What major is good for employment?

China University Students' Employment Guide (Real Edition)

[Introduction]

Today's younger generation is actually a generation undergoing social transformation in China, and it is destined to bear the cost of transformation. Their previous generation, in fact, is still eating the old rice of the traditional system and has not really invested in market competition; Their next generation will get a great degree of labor security because of the continuous progress of society; And their generation is destined to become the most miserable people in China society in the "white-collar unemployment tide" 20 years later. This is the price of the times, there is no way.

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First of all, it is necessary to clarify a widely circulated saying: the first job after graduation from college is not important.

This is absolutely wrong. It gave a wrong understanding to the majority of college graduates in Dora Dong, and caused irreparable losses to a considerable number of people! The employment choice of college students is a key decision that has a great impact on a person's ten-year life and is extremely important.

So what kind of job is easier to find? What kind of industry is good? Is it better for a big company or a small company? How to correctly understand the current salary and future development? A series of questions are facing college students. Let me analyze the macro-strategic issues to be considered first, and then answer some specific questions.

First, the division of interest groups in the workplace in China at this stage

This is the first big question that a college graduate should know. The director of the school will not tell you, and the company will not tell you when recruiting, because only a few people can share the benefits; Your parents may not tell you, because they may also be confused. If this part has been clearly told to you, or you have been keenly aware of it personally, then congratulations! You can close this article, because you are a smart person and don't need me to waste my breath.

(a) Five main interest quadrants

China society is undergoing an important transformation: from a planned economy to a "market economy with China characteristics". This process is a process of redistribution of interest pattern. In the job market, we can classify various interest units according to the following main aspects:

1. Civil servants (including institutions)

2. State-owned enterprises in monopoly industries

3. State-owned enterprises in competitive industries

4. Foreign companies

5. Private enterprises

Almost all interest units can find their own position in the above classification. First of all, you should understand that this is not theoretical study, it is directly related to your future career, income, status and family. The first thing you need to know is, which quadrant does the company (unit) to recruit you at the job fair belong to?

Different quadrants have different advantages and resources. This leads to different employment income-generating abilities in different quadrants. You must know this before you choose a company. At present, in China, social resources are highly concentrated in the hands of a few civil servants (that is, officials) and monopoly state-owned enterprises. However, due to the different levels of social wealth in different regions, the income of civil servants varies greatly. Although the wages and benefits stipulated by the state are the same for everyone, it is not difficult to understand why so many people of the same age are applying for civil servants when you go to Guangdong and East China to learn about the actual annual income of civil servants. In fact, even in economically underdeveloped areas, civil servants still belong to high-income groups among local people. And perhaps more importantly, the risk is very small. The benefits are in direct proportion to the risks. You must have learned it in class, right? Haha, I tell you, this is the principle of western economics. We are different from China. Being a civil servant in China is less risky and more profitable. Maybe you will say, no, where are you, and the treatment of civil servants is not so good? Then I want to tell you: first, you can't just look at the surface income without looking at the gray part; Second, at present, China allows people to move between regions, so the civil servants in backward regions are indeed worse than the average white-collar workers in developed regions, because the level of economic wealth in different regions is very different. This is the complexity of the interest pattern, and the interest pattern is not absolute.

Let's take a look at the state-owned enterprises. When it comes to state-owned enterprises, many people immediately think of being laid off. This concept is also wrong. First of all, firing employees is not unique to state-owned enterprises. A large number of private enterprises are firing a large number of employees every year, and no one gives them compensation or "placement". At the same time, not all state-owned enterprises are inefficient and need to be laid off. When we look at the pattern of interests, we must first look at who has the strength and who has the resources. In China, to put it bluntly, it is hard for anyone who has the monopoly power of the government and industry to think that the income is not good. This is not simply divided by state-owned enterprises or private enterprises. For example, China Mobile, Telecom, Banking and Petroleum, which are big state-owned enterprises with monopoly industries, all have good benefits. State-owned enterprises in competitive industries that have been "completely liberalized" by those countries are almost finished (excluding industries that pretend to be liberalized). There is a very clear development vein: in the early 1990 s, only state-owned enterprises existed, and private forces were weak. The long-term low-wage and high-welfare policies of state-owned enterprises have made the first batch of people entering the market economy taste the sweetness of "high" wages after the floodgates are opened; At the end of 1990s, with the year 2000 as the dividing line, the situation changed obviously. Under the policy of grasping the big and letting the small go, state-owned enterprises in monopoly industries quickly use administrative resources to engage in market economy. There is no doubt that they are invincible and profitable. At this stage, 2005 is the beginning of another brand-new stage. Management buyouts are everywhere. In this case, monopoly state-owned enterprises will be divided, and the prediction of specific development will be more complicated, which I will analyze in another article. But in any case, the monopoly of state-owned enterprises is a very strong high-income group at this stage. It should be noted that even those employees of state-owned enterprises in competitive industries who are laid off and bankrupt at the age of 45 still have the best jobs and the highest income when they are employed like you. It's just that the interest pattern has changed now.

