How to Choose a Industry (Repost)

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By thoroughly understanding this article, you will know in which industries we should seek employment. First, it’s necessary to dispel a widely spread myth: one’s first job after graduating from university is not important. 　　This is absolutely extremely wrong. It gave many naive university graduates a wrong perception, causing irreparable losses to a significant number of people! The choice of employment for college graduates is a crucial decision that has a significant impact on a person’s life over the course of a decade, and it is extremely important. So, what kind of job is better to find? What kind of industry is considered good? Are large companies better or small companies better? How to properly understand current salary and future development? A series of problems lie ahead of college students. First, I will analyze the macro strategic issues that need to be considered, and then address individual specific issues. I. The classification of interest groups in the Chinese workplace at the current stage This is the first important issue that a university graduate should know. The school principal won’t tell you, nor will the company do so during recruitment, because only a few people get to benefit from it ； Your parents might not tell you either, because they are likely confused as well. If someone has already told you clearly about this aspect, or if you have personally perceived it keenly, then congratulations! You can close this article now, as you’re already sensible and don’t need me to waste words. (1) The 5 Major Interest Quadrants 　　 China’s society is undergoing significant transformation: shifting from a planned economy to a market economy with Chinese characteristics. This process is one of reallocation of power structures. In the job market, we can categorize various employers into broad groups as follows: 1. Civil servants (including those in public institutions); 2. State-owned enterprises in monopolistic industries; 3. State-owned enterprises in competitive industries; 4. Foreign companies; 5. Private enterprises. Almost all employers can be classified under one of these categories. First of all, you need to understand that this is not theoretical research; it is directly related to your future career, income, status, and family. The first thing you need to understand is which quadrant the company (organization) that is planning to hire you at the job fair belongs to 　 　Different quadrants possess different powers and resources. This results in significant differences in the ability to earn income from employment across different quadrants. Before choosing a company, be sure to understand these things clearly. In present-day China, social resources are highly concentrated in the hands of a small number of civil servants (i.e., *yuans), as well as monopolistic state-owned enterprises. However, in different regions, due to varying levels of social wealth, there are significant differences in the incomes of civil servants. Although the prescribed salary rates are the same for everyone, if you go to regions such as Guangdong and East China to find out the actual annual income of civil servants, it will be easy to understand why so many people of your age are applying to become civil servants. In fact, even in economically underdeveloped areas, civil servants still belong to the high-income group among the local population. And perhaps more importantly, the risk is very low. Return and risk are proportional – you must have learned this in class, right? Haha, let me tell you, that’s the principle of Western economics; ours has Chinese characteristics and is different. Working as a civil servant in China involves low risk and high rewards. Maybe you’ll say, No, that’s not right; in your place as well, the benefits for civil servants aren’t that great, are they? So I need to tell you: first, you can’t just look at the apparent income without considering the gray areas ； Second, China currently allows movement of people between different regions; therefore, due to the large differences in economic wealth levels among these regions, civil servants in less developed areas are indeed worse off than ordinary white-collar workers in more developed areas. This is precisely the complexity of interest dynamics – there are no absolutes. 　　 Let’s take a look at the situation of state-owned enterprises. When it comes to state-owned enterprises, many people immediately think of job losses. This notion is also wrong. First of all, firing employees is not a phenomenon unique to state-owned enterprises; many private companies also fire large numbers of employees each year, without providing them with any compensation or assistance in finding new jobs. At the same time, not all state-owned enterprises perform poorly and require staff layoffs. When looking at the balance of interests, we first need to consider who possesses power and resources. In China, simply put, whoever holds power and the ability to monopolize an industry finds it difficult to achieve poor performance. It’s not simply a matter of distinguishing between state-owned and private enterprises. State-owned enterprises in competitive industries such as China Mobile and China Telecom are almost all doomed (excluding those industries that pretend to be open). There is a clear pattern of development here: in the early 1990s, only state-owned enterprises existed, while private sector forces were very weak. The long-standing policy of low wages and high benefits in state-owned enterprises meant that those who were among the first to enter the market economy were able to enjoy \"high\" wages once the doors to that economy were opened ； At the end of the 1990s, with the year 2000 as a dividing line, there was a significant shift in the situation. Under the policy of focusing on key areas while neglecting minor ones, state-owned enterprises in monopolistic industries quickly utilized their administrative resources to operate in a market economy; unsurprisingly, they were invincible and reaped huge profits ； At the current stage, with 2005 as a dividing line, it marks the beginning of another entirely new phase. MBOs are emerging one after another in various places. Under such circumstances, monopolistic state-owned enterprises will diverge, and predicting their specific development paths is rather complex; I will analyze this in detail in a separate article. But in any case, at the current stage, monopolistic state-owned enterprises are a very powerful group with high incomes. It should be noted that even those state-owned enterprise employees in competitive industries who were laid off or went bankrupt at around 45 years old now, when they started working at an age similar to yours, their jobs were still the best and their incomes were the highest at that time. It’s just that the balance of interests has changed now. 　　