding that she has several job ideas in mind, such as project planner, operating officer, marketing personnel or even barista. She wants to take some time to try them out so she can figure out what she wants to do in life.
"I don't know if I'm being too naive, but I really want to go through trial and error while I'm still young," Wang said.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, there are 8.74 million fresh college graduates this year, 400,000 more than last year, hitting a record high.
While the majority of them are looking for jobs or have already found employment, some have decided to choose other paths, such as further education. This year, China's education authority expanded postgraduate enrollment by nearly 190,000.
Taking it slow
Lu Yuanyuan, 21, graduated from a mediocre college in her home province this year. In the hopes of seeing the outside world and gaining more knowledge, she took part in the postgraduate entrance exams, but failed to get into the higher learning institution of her dreams. Nevertheless, she would not give up and is devoting herself to study for next year's exam. At the same time, she's also preparing for the civil servant exam. "There is no harm in trying out different options," she said.
Some graduates are choosing to carefully plan their career paths and not rush into the job market. Wei Yu graduated from Shandong University of Science and Technology this year, but instead of accepting an offer from a real estate agency, he said he prefers to wait for more satisfying options.
"I chose to pass up the opportunity because I found it wasn't really what I wanted. I know the current job market is not very optimistic, but I would rather take it slow until I find what suits me," Wei explained.
Li Lei, a graduate from the Southwest University of Political Science and Law, had been preparing for studying overseas for a couple of years. However, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, he had to postpone his study plans and take alternate steps, accepting an internship at a company which he sees as an opportunity to gain experience.
Wang Xu, Secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee of Chongqing University, said she believes that there are multiple reasons behind the "take it slow" attitude among college graduates.
Some graduates don't have much financial pressure, so they can choose to take time before finding what they actually want to do. Meanwhile, others don't have a clear career plan, and when looking for jobs they feel at a loss or even encounter setbacks.
"Many of them are shy, or lack of the confidence or motivation to get employment. We need to provide more care and guidance for them, such as offering job searching skills and psychological counseling, as well as financial assistance to poverty-stricken graduates, which will better facilitate employment for them so they can enter adult society," Wang Xu told Xinhua News Agency.
