Tsinghua masters go to the grassroots level: why are the "beijing drifters" willing to suffer so much?

　　Sino-Singapore Jingwei Xue Yufei Lei Zongrun intern Hu Jingrong

　　In the minds of many people, the places where students from prestigious schools go after graduation are mostly linked to core government departments, outstanding enterprises and institutions, large private enterprises and multinational companies.

However, in recent days, prefecture-level cities, county towns and even streets and other grassroots units have recruited a large number of graduates from prestigious schools, which has aroused great concern from the outside world.

　　For example, in the talent introduction list of Heping County, located in the northern part of Guangdong Province, there are many students from top domestic universities such as Tsinghua University, University of Science and Technology of China, Renmin University of China; Suichang County, Zhejiang Province introduced outstanding graduates. Including students from Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Fudan University, Tongji University and other famous universities; the "Urban Management Law Enforcement Post" in Jiuxianqiao Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, intends to admit a graduate of Particle Physics and Atomic Nucleus from the School of Physics, Peking University PhD in Physics.

　　What do these graduates from prestigious schools think about choosing grassroots employment?

Recently, Sino-Singapore Jingwei has chosen to talk to several students who have returned to work at the grassroots level after graduating from well-known domestic universities. From their personal stories, they try to outline the career choices of contemporary young people.

　　Among them, some choose the grassroots for their ideals; some are tired of working in big cities and return to the countryside.

In the narration, they also said that although grassroots work can realize personal value, there are some frustrations. For example, the too small circle makes it difficult for girls to find their favorite objects...

I don't understand "North Drift" very well, I want to do something more meaningful

Lin Yue Tsinghua University Master of Management Science and Engineering Graduate

Chengdu city undecided post selection transfer students

　　In fact, I have also tried to do what my classmates do, and go to the real estate industry for an internship, but in the end I chose to be a civil servant. I hope I can do something more meaningful.

　　During the winter vacation of my sophomore year, I went to a small town in my hometown to do social practice, mainly to investigate poverty alleviation. At that time, I felt the difficulty of grassroots work.

At that time, there was a problem of relocation in different places. Some villagers received the keys of the new house, but he was unwilling to move there, but his old house was at risk of mudslides and landslides.

In this case, how do you convince them to accept your suggestion?

In January 2018, Lin Yue went to a poor village in Dafang County, Bijie, Guizhou to investigate.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　I also had a lot of entanglements, but I read a book when I was in the first grade, "110 Ways to Leave Tsinghua University". I saw many stories of brothers and sisters going to the grassroots level in it. Some of the stories in it were very touching and gave me Courage to be a civil servant.

My home is in Guizhou, about 3 hours away from Chengdu by high-speed rail.

Sichuan and Chongqing are developing better in the southwest. I like Chengdu very much, whether it is living or working.

Sometimes I don't quite understand "Beijing Drift", why I am willing to live such a bitter life, just to live in a set of "old and broken".

Working as a civil servant in a non-first-tier city may not be a high salary, but I feel that even if life is not particularly wealthy, it will certainly be able to guarantee food and clothing. I hope to live in that kind of city with a stronger sense of happiness.

　　For the decision of "Kao Gong", my parents supported me very much. They supported my choice from childhood to adulthood, and hoped that I would do it according to my own ideas.

They are also public servants, and I can continue to do this job, which is equivalent to the relay of my dream.

　　The process of preparing for the exam is more difficult, and it seems to return to the mode before the college entrance examination.

The competition for transfer students is quite fierce. Twelve universities including Tsinghua University belong to the first batch. Chengdu recruits a total of 240 people, but the number of applicants is about 4,000 or 5,000.

At that time, due to the epidemic, the Organization Department of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee came directly to Tsinghua for an interview. At that time, there were about five or six hundred people participating in the interview. In fact, there were quite a few students in Tsinghua who were "examined", which may be affected by the school atmosphere.

Many people will say, you have such a good school and read so many books, is it worth going to the grassroots in the end?

I think it's worth it.

As a public official, if you want to do it well, I think you must have some grass-roots experience, you need to really go to the fields to understand the lives of ordinary people, and go to the grass-roots "dun dunmiao" to understand our current development. Weaknesses, loopholes, and what else needs to be done.

Going down to the grassroots level is the part I look forward to most in the selection and transfer work.

　　Some people think that compared with other colleges, Qingbei students will be promoted faster in government units.

I think this is because within the statistical scope of the overall big data, the students in Qingbei will put more effort into improving their abilities, so they will be relatively faster.

　　As for the future development, I will not set a high goal for myself.

