Some Chinese college graduates see moving to first-tier cities as a chance to choose their own path in life. (Photo: Li Hao/GT)
Zhang Yi, a 22-year-old recent graduate, considers herself fortunate for having found a job in Beijing. But the capital was not her first choice. She only made the move after she exhausted all her options in her hometown of Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi Province.
"Few companies were interested in offering me a position [in Taiyuan]," said Zhang, who majored in history at university.
Hoping that there would be more opportunities for her in Beijing, she boarded a train to the city several months ago.
Like Zhang, a significant number of college graduates are choosing first-tier cities as the starting point of their career because they believe that compared to second- and third-tier cities, there are more job opportunities.
In fact, college graduates account for 33.5 percent or the highest proportion of people who have signed a contract to work in first-tier cities this year, according to a May 27 NetEase News report, which cited a recent survey by Chinese employment portal zhaopin.com.
Bittersweet success
Although they have jobs, some of them in their fields of study, it does not mean that recent graduates have an easy life. For one, their salary in many cases leaves much to be desired.
The NetEase News report said that the average monthly salary of a recent college graduate is 4,014 yuan ($591).
"My monthly pay is even lower than the average," said Zhang.
Despite her low income, Zhang said she does not regret working in Beijing. Instead, she feels grateful for the job opportunity because she still clearly recalls how hard it was for her to find a job in Taiyuan.
She had started sending her resume to different companies long before she graduated, but she was either shut out or rejected during the interview process. According to her, the reason for her failure then was her "not so popular" major.
"The graduates majoring in popular majors like finance and law are more welcomed by employers," she said, adding that she had many classmates who also encountered a lot of difficulties job hunting.
"Some of them eventually found a job with the help of their parents' interpersonal network," she said.
"Others, who have no connections, opted for postgraduate study to allow themselves more time before re-entering the fierce job market."
Zhang considered taking a similar route but nixed applying for her master's when some of her friends in Beijing told her that there are more job opportunities in the city and encouraged her to have a try.
She then began to search for jobs in Beijing on the Internet and was amazed to find that there were far more companies and job openings there, so she packed and left for the capital.
Within several weeks of arriving, Zhang received replies from more than 10 companies and two job offers after rounds of interviews.
"There are more companies in Beijing, so it is more likely for me to find a company that appreciates my knowledge in history, which seemed useless and unneeded when I was back in Taiyuan searching for jobs," Zhang said.
She later accepted a job offer to help integrate historical elements into game designs for a gaming company.