Let’s take a look at the situation of foreign companies. Foreign-funded enterprises rely mainly on financial resources, their relationships, and high-level management to carry out their operations; they can be considered among China’s first true enterprises. However, they still have to abide by China’s unwritten rules in China. Since foreign companies that are able to operate across countries are generally quite strong, they represent a very powerful interest group, as well as sources of high-paying jobs. Note that those fake foreign companies established by Chinese people abroad are not included; companies from Taiwan and ** are considered private enterprises. 　　Looking at the situation of private enterprises, they still do not constitute the main part of China’s economy. They are relatively weaker in terms of strength and access to resources. In industries with perfect competition, it is mainly the private enterprises that entered the market early that have grown large and acquired considerable strength. Moreover, many private enterprises have a low standard of living in a highly competitive market environment. Because China does not have a true market mechanism, the relevant laws and regulations are inadequate; either they are not properly enforced, or some people have the power to ignore them. This leads to \"distorted competition\" in China’s industries with perfect competition ； In industries with imperfect competition, private enterprises mainly survive by relying on certain entities that possess resources; this situation can be likened to insects attached to a tree, giving rise to one after another group of entities with non-competitive interdependencies. The ineffective nature of laws governing occupational protection, coupled with the lack of forces such as trade unions that represent employees’ interests, directly results in employees in private enterprises being a vulnerable group in the workplace. You might ask, then why is there concern for employees laid off from state-owned enterprises, but no attention paid to those laid off from private enterprises? It’s simple: the laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises are already old and unable to find jobs that would allow them to maintain their previous standard of living. China’s marketization process has only just begun, and the employees of private enterprises are mostly young people, so social problems are not apparent. Well, it’s clearer now. First, you need to determine which of the aforementioned quadrants the company (organization) you want to join falls into. Your quadrant personality generally determines the income and status you may achieve in the future. And your personal abilities are like the small splashes that rise on big waves. It can be said that the ability to judge overall trends is far more important than the ability to handle specific tasks. Perhaps you might say that it seems there are people with high incomes in every quadrant. Yes, but don’t forget that the chances of achieving high income and status in different quadrants, as well as the effort required, vary. In some quadrants, as long as you keep up with the average level, you can easily save a large sum of money in 5 years and buy a house and a car ； In some quadrants, you have to work very hard; after 10 years, it’s possible for you to save some money and buy a house and a car. By the time you reach that level, those who started at the same time as you in the advantageous quadrants will have saved even more money and acquired larger houses and cars. Quadrants have differences in terms of advantages and disadvantages; people who start from the same point, despite putting in equal effort due to choosing different paths for development, will end up with results that are vastly different. 　　Secondly, it is not enough to just look at which quadrant. Because within the same quadrant, there are still huge, subtly differences caused by human factors! II. The Generation in Transition 　　Things in China need to be viewed through a magnifying glass to be understood clearly; this is also why foreigners can never truly comprehend Chinese society. The aforementioned artificial differences also vary depending on the interest quadrant: 1. In the case of civil servants and state-owned enterprises, there are differences between regular employees and informal workers. Are there really informal workers among staff members as well? Yes, if you don’t know it yet, that just means you’re uninformed. **Employees are divided into two categories: **full-time civil servants and the so-called ‘employees’**. In some places, especially in economically poor provinces, the income gap between the two is not significant ； And the richer the province, the greater the income gap between the two. It is extremely difficult for employees to be converted into **full-time civil servants; there’s no need to even consider it. Therefore, even if you pass the **civil service exam and are hired by an organization, you must make sure to find out whether you will be working as a civil servant or as an employee 　 All state-owned enterprises in China have a distinction between regular employees and informal workers. This institutional arrangement stems directly from **the control over individual identities under the planned economy. Back in those days, it was usually those with a good background who became regular employees, while those with a poor background naturally became informal workers. This system of origin has now been thrown into the trash can of history, but the so-called employment system has remained, being given new meanings in the process. In monopolistic state-owned enterprises, which have reaped great benefits from their monopoly advantages in the market, they naturally strive even harder to secure market gains. At this point, human resources become an issue. On the one hand, the old full-time employees, just like the Bannermen, have long lost the courage and ability to fight; so who can be used to conquer markets? On the other hand, the central government keeps demanding that these monopolistic state-owned enterprises be restructured, that their workforce structure be optimized, and that their labor costs be reduced. So how can this optimization be achieved? How to reduce