If college students, instead of just trying to earn a college diploma, make more efforts to acquire knowledge and learn skills to meet the challenges of life, they will enhance their competitiveness in the job market. And even if they get a relatively low salary in the beginning, they will perform well in the long run.

Also, college graduates should not restrict their search to white-collar jobs, whatever career prospects the specific jobs may have. Many people think college students should look for jobs that suit their "status". Some even regard a college student who drives a taxi or takes up some other non-office job as a waste of education resources. But such people turn a blind eye to the reality of the job market and the high rate of college enrollment.

The development of higher education is aimed at improving the quality in all sectors of society. Only when high-quality talents are employed in all sectors of the economy can society as a whole make real progress. Some college graduates who have chosen to work as construction workers, plumbers or carpenters not only earn more money than their counterparts employed in public institutions but also are helping improve the work and service quality of the sectors where they are employed.

A person should be judged according his/her abilities rather than the diploma he/she carries. Once we start doing that, students will concentrate on acquiring practical knowledge and colleges will be forced to help them do so.

The author is vice-president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute.

(China Daily 08/20/2014 page9)