According to Zhou, the employment situation may not ease off until 2011. With the number of graduates outstripping the economic needs of cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, he believes the program offers students great opportunities. But some of his students view these opportunities as embarrassing.
"Many students have the idea that their family will lose face if they go to rural areas for work. But big cities don't need all the graduates, so I think it's very important to change this old idea," Zhou said.
Zhou also noted that working in rural areas means receiving a lower income every month, and doing only about half the work that one could do in big cities—a factor that might hurt their resume when applying for the next job in the future.
"If the government could establish more policies for helping rural development, then working in rural areas may not be a problem for graduates. Our country needs their support to continue developing," Zhou said.
Zhou believes that in order to entice graduates to go to rural areas, it requires building a fair labor market and providing better opportunities when it comes to social security and higher education in those areas. He also thinks the government should provide more subsidies to students who take jobs in China's western cities and underdeveloped areas. Zhou knows this will take time.
"This is not simply a policy, I believe this is a big project," he said.
Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles for the project will require changing the way many students think.
According to soon-to-be graduate Dong, "A lot of college students set their goals too high and become picky during their job hunting."
To him, students shouldn't care so much about job status and salary as much as they should about doing their part for China.
"It's common for people to desire a more comfortable lifestyle and higher salary. But a person cannot live his whole life only for money …If one has something he can devote to society, I think he will get rewarded from society in return."
(China.org.cn May 26, 2009)
