Chinanews.com, August 15th. According to a report on the UK website of the European Times, upon graduation, the PSW for overseas students has become a major factor for many students to consider whether to study in the UK. Some people think that PSW is an international student. Opened a window of job hunting. Passing the PSW visa to transition to the job hunting period after graduation, or directly using the PSW visa to work in the UK, some people say that this is the British government’s “quick money” and does not give much consideration.
At the crossroads at the end of the study abroad road, what choices will graduates make?
Those who are determined to stay in the UK: the epidemic continues to make employment in the UK a logical matter
Coming to the UK in 2018, Stefy, who had just graduated from his undergraduate degree, chose to stay in the UK.
She prefers the British way of life, and because she is still young, she is still in the stage where she can just leave, and she doesn't have to restrict where she lives.
She also likes the humanities of the UK. Whether it is outdoor sports or cultural exhibitions, staying in the UK has relatively more choices, and the culture is relatively mature in this respect.
Stefy is preparing to apply for a PSW visa because it has the advantage of not having to find a job now and will not require submission of work-related documents.
Stefy also heard that the visa approval time is quite fast, and as long as the application is made before the current visa expires.
After coming to the UK for three years, it was precisely because of the epidemic that Stefy began to plan to stay in the UK.
During the epidemic, she stayed home and slowly experienced a lot of things that she could do in that calm state of mind that she had no time or opportunity before.
So she wanted to stay longer in the UK, "This lifestyle is more in line with my ideals, and I also want to feel more of this laid-back atmosphere."
Stefy feels that she has long been accustomed to online learning and can switch to another state immediately after studying, and has enhanced her "multi-tasking" skills.
At the same time, online learning also gave her more time to live offline, allowing her to better plan and allocate more time to her hobbies and travel.
Brown decided to study for a master's degree overseas since his freshman year. He said this was to "see the world."
So in November last year, he came to the UK.
Brown admitted that the epidemic still had a huge negative impact on his study and life in the UK, and his "experience was greatly reduced."
For example, the course teaching is completely online, there is no opportunity to communicate with classmates and teachers face to face, and the offline graduation ceremony is also confirmed to be cancelled, and there is no opportunity to go to the European continent to play.
Fortunately, I made some friendly British friends, and getting along with them made Brown feel the difference between Chinese and Western cultures, and left very good memories.
Although the courses are all online, Brown's school does not offer any reduction or exemption of tuition.
In this regard, Brown has no objection.
Currently, Brown is about to finish writing his graduation thesis. After graduation, he will decide to apply for a PSW visa and look for internship and formal job opportunities in the UK.
"As soon as the PSW visa policy is announced, I am sure to apply. I can work and live in the UK for two more years. This opportunity must be seized." Brown also expressed positive comments on the PSW visa policy. "I think this It is a win-win policy. On the one hand, retaining international students means retaining spending power and promoting the development of the British economy. On the other hand, international students also get the opportunity to stay and work in the UK at a relatively low cost and have more choices. ".
When talking about future planning, Brown puts the family's position first: "In the short term, I will choose to work and live in the UK, but in the long run, I will still choose to return to China. Because my parents are still in China, I will choose to live in the UK. It also plans to start a family in the country".
For Brown, the PSW work permit extended his experience of life in the UK and gave him more career choices.
But his future work and family focus "will still be in China."
Those who resigned to study abroad: they came for work
Zhuo Yi came to the UK to study at high school, and went to work in Hong Kong after graduating from graduate school.
After working for a while, she had a new career idea, so she resigned and went to the UK to study for a master's degree.
At that time, she simply wanted to return to the UK, and studying was a good choice. In addition, she just caught up with PSW's return this year when she enrolled in school. After graduation, she could not find a job and had the option of guaranteeing the bottom.
This school year caught up with the epidemic, and distance learning just gave her more time and energy to apply for a job.
During this year, she applied for dozens of jobs, and after studying, she carefully researched the career path and graduate opportunities she wanted to choose.
The effort paid off, Zhuoyi successfully got the job she wanted, the company would provide a work visa, and PSW was no longer in her consideration.
