Technology sector opportunities fail to attract young workforce

Did you ever dream of being a scientist when you were growing up? While it is a dream profession to children, many students majoring in engineering are giving up their childhood dreams by opting out of the field due to unforeseen drawbacks.

In today's highly competitive job market, there is still an abundance of technology-related jobs with acceptable salaries being offered to young people, but they are losing their edge with many college students hoping to fight for a job in the market, the Workers' Daily reported Tuesday.

"I did want to become a scientist or an expert when I was young, but now it seems to be very unlikely," Ma Bin, a senior student at China University of Petroleum, told the Global Times.

Ma explained that children aspire to become scientists mostly because they don't have a clear picture of what the job entails and simply favor it for its nobility when adults ask them what they want to be when they grow up.

Lack of appeal

A recent survey jointly released by job website zhaopin.com and Peking University showed that when asked about how they envision their careers over the next three years, only three percent of female respondents and seven percent of males said they will continue to pursue expertise in technology-related fields. Among people born in the 1990s who are now studying in universities, the proportion is even lower.

Ma said that the day-to-day work of an engineer is usually boring and difficult to master, and in comparison office jobs involve easier work and have a flashier appeal.

This was echoed by a senior student surnamed Yang from Lanzhou University of Technology. "Chinese people highly value job stability, and engineering jobs, which often involve difficult conditions such as those of railway engineers, therefore lose their attractiveness. Such issues of reality are carefully considered by students," Yang told the Global Times.

Brain drain

According to the report, there is a dearth of qualified technical staff in many sectors, and a number of enterprises, particularly those that rely on advanced technologies, are having trouble finding enough employees. This situation hinders their development and raises doubts about their ability to survive.

Ma said that many of his classmates studying applied chemistry have taken jobs in sales instead of their own field. "It usually takes longer for technicians to be promoted, and they have to take lots of qualifying exams," he said.

In addition, the imbalance between life and work that accompanies employment as a technician often pushes many people away from these jobs.

"I can't bear the pressure any longer despite the handsome pay offered by the job," a man surnamed Han was quoted by the daily as saying. He recently quit his job with Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology solutions provider.