Job woes see postgrad applications soar

Over 1.65 million Chinese took this year's postgraduate entrance examination Sunday, a record number. About 270,000 of the applicants are applying for universities in Beijing.

In the national entrance exams held on Saturday and Sunday, more than 1.65 million applicants vied for the 550,000 available places in Chinese graduate programs. The figure is 10 percent higher than last year, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

There has been an annual increase of more than 100,000 applicants taking the exam owing to intense competition for jobs that have ever-higher requirements.

The number of graduates taking the exam passed 1 million in 2004.

"Over 70 percent of my classmates had prepared about a year for the big exam. I believe more than half are more interested in obtaining a higher degree to get a good job than to pursue enriched knowledge," said Zhang Xin, a student at Minzu University of China, who also took the exams.

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher with the China National Institute for Educational Research, also believed the majority of applicants took the exam in order to "have a better chance of getting a job given the fierce competition that currently exists in the job market."

"I don't think graduate schools are ready in terms of qualified teachers and resources for the rocketing number of students, but enrollment has increased by 130,000 places over three years ago and fewer people took the exam in order to devote themselves to academic research," said Chu.

Many candidates are happy to admit they are taking the exam to boost their job chances.

"We know the competition will be tough and having a diploma doesn't guarantee a smooth ride all the way, but we should at least try harder to not be screened out at the very first stage," said Zhang. "It's even worth a second try at the exam for a bigger chance of getting a good job and the Beijing hukou that could come with it."

However, a master's degree is no guarantee of a good job. A Ministry of Education report showed that the postgraduate employment rate was even lower than that of college graduates in 2009 and 2010, the Legal Mirror reported.

Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said the severe employment situation also has something to do with the nation's economic development, adding that postgraduates have increasingly high salary expectations.

According to a Beijing Evening News report, almost all recent master's graduates at a job fair in Beijing last month expected to earn more than 5,500 yuan ($872) a month.