Iris arrived in the UK in early November last year after finishing online language classes in China. He is currently preparing a graduate thesis and is about to graduate. He plans to stay in the UK for a period of time after graduation, apply for a PSW visa, and find a job at the same time.
For her, perhaps after studying for a Ph.D., doing academic work becomes a kind of work. If she does research with a working attitude, she feels that this job is acceptable.
But so far, Iris does not plan to study directly after graduation. She believes that there are still many things waiting to be discovered in society. If you have been studying in school, you will feel a bit of being in the ivory tower. It is better to be in this gap. Period really touches the society.
"After all, it hasn't been a few months since the school leave visa expired. The transition period between graduation and employment has to rely on PSW." Iris is very fortunate that he can catch up with the restart of this policy.
But she said that even if PSW is not re-launched, her original plan to study in the UK will not change. PSW will only give her more options for employment and the future.
Although she has not yet submitted a resume, she has very limited understanding of the job market in related fields in the UK. She had previously talked to the faculty of the school’s job search center and learned about the free career consulting services provided by the school to students. Iris learned from these job search windows and opportunities China sees the hope of working in the UK.
Those who go to the UK halfway through their studies: at least look at what the UK looks like
"I'm definitely coming. I can't go to school and I don't even know what my school is like." When Jan Jane, a graduate student who arrived in London in March this year, she chose to come to England after halfway through her studies, she was quite firm. To say.
Looking back at Lu Jian’s abbreviation, studying abroad under the epidemic situation can be described as very ups and downs. The house that was booked a week before arriving in London was rented to someone else. After changing the accommodation, no roommate was diagnosed with the new crown... "Skinny" to describe my study abroad life.
Jane, who is rushing for her graduation thesis every day, is also very entangled with PSW visa. She laughed and said, "I am more patriotic after coming to the UK."
The original year of studying abroad was cut off by the epidemic. After only five months of experience in the UK, she was most afraid of becoming "no soil or foreign" in the end.
Jane has not only thought about it once, if she came to the UK in September last year, would she be more adaptable to life here if she had a few more months of life experience.
But there are no assumptions in reality. Jane looked at the recruitment information received in the mailbox from the school career center. She did not have a job that moved her, and she did not have many expectations for life and work in the UK. She prefers to return to a familiar environment and live a convenient life.
Thinking of the job search plan for returning to China after graduation, Jian Jian frankly said that she didn't want to "involve", but "you must not find a job in Buddhism, you have to make money."
Fortunately, Jian Jian had passed the teacher qualification certificate before going abroad, and had undergone numerous tests such as written examinations, interviews, physical examinations, and Putonghua exams. Jian Jian also paved the way for the future.
Like many international students, Jian Jian prefers to stay in Beijing, Shanghai and other first-tier cities after graduation. In addition to fresh graduates, Jian Jian is also considering the civil service examination.
Those who return to China after graduation: the harvest is not small but the heart is like an arrow
Jon, who is studying social anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, arrived in the UK in mid-September last year.
He introduced that there was a combination of online and offline courses in the last semester. The instructor spontaneously held an offline gathering like a small seminar with the students every two weeks, but this was not a required course for the school.
In addition, other courses are taught online.
In the second half of the semester, the epidemic in the UK repeated. After the city was closed, the only offline opportunities like this were cancelled.
Speaking of choices after graduation, Jon said that he returned to China in June this year mainly because his graduation thesis could be completed online, and the club activities held in China also attracted him to go back home.
Jon’s debate team had a big game in China in July.
After returning to China, Jon participated in the offline preparation process and also organized team building with friends of the debate team. He said that the process was very happy and rewarding, and he was fortunate that he had seized this great opportunity.
Although Jon has returned to China, he has considered applying for a PSW visa before, and he wants to accumulate a period of overseas work experience before returning to his country for development.
But he eventually returned to China for personal reasons-Jon missed his girlfriend.
The two have been foreign since September last year.
Nevertheless, Jon said that the PSW visa is still under consideration. If the PSW visa application can be retained until 2022, it will not be too late to apply for development in the UK by then.
At the same time, Jon was also influenced by his classmates. Before he was determined to read a Ph.D., now he thinks he can put it aside first, because his friends all work directly after graduation.
