Recently, a Peking University graduate, dissatisfied with repeated failures in job hunting, boasted online about selling his undergraduate diploma from Peking University for one yuan. A reporter from the ks5u Gaokao Resource Network then interviewed this PKU graduate.
Reference: Mental Attitude Section
According to the complaints of this PKU graduate, "I entered Peking University as the top scorer in the college entrance examination of a certain province, and after graduating in 2003, I have faced many difficulties in finding work in Beijing. More shockingly, I couldn't find a job for nearly a year." How great is the employment pressure in China's society today? Probably not many people can describe it clearly. Job hunting is extraordinarily difficult, and selling diplomas is indeed an act of anger.
As introduced by the poster, he has suffered greatly from employment hardships. For example, a company offered him, a high-caliber graduate from PKU, a meager monthly salary of only 1500 yuan, which is less than what a migrant worker earns. In the first week of work, they even had him clean the office and toilets, saying it was to adjust his mindset. During the process of addressing the international financial crisis, the State Council emphasized paying special attention to the employment issues of three groups: university graduates, rural migrant workers, and urban residents facing employment difficulties. Recently, a post appeared on a domestic website titled "In Protest Against Employment Difficulties, I Will Sell My Peking University Undergraduate Diploma for One Yuan," which will likely make many people deeply feel the unoptimistic situation of domestic employment, especially for university students. However, despite the careful planning and close collaboration of relevant national departments, who have implemented a series of positive policies to promote university student employment, the problem of university student employment remains severe, evolving from individual phenomena to widespread issues, becoming a hot topic that the whole society cannot avoid. At a press conference of the Chinese Social Sciences Forum in June, Cai Fang, director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, once stated that although the situation of labor supply exceeding demand in China has changed, the pressure to solve employment still exists.
Previously reported cases by ks5u Gaokao Resource Network, such as male university graduates moving to Beijing to work as nannies, some female university students seeking marriage instead of employment, or PKU graduates returning to their hometowns to sell pork, are no longer uncommon due to societal employment pressures. It has even reached a point where people are somewhat indifferent. The poster expressed his anger: "No matter how you look at it, I am a graduate of China's best university. What's wrong with this era for PKU graduates?"
The post claims that just after National Day, in 1999, he entered Peking University as the top scorer in the college entrance examination of a certain province. After graduating in 2003, he has consistently struggled with employment. He now feels that his PKU education isn't worth more than a pound of cabbage, so he decided to sell his undergraduate degree from Peking University for one yuan. Among these situations, some students signed but didn’t report for duty; others signed but found their units non-existent upon graduation. Some signed agreements but later discovered significant differences from their expectations and requested to cancel them. He also told reporters that recently, he increasingly feels that this PKU diploma is useless to him, hence he posted on a certain website offering to sell all his PKU undergraduate credentials for just one yuan, hoping those in need would contact him. Relevant surveys show that between 50% to 70% of employment agreement forms require procedures to be handled before students can officially report, and under these circumstances, universities still count these as successful employment, which is clearly unfair.
Currently, as a standard for measuring graduate employment rates, employment agreement forms have seen their authority diminish significantly, with cancellation rates remaining high. Nevertheless, this news on ks5u Gaokao Resource Network still elicited sighs and resonance from numerous netizens. When will university students escape the status of employment poverty?
This shows that when there's a large forest, all kinds of birds will appear. Netizen A: But there are also plenty of successful people who graduated from Peking University. Peking University is no exception!
Netizen B: There’s nothing unusual about a graduate student earning only 600 yuan per month teaching at Changsha University of Science and Technology. What's there to be sad about?
Netizen C: Just because you graduated from Peking University doesn't mean you'll automatically become a high-level manager. Society is complex—do you think you're someone special? With your attitude of being picky and unwilling to humble yourself, it's right that no one hires you. If someone did hire you, you'd probably think you were above everyone else. You think you have the highest diploma among PKU graduates, but in a few years, you'll even disdain bosses. Your capacity and breadth of mind are too small. How can you expect to achieve success overnight? Yang Liwei went into space after generations of effort, not by criticizing society and positions. Society and positions are testing you. There are too many such people and matters. Still, you should be down-to-earth, step by step forward, don't go astray.
Big Fish: You have no right to waste this diploma! Selling diplomas is wrong, especially since this diploma is the joint effort of your parents and you. This is the view of many netizens.
While lamenting the severe employment situation, the author of ks5u Gaokao Resource Network also feels heartbroken for our talented students. Although you achieved the title of top scorer in academics, you can still excel in society. Only through the test of society can you find your shining spot and truly become a talent. Talent must be tested on the scale of society, find your place to shine, and become the champion of society and a strong person in life.