Only after suffering can you understand the value of stability

Wei Zhe, Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University

A cadre of a district and county street office in Chengdu

　　My father worked in the government. When he was in college, he often persuaded me to take the civil service exam. At that time, I categorically refused. I felt that a life that was too stable was not suitable for me.

I majored in machinery. When I first graduated, I was recruited into a company in Shenzhen through the school, and the position was a process equipment engineer.

When recruiting, the company advertised that the company attaches great importance to humanistic care, but there are some discrepancies in reality.

　　I started working in July 2019. Not long after, the company said that the branch in Huizhou, Guangdong was lacking people, and transferred a group of our university graduates without our consent.

When I went there, I found out that all the work here is manual work, and the daily work is to move glass and work night shifts.

It has been half a month since we moved. According to the original notice, we can go back to Shenzhen. As a result, the company did not discuss with us for a direct extension.

After returning from Huizhou, many people resigned. Around November, I also resigned and went home to prepare for the exam.

　　But the road to "Kao Gong" was not so smooth.

Due to the tripartite agreement signed with the company at that time, I no longer have the status of a fresh graduate, and most of the positions in the national examination are for fresh students. There are few positions and there is a lot of competition, so I did not get admitted.

There are very few corresponding positions for my major, so I can only choose the three kinds of positions that are not limited to the provincial examination, that is, "no specialization, no education (college or above), and no household registration". The competition is very big, basically hundreds of people are competing for a position, and I was not feeling well during that time, so I didn't get admitted.

　　After returning from Shenzhen, I decided to keep going on this road to the end. If I still fail the test, I will take the test for the third and fourth time.

In the 2021 provincial examination, there are three sub-district offices in my district, city and county that are recruiting people, so I chose the position closest to my home.

In the end, I was accepted in second place overall.

On February 18, 2022, I went to the villagers' homes in the middle of the night to conduct gas safety inspections.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

In 2021, our street office will recruit 6 people, including me, 4 people graduated from 985 University, including Sun Yat-sen University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Sichuan University, and the other 2 people are ordinary colleges and universities.

I feel that it is quite common for graduates of 985 University to go to the grassroots, and I don’t feel any regret, especially after experiencing the fast-paced life in a big city in Shenzhen, I feel that in a small city, it is close to home and has a stable job. Happiness has improved a lot.

　　The work at the grassroots level is really complicated. The community governance office in the sub-district office is mainly responsible for population management and grid service management, as well as anti-telecom fraud, anti-cult, and judicial matters.

When I first started working, I felt a little unable to adapt. Sometimes a bunch of things suddenly came up, I didn’t understand it, and I felt that I couldn’t handle it.

　　For me, the biggest gain from working at the grassroots level is the ability to communicate with people.

In daily work, I need to deal with all kinds of people, leaders, village cadres, villagers, etc. Slowly, my ability to deal with the world will be greatly improved, and I have also made many friends.

　　When I was working in Shenzhen, life was stressful and I might not be able to afford a house. I didn't have that sense of belonging.

In the small city where I stay at home, although the salary is not as high as staying in Shenzhen, it is enough for me.

And living at home, I can drive 20 minutes to the work unit every day. My expenses are very small, and my happiness in life is relatively high.

Works taken by Wei Zhe (pseudonym) in his spare time.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　I plan to continue working in my current position first. In the future, I will try to take an on-the-job postgraduate exam and go to a higher platform to take the selection test.

I also like photography very much. I will take pictures of nature and insects in my spare time. I hope to have the opportunity to shoot a promotional video for my hometown in the future.

I gave up my job with an annual salary of 250,000, but I haven't decided to take root at the grassroots level.

Wang Zhen, Hunan University, majoring in measurement and control technology and instrumentation

The work of a county and township government in the west

　　When I was in college, I had no plans to work at the grassroots level. My plan was to continue my graduate studies or work in a big Internet company in a first-tier city.

Before graduation, I got a lot of offers from first-class companies, including well-known companies such as Xi'an Airlines and ZTE. The treatment is also quite good, and the annual salary is basically around 250,000 yuan.

This is not bad for fresh graduates, but my parents are very opposed to me wandering abroad. On the one hand, they are worried that I will be too hard, and on the other hand, they still hope that I will have a more stable job.

　　My father was a low-level civil servant, so he also hoped that I could have a job in the system, where I could stay by his side and be secure and decent.

And I am an only child, and I also want to go back to my hometown to take care of my family.

So, before I graduated, I gave up my job in a big city and got a job as a civil servant in my hometown.