it? It’s simple: hire a large number of informal workers. On the one hand, use this fresh blood to attack the market as cannon fodder in order to address the issue of human resources ； On the other hand, by making the wages of these informal workers market-based (with the wages of formal employees in monopolistic state-owned enterprises being **higher** than market levels), the average cost per employee across the entire enterprise is reduced, thus fulfilling one of the restructuring requirements set by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. This approach does not harm the interests of formal employees, as the leadership of state-owned enterprises represents their interests. This shows that state-owned enterprises have transformed into market anomalies, using **power to gain market advantages while simultaneously serving as tools to benefit a small minority of people. However, it should be noted that it is still possible to join the group of full-time employees at present, as full-time employees form a loose interest group that needs to continuously bring in new members; otherwise, it will be marginalized and eventually lose its competitive advantage. The income of informal workers is roughly half to a quarter that of formal workers. Of course, this is not about conducting a moral analysis; rather, it’s to help you figure out whether you want to take a formal job or an informal one 2. In foreign companies, the differences between workers from the Chinese mainland and those from other regions In foreign companies, the differences are mainly evident between workers from the Chinese mainland and those from other places. Wages for workers on the mainland are generally 1/5 to 1/10 of those for workers who are not from the mainland. This is reasonable. Because 90% of the reasons why foreign companies invest in China is due to the low cost of labor there; it’s not because China is an ancient civilization, nor is it because of anything else. Their demands are reasonable. Of course, even this amount of 1/5 to 1/10 of the income is still quite good compared to people from other countries. Of course, working for a foreign company is exhausting; the risks and rewards are directly proportional. Then why do foreign companies still hire workers from outside the Chinese mainland? You need to be clear here that it is mainly due to 3 reasons: First, there is a need for some trustworthy people to manage things (people who are bound by laws and regulations) ； Second, some people who are proficient in English (able to think in English) are needed to manage it ； Third, it requires some people with an international perspective to manage it. So does that mean you can only work on the mainland? No. One thing you should be clear about is that you also have the opportunity to become a non-mainland worker. This is why so many people go to the United States to study. Of course, studying abroad alone is not enough; it is necessary to find a job in the United States and obtain a green card. Many CEOs of foreign-funded companies originally obtained their green cards by working as manual laborers in the United States. Thanks to their proficiency in both languages, when multinational companies needed to set up offices in China, they turned to such people for this role. There are more and more of these individuals, and the requirements for them are also increasing, but it is still possible to become one of those who are not from the Chinese mainland. 3. In private enterprises, the differences between shareholders and non-shareholders In private enterprises, the differences are mainly evident between shareholders and non-shareholders. Share-based employees are mainly found in companies that use shares to attract talent, and they are employees who join during the initial stages of the company’s establishment. For example, Huawei has a considerable number of stock-based employees. Non-shareholding workers are those who joined the company quite recently, or those who joined early on but add no value to the company. After going through the startup phase, companies generally no longer need to use shares to attract junior employees; recruitment is mainly aimed at filling positions that have become vacant due to staff departures – when someone leaves, a new employee is hired. Options are generally used for senior managers, and since this article analyzes college students’ employment, they are not relevant here. The operating conditions for most private enterprises in China are extremely harsh; they can barely survive on their own, so one can only imagine what the treatment of employees is like. Of course, the probability of failure for entrepreneurial private enterprises is very high. Before deciding to join a private enterprise, be sure to find out clearly whether it is a private company focused on expansion through entrepreneurship or one that aims to fill vacancies resulting from staff losses 　　The current younger generation is, in fact, a generation born during China’s social transformation, destined to bear the costs of that transformation. Their older generation is actually still relying on the old mechanisms of the traditional system and has not truly entered the market competition ； Their next generation will enjoy a high degree of labor protection thanks to the continuous progress of society ； And their generation is destined to become the most unfortunate people in Chinese society during the \"wave of white-collar unemployment\" in 20 years. It’s the price of the times; there’s nothing we can do about it. III. Career Planning 　Overall, this generation is destined to bear the costs of societal transformation. But on an individual level, one can still try their best to achieve good results. This is also the significance of this article. In fact, from the above analysis, it is quite clear which quadrants are better and which ones are worse in the professional market. For a clearer view, they are arranged below in order of preference: 1. Foreign company employees who are not from the Chinese mainland; 2. Civil servants in economically developed areas; 3. Full-time employees of monopolistic state-owned enterprises; 4. Shareholding employees in private enterprises; 5. Foreign company employees from the Chinese mainland; 6. Employees on contract; 7. Full-time employees of competitive state-owned enterprises; 8. Part-time employees of monopolistic state-owned enterprises; 9. Part-time employees of competitive state-owned enterprises; 10. Non-shareholding employees in private enterprises. You might be able to come up with some counterexamples, but keep in mind that the above list represents general trends and does not cover special situations, such as areas that are extremely poor where civil servants cannot earn any extra income. 　 