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compared with the "extremely difficult" academic upgrading options in internet legends, the "stable employment" option before this group of students seems to be more clear, explicit and within reach.

author/alu

finding a job is more important - this is no secret to today's internet-savvy college entrance examination candidates.

in recent years, in the internet discussions, more and more college entrance examination candidates choose to be "employment-oriented" when filling out their applications. they believe that choosing a college with a higher employment rate can effectively increase their tolerance for mistakes in life and allow them to be more calm in their future lives.

this year's college entrance examination candidates and their families increasingly feel that instead of waiting four years to face the dilemma of employment or postgraduate study, it is better to make the most cost-effective choice from the beginning.

college entrance examination students who choose to downgrade

zhang pengyang, who lives in liaocheng, shandong, scored 480 points in the college entrance examination this year, 36 points higher than the provincial general line (that is, the "undergraduate line" in the conventional sense).

starting from 2020, shandong province's college entrance examination has cancelled the division between arts and science, and has adopted the "3+3" model of "chinese, mathematics, and english" plus "three minor subjects" of their own choice. however, most people still use the selection tendency of the "three minor subjects" as the basis for the division between arts and science. according to this "standard", zhang pengyang is a liberal arts student. he knows that this score does not have much advantage in undergraduate colleges with key liberal arts majors.

(photo/"big exam")

since submitting his application, zhang pengyang has been eagerly waiting for the admission letter from shandong electric power college (hereinafter referred to as "shandong electric power college"). on the fourth day of applying, he posted on a social platform, asking his seniors and classmates "what the admission letter looks like". someone told him "it's just a piece of hard cardboard". he comforted himself, "the school is good, so it doesn't matter if the admission letter is simple."

although shandong electric power college does not quite meet the definition of a "good school" for many students in zhang pengyang's score range according to the old standards, in the past two years it has gradually become a popular school that candidates from within the province and even from other provinces are scrambling to get into.

since november 2009, shandong electric power college has been directly managed by the state grid corporation of china, and the main employment direction for graduates is the medium and large state-owned enterprises under the state grid power system. this school has long been on the list of "vocational colleges better than '985'" circulating on the internet.

(photo/pexels)

the "2022 shandong electric power college employment quality report" shows that in 2022, among the school's 1,230 graduates, 527 graduates signed contracts through campus recruitment and other means and entered state-owned enterprises.

this alone is probably enough to make many "985" colleges feel inferior. this is also the main reason why zhang pengyang decided to give up his undergraduate studies and focus on shandong electric power college.

this generation of college students has been instilled with the concept of "social involution" very early on. (photo/"twenty not confused")

through social media platforms, he contacted some seniors who were studying at shandong university of electrical and computer science. after confirming the school's accommodation conditions - "beds with desks, air conditioning, free water and electricity", he became more determined in his choice.

half a month later, the long-awaited admission letter finally arrived in his hands. this long summer vacation had just begun for him. now, he could finally enjoy this summer of turning 18.

thousands of miles away, for chen sanjin in sichuan, the first summer vacation in college was destined to be a mixture of busyness and leisure.

this year, chen sanjin joined the teaching team organized by the school and spent an unforgettable 25 days in a rural primary school in xiangtan. for her, the greatest significance of this experience is that "i learned to overcome things that were difficult to accept in the past." she began to get used to rural life and all kinds of strange insects, "now i feel very calm when i see them."

chen sanjin teaches at xiangtan dahu school (primary school). (photo/provided by the interviewee)

at changsha aeronautical vocational and technical college (hereinafter referred to as "changsha aviation college"), where chen sanjin is studying, "enduring hardship" is a compulsory course for everyone. when she filled out her application a year ago, she saw the name "changsha aviation college" at a glance. she had heard about the college's advantages in military manufacturing-related majors. after further research, she learned that here, students can join the army and engage in technical work after graduation through the school's "targeted training of sergeants" program.

however, it is not easy to succeed in this path. in addition to learning theoretical knowledge, these sergeants also need to undergo regular physical training and accept military management every day. although the major selected by chen sanjin is not within the scope of targeted training for sergeants, the regulations for students of ordinary majors are stricter than those for students in ordinary universities. "they must wear uniforms on class days, and some freshman classes must go to the classroom to study when they don't have classes."

however, in the face of changsha aviation university's high employment rate, the pressure of "rules" seems less important. last year, the school's graduate employment rate was 98.06%, and some strong majors achieved 100% employment. even if they do not pass the "targeted training of sergeants" program, many students can enter state-owned enterprises or government agencies through campus recruitment, "and they can work in airlines, military factories or civil aviation."

compared with the "difficult and difficult" academic upgrading options in internet legends, these options seem to be more clear, concise and within reach.

chen sanjin took photos of xiangtan scenery, which she felt looked like the scene in the movie "a small shop at the edge of the clouds". (photo/provided by the interviewee)

"little tsinghua university"

like the shandong electric power college chosen by zhang pengyang, the changsha aviation college where chen sanjin studied is also on the list of "vocational colleges that are better than '985'". on the internet, they have a common title: "little tsinghua university of vocational colleges".

these colleges are very competitive in terms of faculty, accommodation and cost-effectiveness. mr. wang, a teacher from a public college, told the reporter: "to be fair, many of the students here (who apply for admission) do not have very good family conditions." after the admission work was completed, in addition to employment issues, the most common question students asked him was "what kind of computer to buy." "so, we always tell them that 'basic functions are enough' on the premise of meeting their professional needs."

