University students turn to career counseling amidst confusion, anxiety

Seeking for consultant while concerned about choosing wrong career path

To Zhang Yuan, the budget for searching for a "reliable" career planning consultant was 1,000 yuan. "As a student, I cannot afford a higher price," he said.

Zhang's undergraduate major was business administration. He originally planned to pursue a postgraduate degree before seeking a job, as he believed that a further study would provide him with richer professional knowledge and also offer him a "buffer period" to rethink his career.

However, he didn't expect to contract COVID-19 on the second day of the postgraduate entrance examination. His condition was poor that day and he felt that his chances of being admitted were slim, which meant that the need to find a job was imminent. "I learned about the career experience related to my major more through my senior schoolmates, or the information on the internet," Zhang said, admitting that he was not well-prepared for employment and wasn't sure what career he was best suited for.

"I participated in debate competitions during winter and summer vacations and had no time for internships," Zhang said. In his limited on-campus time, he devoted almost all of his free time to extracurricular activities. "For me, only by engaging in a career that I am interested in can I have the sustained motivation to continue the work," he said, hoping that his future job will allow him to perform as passionately as he did in debate competitions.

"I hope the consultant can help me with a specific plan after my suitable career is determined. And I also want to know whether I really need a postgraduate degree through consultation," he added. Currently, he has not decided whether he would take the postgraduate entrance examination again.

Li Wei (pseudonym) is junior student at a university in Dalian, studying ship engineering. He was supposed to do internships in shipyards during the first semester of his third year. However, both the area where Li's school is located and his hometown were hit by waves of COVID-19 during that period. He had no choice but to stay at home and take online classes for a whole year, loosing the offline internship opportunity.

"I don't have or understand true work experience is for my major," Li Wei said. Without the internship opportunities, he is afraid of putting effort in the wrong path and going further away.

During the epidemic, online classes, staying at home and health check-ins became the norm for him. "It is difficult to freely enter and leave the campus, let alone offline internships,” Li said helplessly.

Not only is it impossible for him to participate in professional internships, but ordinary internship opportunities are also scarce. "The first question that hiring companies ask me during interviews is whether I can work offline," Li said, who has sent out tons of resumes but has received little response. "My cousin had many internship opportunities when she was in college and experienced almost all the industries she was interested in. So, when she graduated from college, she had already determined her career path.”

Plagued in choice anxiety, he is now hoping that career planning counseling can provide him the right answer.