China’s Youth Broken, Crying! Can’t Find Jobs, Top University Diplomas Turn Into Toilet Paper 

A college education isn't special when EVERYONE has a college education.

Cannot blame them. Seeing how they have been studying hard since kindergarten. At the end, it is not worth their effort.

Not only in China, its a global problem, and its worse in third world countries that nobody mentions about

Tbh, it's not just China. It's every nation. Graduates now struggle to find work in their fields. It's almost like you need a PhD with 20 years experience to start a entry level graduate position.

When everyone has a piece of paper that says you can read, write, memorize, you need something else to stand out

As a college grad who chose to work in the construction/plumbing industry for the last 20+ years I feel like many young people have been sold a bill of goods. I don't regret my decision to go to college, but I do resent how the powers that be promised that getting a degree would open up so many doors and provide so many opportunities. In reality, the best advice is 'get in where you fit in'.

This is happening in every developed country. Young people in the USA are facing the same issues.

sometimes we complain that our country is doomed. But we forget that it's just not our country, it s everywhere in the world right now

If the economy can’t absorb the number of BAs, what makes anyone believe it can absorb the same people as MAs or PhDs?

Sending resume over a month and a half ??? I'm Indian I'm sending resume for last 1 year in order to switch the company. Have given more than 20 interviews. Nothing. Large population have benefits and drawback too. The competition is insane , for 1 job opening there are more than 2000 applicants.

Here in America 🇺🇸 your experience counts more than your degree! And let's be honest, the top paying jobs are saved for the elite people , people with important connections.

“I memorised the standard answers “ Now there’s an employee everybody wants

College is a racket. Years ago I failed a class. When I retook it the next semester I had to buy the "new" book. IT WAS THE SAME BOOK WITH THE CHAPTERS MOVED AROUND!

Best advice don't have children this is unsustainable on this planet!

Its like that saying from incredibles "When everyone is super, no one is super"

Same here in India as well.The difference is the situation is 10x worse.

I believe youth unemployment is currently high in most countries, not just China.

Being told lies can't hurt you. Believing those lies can destroy you. "Everybody is going to get rich" is, always was, and always will be, a LIE.

I'll always remember what my father told me when I was still in school: "When you have a college degree, regardless of what you study, you will always be able to find a job" This was true when he graduated. Only ~10-15% of his generation had a degree. Now the majority of our peers have degree AND I agree fully with the guy at 11:09 UNIVERSITIES DO NOT TEACH SKILLS THAT APPLY IN THE REAL WORLD AND IN COMPANIES. Yet they market themselves as preparation for careers. In reality, a lot of teachers failed at getting a job in their field and resorted to teaching inexperienced people. Not all of them of course, but many. Universities should be held to a higher standard and in varying extent, refund tuitions on the ground of false marketing claims.

Problem is not able to find a decent paying job to survive. Most people don't target high paying job. They struggle to find just an average job with enough salary to survive.

When everyone has a degree the privilege of having an education loses its value

It's not only in China, it's happening everywhere around the world. Like for example I am in Kenya and unemployed. Been working freelance. I am a graphic designer with a heavy specialization in illustration. It's really sad that a person spends a lot of time and money only to end up jobless!

From " I'm a proud Degree Certificate Holder" To " I'm just a Graduate". what a world we live in, sometimes I fell like *quitting education and doing Agriculture.*

This is happening in the USA too. It’s never taken me so long to find a job like it has this year.. Anyone else in the US having this issue?

This will exacerbate the country's population decline

Even those who found a job, how many are going to be able to keep it for more than 2 months?

I was just telling my husband that looking for a job is not that easy. You can't apply for every job. And the ones that match you skillset are either low balling, inaccessible bc you live too far away and they want you to do the work of 3 ppl. this is from corporate all they way down to the worker bee. the rich have a strangle hold on anyone who can't work for themselves...when did we as a society get like this where we are comfortable seeing ppl struggle, go without or in pain and suffering. it's just a sad situation all around.

My heart goes out to this cohort, all over the world. Companies are laying off workers. Times are tough everywhere, not just China

College enrollment rate of Chinese education reach 60% in 2022. It is 12 million college graduates each year. It is too much. Even country with advanced economy like Japan had 40% college enrollment rate few years ago.

I know how Chinese work first hand, the employers do really abuse their employees. Everyone work extra unpaid hours and don’t fight for their basic rights

Even STEM degrees are becoming over saturated. I know people personally that have CS and Electrical Engineering degrees are having trouble finding work.

