Editor's note: According to the Ministry of Education, about 3.77 million candidates will take the annual entrance exam for postgraduate studies between Dec 26 and 28. Amid fierce competition, a college degree is no longer a guarantee of a better job and life. More college graduates in China have chosen to pursue higher degrees to improve their employment prospects and income, but is a master's degree a guarantee of success? Readers share their opinions.

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As an American, I can only speak for the conditions here: Your chance of success rises if you have a degree. There is of course no guarantee of financial success, but on average: more education = more salary.

There are some skilled professions here that do quite well without college degrees: plumbers, mechanics, carpenters, and others, but they depend on the area/region they are in due to living expenses. But education opens doors that will forever remain shut without it.