Let's take a look at the situation of foreign companies. Foreign-funded enterprises mainly rely on financial strength, relations with the government and top management to do things, which can be said to be the first batch of real enterprises in China. However, they still have to abide by the hidden rules of China in China. Because foreign companies that can operate internationally are generally strong, foreign companies are a very strong interest unit and a high-income unit for employment. Note that those fake foreign companies registered overseas in China are not included, while those in Taiwan Province Province and Hongkong are private enterprises.

Looking at the situation of private enterprises, private enterprises still do not occupy the main body of China's economy. They are relatively weak in government power and resources. In a completely competitive industry, mainly a group of private enterprises that entered earlier have become bigger and have certain strength. However, a large number of private enterprises have poor quality of life in full market competition. Because China is not a real market mechanism, the relevant laws and regulations are not perfect, or some people have the right to disobey, which has caused the phenomenon of "distorted competition" in China's perfectly competitive industries; In industries with imperfect competition, private enterprises mainly rely on some units with resources to survive. For example, insects attached to a tree form one non-competitive interest group after another. Because the legal types and names of occupational protection are the same, and the lack of labor unions and other forces representing employees' interests directly leads to employees in private enterprises becoming vulnerable groups in the workplace. Maybe you will ask, then why does the state care about laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises and not about dismissal of workers from private enterprises? It's very simple, because the laid-off workers in state-owned enterprises are too old to find jobs that can maintain their original living standards. However, the marketization process in China has just begun, and most employees in private enterprises are young people, so the social problems are not obvious.

Okay, it's clear now. First, it depends on which quadrant you want to go to. Quadrant attributes determine your possible future income and status from the general trend. And your personal ability is a small wave in the big waves. It can be said that the ability to judge the general trend is much more important than the ability to engage in specific things. Maybe you have to say, it seems that there are people with high incomes in every quadrant. Yes, but don't forget that different quadrants have different possibilities and efforts to achieve high income and high status. In some quadrants, as long as you keep up with the average level, you can easily save a lot of money to buy a house and a car after five years; Some quadrants, you have to work hard. 10 years later, I may save some money to buy a house and a car. When you reach this level, people who started at the same time in the dominant quadrant have saved more money and replaced it with bigger houses and cars. Quadrants have their own advantages and disadvantages. People with the same starting point will work hard because they choose different development channels, but the results will be very different.

Secondly, it is not enough to look at which quadrant. Because in the same quadrant, there are still huge and subtle differences caused by human factors!

Second, the generation in transition.

Things in China can only be seen clearly with a magnifying glass, which is why foreigners can never really understand China society. According to different interest quadrants, the above-mentioned artificial differences are also different:

1. The difference between civil servants, state-owned enterprises, formal workers and informal workers

Do government workers also have informal jobs? Yes, if you don't know, it only shows that you are ignorant. Government workers are divided into two categories: civil servants formally established by the state and so-called "government employees". In some places, especially in economically poor provinces, the income gap between the two is not large; The richer the province, the greater the income gap between the two. It is very difficult for government employees to become civil servants formally established by the state, and it is basically unnecessary to think about it. Therefore, even if you pass the national civil service examination, even if you have been admitted to a government unit, you must make it clear whether you want to be a civil servant or a government employee.

