Overseas students said: will you regret that the salary is lower than the cost of studying abroad?

"if you study abroad, your salary may be lower than the cost of studying abroad after graduation. will you regret it?" The White Paper on studying in China 2019 (hereinafter referred to as the White Paper) issued by New Oriental Education & Technology Group in Beijing a few days ago gives the answer. According to the survey data of the white paper, among the people who have studied abroad, nearly 70 percent of the students said that the evaluation of the returns of studying abroad should not be limited to the income level, but more importantly, the gains brought to their lives by the experience of studying abroad.

Zhou Chenggang, CEO of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Education and Technology Group, said that studying abroad allows Chinese students to go abroad to see the world, makes their mode of thinking more international, and helps them to have a world mind. At the same time, it also enables Chinese students to compete with global talents on the world stage, so as to win their own position.

Internal ascension is the main driving force

According to the Ministry of Education, the total number of Chinese students studying abroad in 2018 was 662100. Compared with the statistics of 2018 and 2017, the number of students studying abroad increased by 53700, or 8.83%.

With the number of students studying abroad rising year by year, the group of Chinese students has also received more and more attention. Since 2015, New Oriental Education & Technology Group has issued the White Paper on studying abroad in China every year, outlining the group of Chinese students and the market for studying abroad.

"through the accumulation and comparison of data for many years, we can see that people's understanding of the value of studying abroad is gradually changing." Li Jun, assistant vice president of New Oriental Education & Technology Group's future going abroad, said that more people regard studying abroad as a channel to realize their self-worth.

"I am preparing for an exchange of studies in the United States. Because the exchange of study abroad is only one year, the time is relatively short, I hope that before going abroad, from language to cross-cultural adaptation, we will make preparations in advance. " Wan Yu (not her real name), a girl in Beijing, is a sophomore at China Agricultural University. She hopes to get the opportunity to exchange studies abroad during her undergraduate course to experience different educational models. "I want to feel the classroom model and academic atmosphere abroad. The most important thing is to broaden my horizons and take the opportunity to see if I am suitable for graduate study abroad."

Wan Yu's view is the consensus of many students who intend to study abroad. According to the white paper, compared with the data of the past three years, the drive of internal self-improvement to those who intend to study abroad is still strong, and the proportion is increasing year by year. Among them, more than half of the students hope to broaden their international horizons, enrich their life experience, learn cutting-edge knowledge, and show a downward trend simply to obtain academic qualifications.

At the same time, with the steady development of the domestic economy, the idea of Chinese students to emigrate by studying abroad is gradually diluted, and more students regard studying abroad as an educational experience.

Enter the "job-hunting state" ahead of time

Under the background of the increasing rationality of studying abroad, the career planning of Chinese students is constantly in advance. According to the white paper, 20% of the people enter the "job-hunting state" at the beginning of studying abroad.

Wang Yan (a pseudonym), who is majoring in communication at the University of Leicester in the UK, is one of the 20% of the population, and she has already made a career plan before entering school. "I majored in journalism as an undergraduate, and my expectation for my future job is to engage in new media communication, but I don't know enough about it at the undergraduate level. I hope that during my master's degree, I will focus on new media communication, and the topic of my graduation thesis will be cut from this point of view. Including the choice of internship units, I do not intend to go to traditional media, but to find some Internet companies to exercise in order to improve their ability. "

Experts on studying abroad say that the importance of career planning is equally important for overseas students or students studying at home. However, the former, because people are not in China, know relatively little about the domestic employment situation, and need to arrange their time reasonably and make career planning in advance. Only in this way can the value of studying abroad be maximized.

"there is only one year for a British master's degree. If you don't make a career plan before studying abroad, it will be very passive to look for a job soon after graduation." Xiao Li, who is studying for a master's degree at the University of Warwick in the UK, said, "before entering school, I communicated with my graduated brothers and sisters, and they all suggested that career planning should be made earlier and the time to pay attention to the employment situation should be advanced."

At the special job fair for returnees in Beijing, there were more and more freshmen and sophomores who were not close to graduation, which also confirmed Xiao Li's judgment from the side. "if the timing is not right, some parents will also send resumes for their children in order to learn about the employment situation earlier." Xiao Li said.

More than 90% of employers recognize the value of studying abroad.

According to the Ministry of Education, the number of students returning from abroad increased by 38500 in 2018 compared with 2017, an increase of 8 per cent.

Li Jun said that the white paper sent a message that compared with the five-year data, the proportion of people who chose to return home immediately after graduation showed a rising trend. "on the one hand, compared with China, the foreign job market has become saturated, so that more people who intend to study abroad intend to return to work immediately after graduation; on the other hand, the purpose of more and more people who intend to study abroad is to increase the competitiveness of employment at home." Li Jun said.

"We often talk about the importance of overseas internship experience, but I observe that the choices of the students around us are quietly changing, and many students hope to return home to work immediately after graduation. Take my major as an example, many domestic Internet companies not only have vitality, but also give young people a platform to show their skills. Going to work immediately after graduation is a scene that I have thought about many times. I feel full of strength. " Wang Yan said.

In Wang Yan's view, the advantages of returnees are closely related to the significance of studying abroad. "if it is just to learn new knowledge, it is not possible to study abroad. The greatest significance of studying abroad lies in the collision of thinking, cross-cultural experience and broadening horizons. Only by achieving self-improvement in these aspects can the advantages of returnees be fully demonstrated. " Wang Yan said.

It is worth noting that the white paper survey data show that 89% of employers recognize the value and significance of studying abroad. Among them, "professional skills" and "innovative ability" are the most valued advantages of overseas students by employers.

Zhao Xiaoxia

(this article is from Chinanews.com)