Well, when you’re looking for a job, keep in mind that you should aim for the highest possible position. Don’t be deceived by empty words, and don’t get confused by the claims of so-called human resources experts about looking at long-term development. You must remember that the higher you stand, the further you can jump; in terms of long-term development, it’s definitely those who start from a higher position who can go further. Don’t believe in what experts call career planning; it’s not real. IV. Answers to Specific Questions 1. How to distinguish between regular and non-regular job positions? 　 For civil servants, it is necessary to ask whether they have been included in the official staffing roster. If not included in the official staffing structure, they are considered employees ； For state-owned enterprises, do not ask directly whether the employees are full-time; they will respond firmly by saying, “All of our employees here are full-time.” You need to pay attention: there is an extra word here – ‘full-time’ employees, who are further divided into full-time and part-time workers. (Remember, China’s state-owned enterprises and CCTV are connected; whatever they say must be interpreted in the opposite way, otherwise you will definitely be deceived.) It’s best to get information from people inside the system, as that will give you the most accurate understanding. If you don’t know the person, you should check which department is primarily responsible for handling this recruitment. If it is a particular business department that conducts the hiring itself, rather than the headquarters’ human resources department, then it is most likely to be informal employees. Finally, you can ask how long it will take to become a full-time employee. If they are evasive and keep saying things like \"it’s all formal\", or if they tell you there’s a \"trial period\" of 3 to 6 months, then you can be pretty sure it’s an informal employment arrangement. 2. Should one care about the initial income? 　 　Many experts are talking nonsense on this issue. They believe that one shouldn’t focus too much on income at the beginning, but rather on long-term development. This is a typical irresponsible expert. You can imagine, what determines the salary of a particular position? It’s simple: within different companies, positions in those with a good market outlook and potential for long-term growth offer higher salaries than similar positions in companies with no such prospects ； Within a company, positions with long-term development prospects offer higher salaries than temporary roles with no future. The starting salary reflects highly the company’s view of the importance of this position for you. Do you think a significant position has prospects, or do you think an unimportant position has prospects? 3. Should I go to a large company or a small one? 　 　There is another misleading claim, which is that working at a small company provides better opportunities for personal development. This claim is utterly absurd. Due to their limited capabilities, small companies often lack highly skilled professionals, and are also unable to carry out market operations that require substantial resources. This means you can’t learn from true experts*, nor can you gain experience in operating in large-scale markets. Remember, developing the ability to fight in large-scale battles is far more valuable than gaining experience in fighting alone against one or two opponents. 4. Will white-collar workers lose their jobs? 　 　The answer is: “Yes, and there will be mass unemployment.” ”One thing you need to know is that China has an endless supply of human resources; there are many farmers waiting to join the urban workforce. The so-called white-collar workers these days are just reaping the benefits of their youth. By the time they are around 40 years old, a large number of new young graduates will be able to do the same jobs at lower wages than them (it is estimated that labor protection laws in China will still be inadequate at that time, and there will be no unions to protect them), and that is when China’s first large-scale wave of white-collar unemployment will occur. 5. Do professional work, or work in sales? 　 It depends on individual circumstances. Generally speaking, the first thing to consider is whether one has the potential for sales work ； Secondly, it is necessary to consider whether the sales field involves technical expertise; one should not give up their own specialty to engage in sales work that lacks such technical elements. If you already have a highly technical profession, such as medicine or law, etc., never give it up – the cost of missing out is too high. You need to know that in this field, there aren’t many people who can compete with you (don’t focus only on the medical graduates who finish school each year), because if you switch to working in insurance, there will be tens of millions of vocational school graduates and unemployed youths competing with you, and it’s very likely that you won’t be able to beat them. However, in fields with a technical component, working in marketing is often a shortcut. 6. What are the best channels to find a job? 　　Different channels are mainly used to post different positions. For example, recruitment websites are commonly used by foreign companies to hire workers from the Chinese mainland, while private enterprises often use them to recruit non-shareholding employees ； State-owned enterprises use newspapers and job markets to recruit informal workers ； As for civil servants and regular employees in state-owned enterprises, they are mostly introduced through internal connections. 7. What kind of industry is better to choose? 　 　It’s important to note here that when university graduates look for jobs, they focus on the industry, rather than whether their major is \"relevant\" to that industry. There needs to be predictive capability for the industry. A sector that is doing well now may not do well in the future. In China, the industries I am quite optimistic about over the next 5 years are: microelectronics, finance, construction, law, pharmaceuticals, and biochemistry. If your major happens to be one of these, that’s great ； It’s okay if not; you can pursue a master’s degree or work in marketing in these fields. Remember, to work in sales, you should focus on sales in these promising industries, rather than working as a salesperson in a supermarket