It is also very similar in my country (I live in one of the countries of the European Union). We are full of young people who have bachelor's degrees from various educational institutions, but then it takes a long time for them to find a job in their chosen profession - so it often happens that after graduation a person works in a completely different profession than he has an educational document - and it can be a relatively low-paying job. What helps a little in the education system is that many places require a 6-month internship in a company during studies - and it often happens that the company itself offers the student a job after receiving a bachelor's degree, if he proves himself to be the best. For example, a young person who has obtained a welder's diploma (at a professional school that is not a University) is more accustomed than a lawyer with a bachelor's degree - and a welder will earn more, because there are so many lawyers that they are forced to fight to be hired somewhere at all. Why do universities continue to mass accept students to specific faculties? Because the state gives grants to the university for each student, but what will happen to the student in the future is not the university's problem.

if everyone is special then no one is, if everyone has a degree then they are no longer a big deal

A bachelor’s degree today is what a high school diploma was 20 years ago.

People want a job that will compensate their education... but the money is not there. Same in America.

Getting my degree has definitely been a positive for me. Building a network was important. Took the first professional role they gave me, not what I majored in and went from there.

I wonder if their boomers are calling them idiots for listening to the decade of messaging from nearly every adult they know telling them that sure all the jobs were outsourced, but you can go to college and learn the skills of the future, GO FOR ANYTHING! FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS! TAKE THE DEBT because companies will be so happy to see that you are educated, that it doesn't matter what you go for!!! Then escape to their 60k homes now worth 1 mill that they bought w/ a firm handshake and a GED.

Getting a University degree doesn’t always guarantee earning power

While everyone was getting advanced degrees, internship, etc, i was working, up to 3 jobs at one time. I didnt care what it wasz money is money. Getting real world experience. Making money. Making connections. While everyone was going on vacations, to the beach, dinners, clubs, . I just worked till i didnt know if it was day, night, what day of the week it was. Later i was able put down payment on my house, a rental property, and a small business. Actually a couple. Early bought, sold them if the price was right. Late 40s,early 50s i was semi retired. No worries about income.

One thing I will say in every country Universities are like businesses preying on students and graduates for fees and at the end with their degree students and graduates can't get jobs.

there are thousands of chinese students abroad , what is their future like in a country that thinks 35 is old in the work place

To answer the young woman's question, yes, she spent all those years in education to get no job. I know it's cold but it's reality. Just because you can do the education doesn't mean you get the employment. A tough real world life lesson. It sucks.

Litteraly going through the same thing the thought of uncertainty of the future and depression and the bouts of anger are unbearable 😢

And sometimes the sad part about it is, even though you see this happening, the elders or parents will STILL push their children to get a degree, just because of fear of people not respecting them or the families reputation etc

People need to understand, labor jobs are the most important jobs, no labor equals nothing to buy, this is equilibrium at work.

Result of too high skiiled workers when there are mostly requirements for low skill jobs in the market. Graduation doesn't garuntee a job. The market decides that. I have played cities skylines a lot.

Because colleges now act like big business. They selling a product, diploma. Not exactly teaching something useful. People has to understand that 😵

The situation seems to be the same around the planet, amazing how people keep believing that getting into debt to pay for a diploma that everyone else has will improve their job prospects.

this is what happens when education is prioritized becoming overcompetitive, it only took a around 200 years for this system to fail. Many with massive debt, gaining nothing from their hard work and wasting a quarter of their life studying things that they will never use

It is also quite evil to not warn these kids about other career being eliminated completely by future AI development, for those who are "career advisors."

Not only China… similar situation in Europe and US

God, what a nightmare to be living in for young people.

"Universities should take responsibility for the unemployment of graduates" lulz thnx for the laffs.

College graduates have the same problem throughout the world, even in the US. Most companies only hire the top 10% of graduates with related work experience as summer interns and proven interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills. Do not just count on your high GPA to land you a job quickly.

It's a global issue. not only china. specially after covid.

I pray that these people who are currently going through hardships will find success, happiness and prosperity.

What's the point of Chinese students going through hell studying and homework now?

At first I thought the title was misspelled and should be UNemployment rate. Then I realized it was the rate that the graduates were being employed. That is crazy.

Man these stories are so similar to what I went through back in 2010 when I graduated in Canada. Labour job straight after unviersity, unemployment for over a year, crappy job after, went back to trades school. The worst part is that my university friends who endured the STEM market are doing worse than me 15 years after, and from the looks of it I am more likely to get a management job, as it was mentioned: I have learned skills which are useful in the real world.

The education bubble will burst.

The world is shifting. that college degree is meaning less and less . The pendulum is shifting from college to Physical needs like in the trades and actual experience and knowledge in computer designs. With AI coming into the industry many college degrees will become worthless and that will affect Women the most . Welding , Plumbing, Actual Computer skills , HVAC, Electrician are all in high demand . College degrees are a dime a dozen

Southpark even had an episode about that. University degrees are out, trades are in.

I remember when everyone is working to get a college degree to be a doctor, an engineer, a pilot etc. People telling me that I've no ambition when I worked to get my electrical engineering and NWI (national welding institute) degrees and guess what? Since there's so few people like me nowadays that my call out fee is €80 and thats only looking at whats wrong for 5mins and not doing anything to it.

The government disrespects private property, intellectual property rights, and human rights. The disastrous result is the loss of vast amounts of wealth and talent. Then, Massive unemployment is in the expectation.

