context: More than 80 percent of students studying abroad have returned since 2012, claims MoE (Ministry of Education). The numbers returning increased markedly following the pandemic. With immigration requirements tightening in many countries, returning home often becomes the only option. Additionally, over 70 percent of surveyed students expressed a willingness to take the civil services exam. It is also worth noting that the job market for humanities and social science graduates appears to be overlooked in the survey.
MoE (Ministry of Education) statistics, reported by Caixin on 10 August, reveal that in 2023 job trends for returned students are as follows
- the characteristics and distribution of the returned students
- age range: 26-30 with master’s degrees accounting for 73.19 percent
- preferred first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, accounting for 47.78 percent
- returned students working in
- IT/internet/gaming (18.10 percent)
- finance (17.76 percent)
- scitech and R&D/commercial services (13.71 percent)
- job demands and salary
- jobs preferring returned students grew 12.37 percent, with IT/internet/gaming accounting for 25.87 percent of the growth
- companies’ demand for returned students
- grew 92.92 percent in the energy and chemical engineering sectors
- grew approximately 40 percent in the manufacturing and mechanical engineering sectors
- although the actual average salary dropped to C¥204,500, returned students still have an advantage compared to domestic students
- employment willingness and pressure
- returned students prefer to work in
- state-owned enterprises (45.23 percent)
- foreign companies (21.22 percent)
- domestic private companies (16.78 percent)
- over 80 percent of students return to the PRC due to
- family ties
- a sense of belonging
- career prospects
- over 90 percent of returned students report pressure related to
- the job-hunting process
- fierce competition
- salary not meeting expectations
- most returned students applied for jobs in IT/internet/gaming and finance firms located in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen
- there is a nearly twofold increase in applications from returned students in
- mechanical/manufacturing industries
- automation industry
- energy/chemical engineering/environmental protection sectors
- returned students prefer to work in
- corporate interest in returned students
- the top 20 universities that most frequently collaborate with companies and hold career fairs are all well-known globally
- the top five most sought-after majors are
- finance
- business administration
- economics
- marketing
- computer science and technology
- the top two most available positions for returned students are as
- consultants
- researchers