(photo/unsplash)

therefore, compared with private undergraduate colleges where tuition fees can easily reach tens of thousands of yuan, the tuition fees of this type of public technical colleges usually range from 4,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan, which is more acceptable to students from ordinary families and becomes their "affordable alternative."

in terms of employment, vocational colleges usually provide students with greater support. for some practical majors, colleges often provide suitable internship opportunities for students starting from the third year.

wang shuang, who is about to enter his junior year, has devoted almost all of his summer vacation to internships. starting from the second semester of his sophomore year, the school will recommend suitable internship opportunities for these students who are about to enter their junior year based on their place of origin, academic performance and credits. wang shuang chose the municipal people's hospital in the county seat based on his own situation. he is busy every day and his internship life is very fulfilling.

currently in the hospital, she is mainly responsible for the examination of blood samples. most of the interns will rotate departments every four weeks to accumulate experience in different positions until the school recruitment and "junior college to undergraduate" examination in march next year. this half year will allow her to accumulate enough practical operations.

wang shuang is doing internship at the hospital. (photo/provided by the interviewee)

recalling the summer when they filled out their college application two years ago, wang shuang remembers that the whole family did a lot of research. after considering many factors, they felt that the field of medical testing "should be easy to find a job in the future" and finally chose a medical college in the province.

although the industry is now slightly saturated with job seekers, she is still delighted to find something she is good at. "feeling that i can help others" has replaced employment anxiety and has become the driving force that supports her to move forward.

although many people use the phrase "junior colleges go for employment, undergraduates go for academics" to highlight the clear distinction between junior college education and undergraduate education, the fact is that junior college education is not necessarily cold and icy. on the other hand, the educational direction of many undergraduate colleges is also advancing by leaps and bounds towards pragmatism. in march last year, the school of history and culture of southwest university issued the "southwest university "public service ability and civil servant cultural literacy" micro-major admissions guide", and the course content includes an introduction to application essays, official document writing training, and the basics of administrative ability testing. the opening of this kind of "small and fine" micro-major is not an attempt by undergraduate colleges to get closer to "parity".

in the eyes of many people, in the end, higher education is all about platform resources and information gaps. the ability to organize a high-quality campus recruitment fair that satisfies both students and companies is the best proof that these schools can be called "small tsinghua universities for junior colleges." on the other hand, campus recruitment fairs are also the ultimate test for students. "is it useful to study for a junior college?" the key lies in whether they can make good use of the opportunities at hand and fill the final information gap.

(photo/unsplash)

because of work, mr. lin, who has graduated for many years, still keeps in touch with his juniors from the light industry college (now guangdong light industry vocational and technical university). when he graduated, his alma mater was just a relatively famous technical college in guangzhou, and now it has been upgraded from a "college" to a "university". but what surprised him even more was the ability of these "younger generations" to bridge the information gap: some won the gold medal of the international league in their first year of college, and some got invention patents. "the point is, they are just freshmen."

in addition to academic performance, internship experience and professional certificates, these additional points often allow them to show their advantages in the end. for these students, this campus recruitment is a reward for their three years of practice and years of hard study, and to some extent, it may also determine the starting point of their future life.

the end of "substitution"

is it "expensive"?

but the starting point can only affect the beginning of the story. even driven by a clear career path, many people still get unexpected life scripts.

after completing all the courses at the light industry college, mr. lin took the "junior college to undergraduate" exam and completed further academic advancement. but for him, this was more of a "join in the fun" choice, because most people at the time chose this. the same was true for xiaozhi, who was in the same class as mr. lin. when she applied for the light industry college, she wanted to study the foreign trade major that was "more suitable for girls", but was unexpectedly transferred to the automobile manufacturing major. "junior college to undergraduate" is a bit like an additional option, and she thought she just completed it. but after working for a few years, she found that she rarely relied on "academic qualifications" as a stepping stone, and she didn't even want to take time out to get that diploma.

(picture /pexels）

under the premise of employment orientation, is "junior college to undergraduate" still a mainstream choice at present? we asked all the above-mentioned students about this question, and it seems that everyone's answer is a little uncertain: zhang pengyang has not yet enrolled and has not planned for the future; chen sanjin is a little hesitant, but feels that he will probably give it a try; wang shuang, who will graduate in half a year, is the only one who gave a definite answer - "i will try it." because during her internship in the hospital, she learned that the hospital has higher academic requirements for formal employees, "at least a master's degree."

in this way, it seems that "common substitution" will eventually turn into "expensive substitution". in recent years, behind the news of many "high-scoring candidates sliding into junior colleges", there are always people who are worried that this is a "big gamble" with academic qualifications as a bargaining chip; some education experts also believe that the trend of excessively advocating "pragmatism" should not become the mainstream in the education sector.

but all this seems too far away for young people who have just graduated and are already anxious about their jobs.

after graduation, life brings anxiety and worry about the unknown. (photo/adult children)

as early as the end of may, chen jueling, who had just finished the spring college entrance examination, had already started her "summer internship". in the morning, she worked part-time in a chain restaurant; after returning home in the afternoon, she used her computer programming major to help seniors with some live broadcast operations, data crawling and video editing. although these jobs are only the most basic operations in her professional field and will not bring much improvement to her personally, she doesn't care too much.

for her, the most important thing right now is to make more money. she wants to use the last time of summer vacation to travel further afield.

(at the request of the interviewees, except for wang shuang and chen jueling, all the characters in this article are pseudonyms)