Young Chinese workers – overqualified and in low-paid jobs

China is now a country where a high school handyman has a master's degree in physics; a cleaner is qualified in environmental planning; a delivery driver studied philosophy and a doctor from the prestigious Tsinghua University ended up applying to work as an auxiliary police officer.

These are real cases in a struggling economy – and it's not hard to find others like them.

“My dream job was to work in investment banking,” says Sun Zhan as he prepares to start his job as a waiter at a hot pot restaurant in the southern city of Nanjing.

The 25-year-old recently earned a master's degree in finance. He hoped to “make a lot of money” in a well-paid position, but adds: “I looked for such a job, without any satisfactory results.”

China produces millions of college graduates each year, but in some fields there simply aren't enough jobs for them.

The economy is struggling and stagnating in major sectors, including real estate and manufacturing.

Youth unemployment was approaching 20% ​​before the way the figures were measured was changed to improve the situation. In August 2024, it was still 18.8%. The latest figure for November came down to 16.1%.

Many college graduates who struggled to find work in their chosen field of study now hold jobs far below what they are qualified for, drawing criticism from their families and friends. friends.

When Sun Zhan became a waiter, his parents were unhappy.

“My family's opinions concern me a lot. After all, I studied for many years and went to a pretty good school,” he says.

He says his family is embarrassed by his choice of job and would prefer he try to become a civil servant or civil servant, but, he adds, “it's my choice.”

However, he has a secret plan. He will use his time working as a waiter to learn the restaurant business so that he can eventually open his own restaurant.

He believes that if he ends up running a successful business, his family's criticism will have to change their tune.

“The employment situation is really very difficult in mainland China, so I think a lot of young people really need to readjust their expectations,” says Professor Zhang Jun of the City University of Hong Kong.

She says many students seek advanced degrees in order to have better prospects, but then the reality of the work environment hits them.

“The job market has been very difficult,” said Wu Dan, 29, currently an intern at a sports injury massage clinic in Shanghai.

“For many of my master’s classmates, this is the first time they have looked for a job and very few of them ended up getting one.”

She also didn't think this was where she would earn a degree in finance from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Before that, she worked at a futures trading company in Shanghai, where she specialized in agricultural products.

When she returned to the mainland after completing her studies in Hong Kong, she wanted to work at a private equity firm and received offers, but was unhappy with the conditions.

The fact that she accepted none and began training in sports medicine did not go down well with her family.

“They thought I had such a good job before and that my education was quite competitive. They didn't understand why I chose a job without barriers that required me to do physical labor for little money.”

She admits that she couldn't survive in Shanghai on her current salary, without her partner owning their house.

At first, she didn't know anyone who supported her in her current career path, but her mother returned after recently treating her for her back pain, significantly reducing the pain she felt.

Today, this former finance student says that she believes that a life of work in the world of investment ultimately does not suit her.

She says she is interested in sports injuries, enjoys her work and wants to one day open her own clinic.

Chinese graduates are being forced to change their perception of what could be considered “a good job”, says Professor Zhang.

In what could be seen as “a warning sign” for young people, “many companies in China, including many technology companies, have laid off significant numbers of staff,” she adds.

She also claims that important areas of the economy, which were once large employers of graduates, offer substandard conditions and that decent opportunities in these areas are disappearing completely.

As they think about what to do in the future, unemployed graduates are also looking to the film and television industry.

Big-budget films need many extras to fill their scenes, and in Hengdian, China's famous film production city, southwest of Shanghai, many young people are looking for acting work.

“I mainly stand next to the protagonist to please the eyes. I am seen next to the main actors but I don't have any lines,” said Wu Xinghai, who studied electronic information engineering and played the role of a bodyguard in a drama.

The 26-year-old laughs that his good looks helped him get a job as an extra.

He says people often come to Hengdian and work for only a few months at a time. He says it's a temporary solution for him too, until he finds something permanent. “I don’t make a lot of money but I’m relaxed and I feel free.”

“That's the situation in China, isn't it? As soon as you graduate, you find yourself unemployed,” said Li, who did not want to give his first name.

He majored in film directing and screenwriting and also committed to working as an extra for a few months.

“I came here to look for work while I was still young. When I am older, I will find a stable job.”

But many fear they will never land a decent job and will have to settle for a role different from the one they had imagined.

Lack of confidence in the trajectory of China's economy means young people often don't know what the future holds.

Wu Dan says even his working friends can feel completely lost.

“They are quite confused and feel that the future is unclear. Those who have a job are not happy with it. They don't know how long they can keep these positions. What if they lose their current job, what else can they do?

She says she's just going to “go with the flow and gradually explore what I really want to do.”