Xiao Gu studied computer science. Although the school started in September, Xiao Gu arrived late in mid-December last year and returned to China in July this year.
Like Jon, Xiao Gu's graduation project can be completed online.
However, Xiao Gu shared that there are some students who plan to settle down in first-tier cities around him who need to stay in the study area for a certain period before returning to China, but he has no such plans for the time being.
He said, considering all aspects, he still wants to return to China.
In addition, living in the UK is indispensable for high rents. The domestic autumn recruitment opportunities cannot be missed. Only by returning home early can I complete the isolation and a series of testing measures as soon as possible, and make plans for finding a job after graduation.
Xiao Gu has a certain understanding of job hunting in China and Britain.
In his opinion, it is difficult for most recent graduates to obtain T2 visas directly. PSW visas are a good link and can make up for this period of graduation and employment gap.
However, Xiao Gu analyzed that even if he applied for PSW first, the final work unit was the last one to issue the long-term work permit.
Based on his understanding of himself, Xiao Gu thought he was "almost capable".
Conversely speaking, he believes that if you are a strong graduate, you are really interested in finding a job and staying in the UK by relying on strength, and it seems that you don't need a PSW visa.
In addition, Xiao Gu feels that there is still a lot of room for improvement in his English, and it will take more time to adapt to the working environment in the UK. Another factor is salary. The salary of computer science and Internet industries in the UK may be lower than in China. And the promotion space is blurred.
Xiao Gu now plans to find a job in China first, and then may apply for a doctoral "charge".
Online course participants: If you want to learn, you don’t care about the location. Domestic development is also very good.
Rachel, a graduate student studying psychological counseling research at the University of Edinburgh, said that the sudden epidemic has caused many changes in the originally exciting offer.
Rachel applied for a British visa alone twice. She had originally thought "I will go when things get better", but at the end of January, she received a notification from the school-online classes throughout the year.
Coupled with the fact that the epidemic in the UK was still in "deep water" at that time, Rachel finally gave up the idea of going to the UK and decided to take the online class to the end.
She remembered that she was preparing to refund her ticket, and suddenly saw a circle of friends sent by her classmates who had already arrived in the UK, showing social studies and British food. At that moment, Rachel’s psychological gap became very big. “I originally wished I had such a happy life. I still feel quite disappointed," Rachel said with regret.
Jin, who is studying for a master's degree in philosophy at King's College London, also said that after a year of online classes, his biggest feeling is that there are too few opportunities for communication during and after class.
When writing a paper, he came into contact with some unfamiliar fields. He felt that if there were discussions with classmates and teachers, it would save a lot of unnecessary trial and error, but it was difficult to do it at home.
In addition, the discussion of philosophy courses is particularly important, and the online class at home virtually reduces such opportunities.
Therefore, if the epidemic improves and the school can start some offline teaching, Jin is still ready to come to England to complete the second year of study.
However, both Rachel and Jin said that despite the online teaching, the teachers and classmates are very friendly.
Rachel’s teachers will also take the initiative to discuss the epidemic, isolation and other topics with classmates in class. If a classmate reports that they are experiencing difficulties, the teachers and students will work together to find ways to help.
Student Jin also mentioned that the rich online activities gave him a sense of being in a large group to a certain extent. Activities such as seminars and book clubs also have an academic atmosphere.
Every year in August and September is the graduation thesis sprint season and the job hunting period for a large number of international students. Rachel admitted frankly that instead of looking for a job and applying for a PSW visa, she wants to make further progress in academics.
I had previously communicated with a tutor at a university in Hong Kong about studying for a Ph.D. After passing the interview, I thought I could go to Hong Kong to continue studying after graduation, but in March this year I learned that I didn't apply.
Rachel is now preparing to apply for a Ph.D. in our school, but the instructor suggested that she can apply after graduate school.
Because the two plans to come to the UK ended in failure, Rachel wanted to find a job related to the applied major in China every other year to accumulate practical experience.
Jin also hopes to return to work in China after graduation.
(Reporter Tian Haoxuezi, Chen Sirui intern reporter Feng Caiying, Li Liqian)