Wang Zhen (pseudonym), who just finished his visit in the evening, took the scenery when he climbed over the mountains.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　I am currently working in a county and township government not far from my home. The grassroots work is more complicated than I imagined. I am usually responsible for all aspects of the data of each village within the jurisdiction, and regularly conduct data statistics, summarization and reporting. At the same time, I am also responsible for the village. Residents' endowment insurance business, including helping everyone authenticate endowment insurance, collect endowment insurance fees, activate social security cards, etc.

When I first started working at the grassroots level, I thought I was well prepared, but then I realized that in the face of many problems in life and work, the previous preparations were of no use.

My psychological gap is huge, especially when I see many college classmates with high salaries and struggling to pursue their dreams in big cities, the gap is even more obvious.

　　Overall, this job is very contradictory for me. On the one hand, I like the dedication, fulfillment and stability of grassroots work, and on the other hand, I hope that I can leave the grassroots and pursue my dreams outside.

Working in the grassroots system may not be my best choice. I am still not satisfied with my current situation. When I chose to work at the grassroots level, I considered too many family factors, and I was not sure whether I was suitable for the job.

For now, I have not thought about whether to take root at the grassroots level. When I have better choices in the future, I may choose to change jobs and pursue the life I really want.

　　From my point of view, it is very necessary for the grassroots to recruit students from elite schools, and the excellent source of students is conducive to improving the working environment, working methods and working style of the grassroots.

For example, once, I questioned a certain redundant and complicated decision made by the grassroots leaders, hoping to have a simpler and more friendly approach, but in the eyes of the grassroots leaders, he felt that this was a kind of arrogance of me as a famous student, and it was disobedience. Performance of leadership deployment.

But I think this arrogance and the spirit of thinking and obedience in the work are the characteristics of young people, and it is also a new atmosphere that is lacking in grass-roots work.

I dream of being a "big heroine" in my life, but now it's hard to fall in love

Master of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, ADLINK

A cadre stationed in a village in a county in Gansu Province

　　If I hadn't entered the system, I might have been working in sales, like Su Mingyu in the TV series "Everything is Good" or Zhu Suosuo in "Golden Years". I admire such professional women and dream I can become a "big heroine" struggling in the first-tier cities.

　　But I still know myself very well. In all aspects, I am more suitable to work within the system, so I am ready to take the exam and transfer students to work within the system before graduation.

Currently working in the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, now is a two-year grass-roots work period, serving as a village official in a designated village. The specific job is to assist the village party secretary in the two village committees to carry out various tasks, more like a "secretary serving the grass-roots people" "Role.

　　There is a big psychological gap when I first started working at the grassroots level. After all, returning from Beijing to second- and third-tier cities, and even now in small villages, the living environment is very different.

　　There is a big gap between the current situation of grass-roots work and my ideal work and life, but I must admit that trying to narrow this gap is the meaning and direction of grass-roots work.

Now this sense of gap is gradually narrowing, it may be a matter of reconciling with the situation, or it may be a reconciliation with one's own choice.

　　The work at the grassroots level is relatively simple. After working at the grassroots level for more than a year, I also know what kind of person I should become and how to become a competent cadre.

　　For the grassroots, it is necessary to recruit students from famous schools. Most students from famous schools are more active in their way of thinking and have higher requirements and standards for work. At the same time, the grassroots also provides a large enough platform for students from famous schools to display their talents.

But in my opinion, most grassroots units are not well prepared to accept graduates from prestigious schools, and there are no good solutions to many problems such as salary and follow-up training, and there may be situations where they cannot retain people.

Take me as an example, salary and personal marriage and love are very troublesome issues. As a master's graduate, it is not easy to fall in love and find a partner at the grassroots level.

At present, the gender ratio of unmarried young people of the right age in the system is unbalanced, and there are more women than men.

For students from famous schools, it is even more difficult to find a favorite in the grassroots, which lacks young people of the right age, and I prefer to find a "soul mate" who resonates. This is even more difficult for me in a grassroots environment. Not even the "story" had a chance to happen.

　　For me, grassroots work is quite satisfactory. Although most of the work is usually scattered and trivial, it is also the front line of serving the masses. Being able to truly concern the basic necessities of life and serve them, I don’t feel like I am at all. ability to be buried.

This work is meaningful and a reflection of the value of integrating the "small self" into the "big self".

　　If nothing else, I should continue to work at the grassroots level in the future. In addition to looking up at the stars, I must also be down-to-earth.

　　(At the request of the interviewee, Lin Yue, Wei Zhe, Wang Zhen, and Ling Hua are all pseudonyms.) (Sino-Singapore Jingwei APP)

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