（来源：《中国日报》2024-05-03）

More university graduates are choosing to work at the grassroots level with govt support, encouragement

Yang Mingren has worked at a remote freight train station in Anshun, Guizhou province, since graduating from Beijing Jiaotong University in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in transportation.

His grandparents live in Guizhou and he wanted to work near them, as they raised him after his parents died when he was little.

He works different shifts for four days and then is off for the next four days, so he can have more time to spend with his family.

As the station is in a remote place, he does not have many people to talk to other than his colleagues.

Luckily, one of his colleagues became his wife. They got married earlier this year, and his wife is now pregnant.

Yang is one of many university graduates choosing to work at the grassroots level.

To encourage this practice, the General Office of the State Council issued a notice in April last year asking for recruitment quotas for grassroots positions to remain stable this year. The notice also required a special program to be launched to hire college graduates to work as village doctors and teachers.

According to a recent report issued by Beijing-based education consultancy MyCOS, the number of college graduates working in counties and lower levels accounted for 25 percent of the total in 2022, 5 percentage points higher than in 2018.

The average wage of college graduates working in counties and lower levels has risen to 5,377 yuan ($742) per month in 2022 from 4,640 yuan per month in 2018, while their job satisfaction rate grew from 67 percent to 76 percent during that period.

The report also found that 23 percent of the students working in counties and lower levels have jobs in the education sector and 15 percent work for government institutions.

The report said working in counties is deemed to be attractive by many graduates as they can live near their hometown and enjoy a stable job with less pressure.

"Compared with some of my classmates who work in Beijing and have to take a crowded subway and share an apartment with strangers, I am satisfied with my life in this small place," Yang said.

"I have thought about working in Beijing, but it would be very difficult for me to afford an apartment."

Some of the young people in big cities are reluctant to get married or have children because of the heavy financial burden imposed by the high housing prices and living costs, which do not seem to be a problem in counties, he said.

He is excited about becoming a father and has already started to read books on raising babies.

"I am more than happy about my life now. I do not have high expectations. I just want a simple life," he said.

County 'doctor'

At the invitation of old high school classmates, Li Mingqi, 38, who was studying in Beijing, went back to Liling, Hunan province, last year.

He serves as the assistant to one of his classmates, who is the general manager of Liling Huaxin Insulator Technology Co.

He is about to graduate with a doctoral degree in social management at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China this year. He worked for the local government in Chenzhou, Hunan province, from 2012 to 2015 and for a university in Changsha from 2015 to 2019 before pursuing a doctoral degree in Beijing.

"The electric porcelain industry is developing rapidly in Liling, which is close to Changsha where my wife and son live, so I decided to go back to my hometown in Hunan," he said.

"There are many people with doctoral degrees in Beijing, but only a few in Liling, so I am referred to as 'doctor' in the company, a somewhat fancy term," he said.

Meanwhile, working at a private company in a senior position means he has to deal with all kinds of challenges every day, which is rather different from working for the government or at the university, both considered stable jobs for many Chinese people, he said.

Working in Liling also means he can visit his wife and children about three times a week as he can drive to Changsha in about an hour.

His salary is considered a high salary for a small county, he said, and is more than he earned in his previous jobs. The local government also offered him a 100-square-meter apartment free of rent, an incentive reserved for special talent.

"There is much to learn and the job is very challenging, which I enjoy, as I am tired of cozy jobs," he said.

He is also very motivated as the company has set its annual sales revenue from 650 million yuan ($89.7 million) last year to 1 billion this year.

"My job is very fulfilling, as there are different challenging tasks waiting for me every day, which energizes me to be more proactive and innovative," he said.

High-altitude builder

Wan Pengjun, 32, has worked in different places in the Xizang autonomous region since 2016. He graduated from Changsha University of Science and Technology in 2014 and started working at the No 2 Engineering Co of the CCCC First Highway Engineering Group Co. He was sent by the company to work in Xizang two years later.

He has worked on different projects in the region from building roads to bridges and public facilities.

"I have thought about working in a big city and having a routine day-to-day job, but I have worked in Xizang for about eight years, and find my job very satisfying," he said.

He has been promoted to be the chief engineer of the company's subsidiary in Xizang and he can make more than 20,000 yuan a month, more than he could make in Hunan.

Getting used to the high altitude has not been easy, and every time he returns to Xizang from his hometown in Changde, Hunan province, he still suffers the discomfort of altitude sickness.

Due to the long distance from Xizang to Hunan, he usually only returns home once a year.

"Everyone makes different choices about which kind of job they want and where they want to work. I have not regretted coming to Xizang, and the company has rewarded me for my hard work, so I am more than satisfied," he said.

Free-spirited official

Yang Yang, 26, plans to work as a government official in a village in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, after she graduates in June.

Yang, who is a third-year postgraduate student at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said she has not considered working at an internet company in Beijing, a popular choice for many of the capital's college graduates, as it does not suit her carefree character.

Yang was born and raised in Chengdu, Sichuan. She misses the beautiful grassland and snowcapped mountains of western Sichuan, so she did not hesitate to seize the chance to work there.

Beijing is a very vibrant city for students to study, but as a working adult, the high housing prices can be formidable for many people from other regions, she said.

"If I work at a company in Beijing, I will feel like I am trapped in my small cubicle. The fast-paced life in the city also means I need to constantly run toward the next target," she said.

She says she wants a more free-spirited life so she can enjoy the beautiful mountains and grasslands with friends during weekends and holidays.

附原文链接：

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202405/03/WS66387c2da31082fc043c574f.html