All state-owned enterprises in China have the difference between formal workers and informal workers. This institutional arrangement directly comes from the state's identity control over individuals under the planned economy. In those days, people with "good background" generally became formal workers, while those with poor background naturally became informal workers. Now this birth system has been swept into the historical garbage, but the so-called employment system has been left behind and given new meaning. In the monopoly state-owned enterprises, they have tasted great sweetness by taking advantage of the monopoly advantage in the market, and naturally they need to be more tight to obtain market benefits. At this time, human resources become a problem. On the one hand, the old regular workers, like the Eight Banners, have long lost the courage and ability to fight. Who else will attack the market? On the other hand, the central government constantly requires these monopoly state-owned enterprises to reorganize, optimize the personnel structure and reduce personnel costs. So how to optimize? How to reduce it? It's simple. Recruit a lot of informal workers. On the one hand, use these fresh blood to hit the market and act as cannon fodder to solve the problem of human resources; On the other hand, the wages of these informal workers will be marketized (the wages of formal workers in monopoly state-owned enterprises are much higher than the market level), which will reduce the per capita cost of the whole enterprise and complete a restructuring requirement issued by SASAC without harming the interests of formal workers (the leaders of state-owned enterprises are the representatives of the interests of formal workers). This shows that state-owned enterprises have become market freaks, on the one hand, using state power to obtain market interests, on the other hand, they have become tools for a few people to seek interests. However, it should be noted that it is still possible to enter the formal worker group at present, because the formal worker is a loose interest group, and this group should constantly absorb fresh blood, otherwise it will be marginalized and eventually lose its dominant position. The income of informal workers is about 1/2 to 1/4 of that of regular workers. Of course, this is not moral analysis, but you need to know clearly whether you want to do formal work or informal work.

2. Differences among foreign enterprises, mainland workers and non-mainland workers

In foreign companies, the difference is mainly reflected between mainland workers and non-mainland workers. The wages of mainland workers are generally 1/5 to110 of those of non-mainland workers. This is reasonable. Because 90% of foreign companies invest in China because you are cheap, not because you are an ancient civilization, nor because you have Theory of Three Represents Theory. Their demands are reasonable. Of course, even the income of 1/5 to110 is quite good compared with other China people. Of course, working in a foreign company is very tiring, and the risks are directly proportional to the benefits. Then why should foreign companies recruit non-mainland workers? Here you have to be clear, there are three main reasons: first, you need some people you can trust to manage (people who are bound by the laws of a country ruled by law); Second, it needs some people who are proficient in English (can think in English) to manage it; Thirdly, we need some people with international vision to manage it. Does it mean that you can only be a mainland worker? That's not true. What you need to know is that you also have the opportunity to become a non-mainland worker. This is also the reason why so many people go to the United States to study. Of course, studying abroad is not enough. You must work in America and get a green card. At present, the bosses of many foreign-funded enterprises get their green cards by doing manual labor in the United States. Then, because they are proficient in two languages, multinational companies need to set up a representative office in China, so they can find such a person to be the so-called "chief representative" and then gradually improve. That's it. Of course, there are more and more foreign exchanges and higher requirements, but it is still possible to become a non-mainland worker.

3. The difference between private enterprises, joint-stock workers and non-joint-stock workers

In private enterprises, this difference is mainly reflected between joint-stock workers and non-joint-stock workers. Joint-stock workers are mainly those enterprises that attract people with shares, and they are employees who joined in the early stage of their business. For example, Huawei has a considerable number of joint-stock workers. Non-joint-stock employees are those who join late or early, but are of little value to the company. After the start-up stage, enterprises generally no longer need to use shares to attract junior employees. Recruitment is mainly to make up for staff attrition-if someone leaves, they will recruit new ones. Options are generally used for senior managers. Because this paper analyzes the employment of college students, it has nothing to do with this. The living environment of most private enterprises in China is very bad, and it is difficult to protect themselves. The treatment of employees can be imagined. Of course, the probability of failure of entrepreneurial private enterprises is very large. Before you decide to go to a private enterprise, you must be clear about whether it is a private enterprise with entrepreneurial expansion or a supplementary type of fighting and downsizing.

Today's younger generation is actually a generation undergoing social transformation in China, and it is destined to bear the cost of transformation. Their previous generation, in fact, is still eating the old rice of the traditional system and has not really invested in market competition; Their next generation will get a great degree of labor security because of the continuous progress of society; And their generation is destined to become the most miserable people in China society in the "white-collar unemployment tide" 20 years later. This is the price of the times, there is no way.

Third, career design

Generally speaking, this generation is doomed to bear the cost of social transformation. But from a personal point of view, you can still try your best to get good grades. This is also the significance of this article.

