Graduates Face Many Barriers in Job Hunting L/ ~D<V
It is graduation time again. Whether joining the social workforce or pursuing )`^ /(YG
advanced studies, about four million Chinese graduates will soon turn a new page in SgiDh dE
their lives. Still, no matter what, campus life will remain deeply etched on the minds 1DUb
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of China's former students. What lies ahead for the country's graduates? E
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Statistics released by relevant departments of China show that in 2006, graduates ^CUSlnB\(
from all Chinese colleges and universities numbered 4.13 million, up 750,000 from }B`Ku5 M
2005 with a growth rate of roughly 22%. Hence, the employment tension further NddO*`8+)
intensifies. Meanwhile, various intangible barriers exist in social relations, regional rkq#7
restriction, permanent residency and university's reputation have made the graduates' "mR*7o$|
job-hunting process tougher. SnW7 x
Some analyze that against the backdrop of intensified employment tension for n&$/Q$d&
university graduates, needy students from rural and urban areas usually find wqP2Gw7jh6
themselves in relatively inferior positions. b:1 L@8s;
Some graduates realize that in order to get a job, they have to sign some "unfair yplG18
treaties" that promise not to take the postgraduate exam or leave the company within 0'`S,
several years, or they have to pay 5,000 Yuan for breaching the contract. Some `"c'z;
recruiters even declare openly that they only need students from famous universities, h48YDWwy
so graduates from other schools are not even entitled to apply. ;g+]klR!
Currently the contradiction in China's higher education has transferred from entering { D+Ym%n
to leaving a university and from the difficulty in enrollment to employment after nM8[
graduation. It has become a common phenomenon that "graduates become jobless". b!^@PIX
Should this problem not be tackled rightly, the employment issue would turn into a wx*1*KZ
new factor that causes social instability. 9,scH65x
College—A New Experience i $C-)d]
Living at college, first of all, gives me a sense of responsibility, of being on my &n>7Ir
own. My parents aren’t around to say, ―No, you’re not going out tonight‖ or ―Did you xzr<k Sp
finish your homework?‖ Everything I do has to be my decision, and that gives me the n1,S_Hs
responsibility of handling my own life. During the second week I was at college, I had
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to go out and look for a bank where I could open an account. Before that I looked in <( E
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the phone book since I had no clue about any banks around here or where they were pawl|Z'Ez
located. I went to the bank and made decisions for myself—whether to have a JYJU&u
checking or savings account and whether or not to get a MASTER card. ugLlI2 nJ
Friendly people: that’s another aspect I like about college. On my first day (and 8{
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even now) people were nice to me. I came to Marymount University here in Virginia Hhl-E:"H`
from New York and – even though I’d been here before—I was a bit confused about mp1ttGUtM
where I was going. My mother and I drove in, not knowing the building we were $(rc/h0/E
supposed to go to, and the guard was especially nice: with a smile, he told us what TH:W#Ot
building we were looking for and where we could park our car. Some upperclassmen sJU`u'w
saw me and asked, ―Are you a new student?‖ When they found out I was looking for gCJIIzl%Bh
my dormitory, one said, ―Oh, just follow us; that’s where we’re going.‖ Even now I pO]8
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feel comfortable in the dorm because there are friendly people around to talk with. nB] Ia?
Finally—to add to my likes of college—I love having Saturdays off. Also, I love 9]7u_
to sleep in, something I couldn’t do in high school.
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How Can We Finance Our College Education? #|f~s
Nowadays, tuition fees for college are much higher than ever before. How to .<YcSG
finance our college education has become a matter of concern for many students, L'E^c,-x~
especially those who are from the remote areas. &