Not Enough Opportunities For Graduates

Mengping Li, originally from a small town in Sichuan Province, was prepping for her college entrance exam when the disastrous earthquake of 2008 occurred. Although surrounded by misery, the testing went forward.  Mengping ended up being accepted at Chengdu University of Traditional Medicine. (See post one.) She soon discovered that this second-tier university did not have all she needed, and went about finding ways to make the experience better. (See post two.) The realization that she held the reins regarding her future lit a fire in her soul, and she began exploring as she never had before. (See post three.) She had thoughts about getting a higher degree, but decided instead to try to find a job. (See post four.) While she had heard it would be impossible to find a job, coming from a 2nd-tier university, she thought she'd test the waters during a holiday break. Through persistence, she found a position promoting VIP cards at a manicure/pedicure salon. (See post five.) While her colleagues were quick to judge customers and decide whether/not to engage, Mengping helped everyone. One impoverished-looking woman turned out to be quite wealthy and connected, and offered Mengping a job in an electronics company. Mengping turned this down.(See post six.) However, a year later, when she was graduating, she managed to snag a job with GE Healthcare, something this woman was also connected with. (See post seven.) She spent several years with G.E. before deciding she needed an MBA to get ahead. This time she was accepted into a "tier one" school. She also stepped outside her "farmer's mindset" and applied for an IT position with Microsoft. (See post eight.). Microsoft hired her. Rather than sit around and wait to graduate and join the company, though, she spent as much of her time as she could traveling the world. (See post nine.) Mengping, as her time was short in the U.S., did not come against any major challenges. However, she did point out some unique challenges she saw in China, aside from pollution and corruption. She mentioned that Beijing residents are given top priority to Beijing University, sidelining the talented individuals who happen to be born in a different city. (see post ten.)

Another concern Mengping had is all of the college students. While the universities expanded enrollment, the result is a lot of disappointed graduates.
“The structure (of society) doesn’t’ support the expansion. The opportunity is not as much as the people need. So all these people (graduates) are overflowing.

In 2017, 8 million Chinese graduated from University, more than twice the number of U.S. graduates.

“They live in cramped conditions (4-8 people a room), just renting beds, as they try to be successful. They are called, 'ants.'" (see NYT article.)

This concludes --with gratitude to Mengping--our interview. Next: The Chinese Who Built the Future of the U.S.