In fact, from the above analysis, it can be said that which quadrants are better and which quadrants are worse in the professional market, which is clear at a glance. In order to see more clearly, they are arranged as follows according to their advantages and disadvantages:

1. Foreign companies are not mainland workers.

2. Civil servants in economically developed areas

3. Official monopoly of state-owned enterprises

4. Joint-stock workers in private enterprises

5. Foreign-funded mainland workers

6. Government employees

7. Competition of formal workers in state-owned enterprises

8. Monopoly of informal workers in state-owned enterprises

9. Competition for informal workers in state enterprises

10. Private enterprises are not joint-stock workers.

Maybe you can give some counterexamples, but it should be noted that the above situation is a summary of the general situation, excluding some special situations, such as your place is particularly poor and civil servants can't get any gray income.

Well, when you are looking for a job, you should remember to go as high as possible. Don't be fooled by some sweet words, and don't be fooled by the "long-term development" of some so-called human resources experts. You must remember that the higher you stand, the farther you will jump. Looking at the long-term development, you will definitely jump far from the high starting point. Don't believe what experts call professional design, it's not true.

Four. Answer specific questions

1. How to distinguish between formal work and informal work?

For civil servants, it is necessary to ask whether they have entered the state establishment. If it is not compiled, it is a government worker; For state-owned enterprises, don't directly ask if they are regular employees. They will confidently tell you: "We are all regular employees here." You should notice that there is an extra word here: formal "clerical" workers are divided into formal workers and informal workers. Remember, the state-owned enterprises in China are the same as CCTV, so you must listen backwards, or you will be cheated. You'd better find an insider to know about it, which is the clearest. If you don't know a person, you should look at what department his main operation is in this recruitment. If a business department recruits itself instead of the human resources department at headquarters, most of them are informal workers. Finally, you can ask how long it will take you to become a full-time worker. If they are evasive and still explaining that "everything is normal", or they tell you that you will have a "probation period" of three to six months, then you can basically be an informal worker.

2. Do you care about your initial income?

Many experts talk nonsense on this issue. They think that we should not care too much about income at first, but look at long-term development. This is a typical irresponsible expert. You can imagine, what determines the income of a position? Quite simply, among different companies, companies with good market shape and long-term development have higher income than companies with no future; Within a company, the income of important positions with long-term development plans is higher than that of temporary positions with no future. The high initial income reflects the company's view on the importance of your position. Do you think important positions have a future, or unimportant positions have a future?

3. Go to a big company or a small company?

There is also a deceptive saying that going to a small company can exercise people better. This statement is ridiculous. Because of their poor strength, small companies often have no experts and cannot carry out some market operations that require strong resources. This determines that you can't learn from real experts or accumulate experience in large-scale market operation. Remember, training the ability to fight big battles is much more valuable than training one or two people to fight alone.

4. Will white-collar workers lose their jobs?

The answer is: "Yes, and there will be mass unemployment." What you need to know is that China is a country with endless human resources, and there are still so many farmers waiting to join the urban employment force. The so-called white-collar workers now are just having a youthful meal. When they are about 40 years old, a large number of newly graduated young college students can do the same job with lower wages than them (it is estimated that China's labor security laws were not perfect at that time, and there were no trade unions to protect them). By then, the first large-scale wave of white-collar unemployment will appear in China.

5. Professional or sales?

It depends on personal circumstances. Generally speaking, the first thing to see is whether you have the potential to do sales. Secondly, it depends on whether the field of sales has technical content. Don't give up your major and do sales business without any technical content. If you already have a highly technical major, such as medicine and law, don't give up, the opportunity cost is too high. You should know that there are not many people who can compete with you in this professional field (don't just stare at those medical graduates who graduate every year), because you should know that if you switch to selling insurance, there will be tens of millions of higher vocational students and unemployed young people competing with you, and it is very likely that you can't compete with them. But if it is in the technical field, working in the market is often a shortcut.

6. What channels are better for finding a job?

Different channels are mainly used to publish different posts. For example, recruitment websites are common channels for foreign enterprises to recruit mainland workers and private enterprises to recruit non-joint-stock workers; State-owned enterprises use newspapers and talent markets to recruit informal workers; Civil servants and state-owned enterprises are mostly introduced through internal relations.

7. What kind of industry is easier to find?

It must be noted here that college graduates are mainly looking for jobs, not whether your major is "right". Make industry forecasts in advance. What is good now may not be good in the future. In the next five years in China, I am more optimistic about the industries: microelectronics, finance, construction, law, medicine and biochemistry. If your major happens to be these, that's good; If not, it doesn't matter. You can take the postgraduate exam or do marketing work in these fields. Remember, if you want to sell, you should also sell in these promising industries, not supermarkets.