Few pursue studies
Many of the students working on master's degrees, like Chen, have no interest in pursuing the subjects they study in their work or for academic research later. According to eol.cn, only 15 percent of master's candidates will continue with their interests.
Over the past five years, more students in China have been aiming for higher degrees. The number enrolled for master's degrees and doctorates increased from 560,495 in 2011 to 647,400 in 2015, a 15 percent surge. There are about 1.7 million students studying for master's degrees or higher in China at present, according to Du Zhanyuan, the deputy education minister. China National Radio has noted that this figure is expected to reach 2 million by 2020.
In 2012, about 56,000 doctorates were awarded in China, about 40 percent of the number in the US, while 560,000 graduated with master's degrees, roughly 70 percent of the number in the US.
However the surge in the number working for higher degrees is not necessarily a good thing, according to some experts. Beijing Business Today reported that in China tutors for master's degrees have to supervise at least four full-time students. They also have to supervise five to 10 part-time students. Workloads are so heavy some tutors may not be able to fulfill their responsibilities. This could affect the quality of the degrees being awarded.
Chen Zhiwen, the editor-in-chief of eol.cn, told the China Youth Daily that in the past decade, the expansion of China's higher education system was near miraculous in the way it had moved higher education from an education reserved for the elite, to education for the general public. However, he added, if the quality is affected, this will cause problems in society.
Zhang Yueqiang teaches human resources in the School of Foreign Languages at Peking University and also serves as a consultant for SAP, the largest software company in Europe. His twin identity has made him a popular figure and many new graduates turn to him for advice.
Hundreds of students from around the country contact him through Weibo or QQ to ask him whether they should study for an MA degree or look for a job.
"I don't think the problem is choosing between a master's degree and a job - the problem for many students is that they can't figure out what they want to do in the future," Zhang said. "After all, finding a job never makes it impossible to chase a higher degree some time later. And on the other hand after graduating with higher degrees, people will still need jobs."
Shanghai bucks the trend
Against the backdrop of a national rise in the number looking for master's degrees, in Shanghai, however, the number has been dropping gradually.
There were about 44,000 people, including new graduates and people with work experience, took the exams in the city for the 2016 enrollment, 2,000 fewer than in 2015 and 5,000 fewer than in 2014. In contrast, in Beijing there were more than 80,000 people taking the exams for the 2016 enrollment.
According to figures from the Beijing and Shanghai education bureaus in 2014, newly graduated students in Beijing were more likely to further their studies than their peers in Shanghai. The gap was wider for bachelor degree students with 34 percent in Beijing and 22 percent in Shanghai choosing to extend their studies.
This difference has been linked to the more internationalized economy of Shanghai. Compared with Beijing, Shanghai has a smaller number of governmental organizations and State-owned institutions and companies, and, according to Deng Zhituan, a researcher in the Center of Urban and Regional Studies at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, the performance of foreign companies in Shanghai is better than those in Beijing.
In the job market, foreign companies are less insistent on the necessity of higher degrees than State-owned companies and institutions. "Many foreign companies prefer students with a bachelor's degree rather than those with a master's degree, especially some of the major concerns like Volkswagen," Zhang Yueqiang said.
However, one human resource director in a State-owned company told the Beijing Youth Daily that even if some of their jobs could be handled by someone without a degree they would prefer to employ a person with a degree.
Zhang also suggested the reason why fewer students in Shanghai chased higher degrees was because young people in Shanghai could see more opportunities in the job market and didn't want to push themselves with the stress of the master's examinations where only 30 percent will pass.
