Recently, the job search platform LinkedIn released the "2024 Chinese International Students Returning to China Job Search Insight Report", which is based on LinkedIn member big data, international students' return to China job search questionnaire survey and interviews with a number of companies, and deeply studies the current situation, characteristics, challenges and trends of Chinese students returning to China to find jobs.
The report also provides an in-depth look at a number of key findings, including popular study destinations, popular major options, job search intentions of international students, and changes in salary expectations.
For the majority of international students, this is undoubtedly a valuable guide.
Key takeaways from the report:
Key highlights of the report are as follows:
01 Age distribution of international students
LinkedIn talent big data shows that the number of overseas Chinese students graduating in 2023 is basically the same as the previous year. Among them, the proportion of women is slightly higher, with 46% and 54% of men and women respectively; In terms of age, people under the age of 26 account for the highest proportion at 76%.
02 Distribution of the number of international students
From the perspective of study destinations, North America and Europe, especially the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, are still the most popular study destinations. Other popular regions include Australia, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Spain.
03 Academic distribution and graduation colleges
In terms of academic qualifications and majors, among Chinese students graduating in 2023, the proportion of master's students is the highest, reaching 48%, and the proportion of doctoral students is 14%, and computer science is still the most chosen major for international students, followed by business administration and finance. It is worth noting that data science has become a popular major and is among the top 10 graduation majors for Chinese students.
04 Employment of international students
From the perspective of the destination of international students after graduation, 80% of Chinese students will be directly employed after graduation, and the proportion of Chinese students who choose to continue their studies has dropped sharply from 17% in the previous year to 7%, while only 2% plan to start a business after graduation, indicating that the willingness of Chinese students to start a business is low and has a downward trend. It is worth noting that the proportion of Chinese students who intend to stay overseas to find employment after graduation has dropped sharply to 3% from 37% in the previous year.
Other highlights:
From the perspective of the job search plan of international students returning to China, 47% of Chinese students began to use various channel platforms to find jobs after returning to China before graduation, and 31% of them had already identified employment positions before graduation.
From the perspective of job search considerations, as many as 74% of returnee international students regard salary and benefits as the primary factor in their employment choice. This suggests that they have a high expectation of financial compensation, which may stem from overseas investment in education and the pursuit of a high quality of life.
In terms of employment preference, 38% of Chinese students prefer employment in the Yangtze River Delta region, followed by Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, accounting for 20% each. In terms of the preferred target types of enterprises for returning students, foreign-funded enterprises (58%) are still the first choice for returnee students, probably due to their international working environment and high salaries. The top three industries that international students expect to return to China to find jobs in order are high-tech/Internet, financial services & insurance, new energy and new energy vehicles.
In terms of salary expectations, there has been a significant change in the salary expectations of Chinese students returning to China for employment. Compared with 2022, more international students expect a moderate salary, with the proportion of 8-12K monthly salary expectations increasing from 20% to 31%, 12-18K increasing from 22% to 33%, and the proportion of expecting 18-25K and more than 25K monthly salaries falling to 13% and 15%, respectively.
In terms of the expected industry intentions of doctoral students returning to China, they tend to look for employment opportunities in the fields of biology/medicine/health, high-tech/Internet, government/education/non-profit, new energy & new energy vehicles, and automobile/manufacturing/industry and other industries also have a place in the employment choices of returnees.
Compared with bachelor's and master's students, most Chinese overseas doctoral students have higher salary expectations when they return to China, and 78% of them expect a monthly salary of more than 18K RMB. Specifically, 39% of returnee PhDs expect a monthly salary of 18-25K and above, compared to 11% in the relatively low salary range (8-12K and 12-18K).
The above data content comes from the "2024 Chinese International Students Returning to China Job Search Insight Report" released by LinkedIn