Those in the comments who mentioned manual labor, trades, construction, etc don't seem to understand that it pays very little in China. And there is almost no workers' protection, so if you get injured you are screwed. That's why so many people went to study. But now that the market is saturated, nothing can be done. It's over for them.

This is the group that needs to rebel against a system that will not work for them

This is really sad 😢I hope you are all able to find something.

My Chinese sister in law wanted a degree. Any degree. It didn't matter, she just wanted the paper and the clout that came with it. Her husband ended up writing all her essays and she was shocked that the course came with an exam because she thought she chose a degree without any exams. The degree? Journalism. She never worked a single day as a journalist after graduating. I bet there are many people like this in China. They just want a piece of paper.

Sadly, a lot of young female graduates are also forced to work at one of the many dance bars all over China - eventually falling into prostitution and drug abuse.

So the Chinese are going through what the western world went through in 2006. God Speed, its rough.

In Russia, diplomas have been of little use for 30 years. A lot of people work outside their specialty. Have the Chinese only just reached this stage?

It's happening in the US too and it just sucks.

I feel very sorry for these young people.

It has also a lot to do with employers asking ridiculous qualifications for a shit job that even a slipper could do.

This is heartbreaking. A nation full of educated and trained citizens 😢😢

American here. Wow, that is discouraging. Now I understand why so many of the migrants who are coming in over our Southern border are young Chinese people, which is a rather new thing. To me, it seems like our economy here in America really sucks right now, but maybe is is not as bad as some places, obviously.

As someone who grew up in a small village in China, The Chinese youth got it all wrong… Stop chasing the jobs and the trend, spend sometime alone, figure out what is that you really passionate about - farming, gardening, running, weight lifting - and start doing what you truly enjoy for free. Don't give yourself to the mindless and heartless industrial and technological machine, find and invent yourself. You are better than anything the world has to offer you.

I would say, BEFORE you go to university, find out if there are any jobs when you graduate. Trades are usually in demand.

i don't think this is just happening to chinese people at all. Im facing this exact same problem in Peru

Its so interesting that instead of tearing up degrees etc. they are not holding these ceos and collleges accountable. Colleges have abandoned their relationships with the ceos and vice versa. Really sucks.

Taking further education if you can't find a job is simply putting off the inevitable. It's like ascending to higher deck on a sinking ship. In a recession, the rising water of unemployment will catch and isolate you...

This has been the case for 20 years in the US

Same here in India and we also have uneven equalities in job caz of RESERVED SYSTEM......

The sad thing is, and I don’t mean this just in China but everywhere else in the world, you don’t need a college to degree to do these jobs. A highschool diploma is more than sufficient. A lot of the work in the “career” isn’t complex and you can easily learn it on the job or maybe they can give you a book to study from that first prior to working at that job. But getting a whole college degree for it is actually really unnecessary and a scam when you look at the cost

The withdrawal of western companies from China means that the jobs that support those enterprises have also moved. I am not a Chinese university graduate but during my working life I kept adding to my education to be at the leading edge of technology in my region AND if necessary learn a European language and seek employment where the jobs actually are. Sadly the Chinese people seem to be blinkered to see China as the entire world. There are ways around every setback if you are open to exploring every option!

this is a very neat report on Chinese graduates 👍

why can't we all just have a job and a family? that should be the bare minimum everywhere, yet it is starting to be harder and harder. I empathise with Chinese people here

Problem is people think education and intelligence go hand and hand.

Who would've thought everyone competing for the same job would be disastrous?

I think the turning point was the year 2000 here in the US. Didnt have any proof but felt people were under employed. For the past many years it's common hear for those working at Starbucks, a BS degree required. The number of college degreed is the highest ever and the advancement in computing power will reduce the number of workers needed. 😢

Here is my thoughts on this situation. The majority of people are told (by parents) that they should study because getting a blue collar job is “hard” and heavy on the body and could be “dangerous”. In addition, we as young adults don’t want a useless job like McDonald’s or some cashier getting 16/hr. That is why people are getting degrees more than ever and now struggle to find that job because they truly don’t want that “low level job” that is seen as not respected. These are my thoughts.

Times are tough everywhere now

The only 3 growth areas in China are unemployment,hunger, and extreme poverty 😢

I'm from the Philippines, we've dealing with this since we removed our dictator. Population spike, babysitting capitalists, and poor leadership are just a few factors playing into this nightmare. A college diploma will never guarantee you a job, let alone a success in life.

This is a global issue,here in Panamá (center america) is a nightmare to find a job.

They should all consider themselves lucky... gaining unemployment experience while they are still young... Imagine trying to learn that when they turn 30-40 and are no longer employable...

China is definitely showing the world how a CEO gets fired.

Be a mechanic, plumber, or electrician, enough of these garbage college degrees.

After all, diploma toilet papers still practically useful, but it's super expensive and can use only once.

This it's happening everywhere around the word