TV show audience member the hottest summer job

College students have been turning down once-popular sales promoter jobs this summer in exchange for part-time job that pays less but is more exciting - enabling them to be part of the scene for some of the country's most-watched TV shows.

Although being paid to be part of the audience for shows as hot as Zhejiang-based reality show Chinese Dream only pays 20 yuan ($3.20) to 30 yuan per day, many students don't mind since it's a lot of fun.

"It's so cool to watch the show being taped right in the studio," Hangzhou-based Qianjiang Evening News quoted a student on Monday.

Audience members are sometimes required to stay for hours at a time without much time to eat. And even though students can make an average of 1,500 yuan per month, according to a Zhejiang-based online survey, many no longer want to do sales promotion work.

"It's really tiring and it's not like you learn anything useful," said a student surnamed Sun.

Zhang Jingwei, a headhunter in Hangzhou, said he was unable to find enough students this summer when recruiting young people to promote a new product for a famous drink company.

These days, many college students don't need money that badly, and as such, prefer to try something new and interesting, he added.

In terms of career development, students are better off finding summer jobs that relate to their studies anyway, said Ma Ji, a guidance counselor at Anhui Normal University.