Special report: Chinese university graduates face the future with a higher degree of uncertainty

With youth unemployment rate in China at record highs, many college students are facing a tough decision: stay in school or graduate and face an uncertain job market. Amid the economic tumult of the COVID era and troubles in the nation’s tech industry, the trend is clear. Students are choosing to remain in the university setting, hoping that an advanced degree will give them a competitive edge and increase their chances of finding a high-quality job in the future.

Seeking new career opportunities with a Ph.D. amid a slowing economy

The old paths to professional prosperity are no longer working for young adults in China. Ma Yibo, like millions of other recent university graduates, has discovered that a slowing economy and a glut of university graduates has combined to stymie their careers.

Ma has joined a growing number who decide to remain in academia to pursue additional degrees in a desperate attempt to give them a competitive advantage in a crowded job market.

What happened? China's tech layoffs, explained

China’s educational system has been churning out highly qualified employees for the nation’s tech titans. High salaries, large bonuses, social prestige, and stock options could potentially turn employees into millionaires.

And then the bubble burst. The U.S.-China trade war, the COVID-19 pandemic, bans on some Chinese tech companies in the United States, India and Europe, a regulatory crackdown at home, and tepid consumer confidence combined to squeeze profits and prompt layoffs.

As competition for grad school heats up, students take admissions exams repeatedly

China has a severe supply and demand problem. There are more students graduating from college than there are available jobs.

Amid the job crunch, the number of students in graduate programs has surpassed undergraduate enrollment. And as competition heightens for master's and Ph.D. programs, there has been a massive increase in applications for graduate admissions exams, the gateway to grad school in China.

Chinese students opt to study abroad as jobs at home become more difficult to find

Despite the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions, a growing number of Chinese bachelor’s degree recipients are opting to study abroad to enhance their competitiveness in the tight Chinese job market and improve their intercultural competence.

According to recent projections, the number of students applying to study overseas in 2023 has exceeded pre-pandemic numbers, when an estimated 2.5 million Chinese students studied abroad.

Q&A: How studying in the UK broadened the horizons of one Chinese university student

The United Kingdom is becoming the destination of choice for an increasing number of Chinese students who seek an international university education.

One of them, Zhou Luyang, traveled from her province of Henan her north-central China to attend the University of Cambridge in England. The Asian and Middle Eastern Studies major discussed her reasons for pursuing her higher education in the U.K. with Global Business Journalism reporter Erdenenyam.P.

Global Business Journalism's data journalism team

This special report was prepared by Nguyen Ha Linh, Zhao Mingjun, Charmaine Magbuhos, Raphael Perri, Shen Chen and Erdenenyam.p., reporters in the Global Business Journalism program's In-depth Reporting and News Writing course. Professor Rick Dunham was the project's managing editor.

The Global Business Journalism data journalism team. From left to right: Shen Chen, Erdenenyam.p., Raphael Perri, Nguyen Ha Linh, Rick Dunham, Charmaine Magbuhos, Zhao Mingjun and teaching assistant Zhang Yifan.

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