Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
Foreign degree won’t ensure gold-collar job
Print Edition
MORE than 350,000 Chinese students returned home after completing their studies overseas last year, an increase of nearly 30 percent over the previous year, according to the Ministry of Education.
It used to be very common for students to remain abroad after studies, seeking internships and well-paid employment. But opportunities have dwindled because of widespread economic problems and unemployment in Europe, the United States and elsewhere.
Experts predict a significant turning point in the next five years, as a greater percentage of students return home.
Chinese graduates increasingly are returning to China because of a sharp decline in job vacancies overseas, according to Zong Huawei, an official with the ministry.
At the same time, despite some slowing, China’s economy remains among the best performers worldwide, which make it ideal for those returning from overseas, Zong added.
It’s good to see more “sea turtles” (hai gui) — which is pronounced like the phrase “returning from overseas” — return to the embrace of the motherland to realize their Chinese dreams.
However, in the eyes of prospective employers, these returning turtles are no longer as rare and prized as in the past. They face fierce domestic competition from fresh graduates and young professionals seeking the same positions.
It’s well known that there’s a glut of domestic college graduates and far from enough jobs. This year an estimated 7.3 million graduates are expected to enter the job market
Many of these returning turtles get undergraduate and graduate degrees, sometimes at prestigious universities. Some get dual-master’s degrees at two schools to increase their marketability and demonstrate that they can operate in both a Western and Eastern environment. They commonly say their aim is to earn at least half a million yuan (US$81,346) as their annual reward.
Their strategy worked, at least during the early years of this century, and it was repeated many times. But the results are no longer a certainty today.
One of my schoolmates went to the UK in 2000 after working at a government agency for three years. He got a master’s degree and returned the following year to work at a Shanghai law firm. He was eventually hired by a foreign chamber of commerce and paid 500,000 yuan a year.
However, for a classmate who studied in Britain in 2003, the situation was different. She and all her Chinese classmates who joined the master of laws degree program at a famous college returned immediately after graduation as there were few job opportunities in the UK.
Some Chinese employers are also unwilling to hire these highly qualified graduates with one or two master’s degrees, meaning they are not cheap.
Limited expertise
The nine months to two years of education overseas doesn’t make a great deal of sense.
In such a short period of time, they can only make limited progress in a foreign language or in expertise.
Many of those who return spend six months to a year looking for work. My classmate was hired at the minimum wage. One of her returning peers worked for a domestic law firm for only six months, and was sacked without being given a reason. A master’s degree from an Ivy League institution or prestigious college elsewhere is no longer the guarantee of a good job at the China headquarters of an international conglomerate or a senior position at a domestic industrial giant. What employers in China want is real skill, genuine knowledge and some experience.
It cannot be denied that overseas study has an enduring appeal in China. Among the first batch of students who went overseas in the 19th century, many were determined to return and use their skills to build their country.
Their followers in the first half of the 20th century also contributed their expertise to our nation.
Starting in the 1980s, more and more Chinese chose to stay abroad after graduation largely because of better living conditions and higher salaries.
Compared with their forerunners a century ago, they cared more about their own comfort.
A survey by the Ministry of Education says another 410,000 Chinese students set off to study abroad last year, up 3.58 percent from a year ago.
I wish them good luck!
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
