Self-employment holds promise of success
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Chen Zixin, a young entrepreneur, receives an interview. [Photo provided to China Daily] |
While many of her friends post pictures on their WeChat accounts of what they eat and where they travel, Chen Zixin fills hers with photos of the homemade healthcare foods she sells, and with feedback from her customers.
Over the past two years, the 26-year-old has built up a business with a monthly sales volume of 30,000 yuan ($4,827) through the popular messaging app in China.
After college, she worked as a pattern designer of ceramic tiles and sold homemade health foods like stewed pears with rock sugar on WeChat in her spare time. The food sold so well that she decided to quit her job.
"I work 16 hours a day at the busiest times. There are only two people in my workshop, including me, to do everything from buying materials to making the food, packaging it and sending the products out for delivery," Chen said. "But I prefer it to office work, because I can decide when to start a day's work. The working time is flexible and up to me."
Chen is among the increasing number of college graduates who have chosen to freelance or start their own small businesses rather than compete with millions of others for a job with monthly pay around 3,000 yuan ($484) and regulations and restrictions from a boss.
Without contracts, such graduates are not registered at the government's labor office and thus are said to have obtained "unregistered employment".
Experts say that unregistered employment is an "effective alleviation" of the tough employment situation for college graduates.
This year is expected to be a tough year for employment, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, with an estimated record 7.49 million college graduates flocking into the job market.
"We encourage those with enterprising spirit to go for unregistered employment. These young entrepreneurs may create job opportunities for other college graduates," said Wu Xianglun, head of the office of student affairs at the Foreign Trade and Business College of Chongqing Normal University.
"We will provide them with skills training courses. We have also set up an incubator for student startups."
About 4 percent of the graduates from Wu's college in 2013 chose "unregistered employment". The figure rose to 5 percent last year and is expected to continue rising on the booming wave of e-commerce, Wu said.
"The popularity of unregistered employment also shows a change in college graduates' mindset about finding a job," he said. "Given that the Ministry of Education encourages innovation and entrepreneurship, and the job market is tough, increasing numbers of students want to have the initiative to choose what they like to do rather than land a job first and then consider what their ideal careers are."
College students majoring in translation, graphic design, broadcasting and programming have easier access to part-time jobs with their expertise. But they still have concerns about social security when they think about whether to pursue full-time freelancing after graduation.
"I may get paid more for a part-time translation piece than for a similar assignment during a full-time job. However, there's no guarantee of when I can get a job or when I will get paid for it. So I won't go freelancing directly after graduation," said Xi Qi, a 24-year-old student who has a bachelor's degree in Malay and is pursuing a master's degree in international journalism at Communication University of China.
"Also, it's difficult for a freelancer to get social security because part of the fees need to be paid by a fixed employer," she said.
Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, said that college graduates who choose to freelance as an expedient are able to improve their professional skills and accumulate connections in their communities to help with job-hunting later.
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