At some job fairs in recent years, it has been very common to see hundreds of postgraduate students competing for one position. Many complain that it's very difficult to get employed nowadays.
"This year I felt it has been extremely hard to find a job as a postgraduate. It's probably because there are so many postgraduate students seeking jobs this year, and the competition in the job market is fierce. Plus, we just graduated without work experience."
"There are fewer job vacancies suitable for postgraduates as there were in the past."
Liu Xiaojun, department director of Beijing's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, talks about the current employment rate for postgraduate students.
"The overall employment rate among postgraduates, graduates and other students is such that a higher academic degree brings a lower employment rate. Students who have graduated from vocational schools or technical secondary schools usually are 100-percent employed as frontline workers."
Most people believe a higher academic degree will mean a better job and higher salary. But things are different nowadays.
In recent years, the number of students enrolled in higher education across the country has been growing. In 2012, there were 584,000 postgraduate students enrolled in universities nationwide—a number 10 times higher than that of a decade ago.
Although universities have expanded their postgraduate enrollment, postgraduate students do not have much of an edge over their peers who have not pursued a higher academic degree.
With the increasing number of postgraduates, the number of job vacancies for senior positions is insufficient. Moreover, the curriculums of most master's degree programs far from meet the demands of the marketplace.
Lu Lin is the department director of Beijing's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. He talks about the difference between postgraduate curriculum and that of a typical bachelor's degree program.
"Based on our current education system, graduate students from colleges and universities usually recieve basic and expanded courses. That's why they have more options when seeking jobs. However, the curriculum for postgraduates are usually more specific."
Apart from these, there is another reason behind the low employment rate for postgraduates: Students have very high expectations regarding salary.
Currently in Beijing, the average monthly salary for a college graduate is 2,000 to 3,000 yuan. But most postgraduates' expectations are much higher.
One student says he is hoping for at least 6,000 yuan a month. (upsound) Another one says she expects 8,000 yuan a month or more.
With such high salary expectations, many employers say they won't automatically pay high salaries to postgraduates as the remuneration one receives largely depends on his or her abilities.
For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.
