Fewer young people are going into engineering because of low pay and low social status -- a familiar story in the U.S. But the same can be said in, of all places, China. At least so says the Chinese publication Global Times.
"According to the most recent data, graduating engineers in China (including mechanical, materials, chemical, automotive, pharmaceutical and hydraulic engineering) numbered 500,000, accounting for less than one-tenth of the 6.11 million university graduates last year, as reported by Science Daily...because top scorers the college examinations are able to choose their field of study and are tempted by the financial sector, lower-scoring students are then assigned to study engineering to fill the quota needed for that year. As a result, the overall quality and enthusiasm for engineering drops," reports the Global Times.
Also having a familiar ring to it is this passage:
"However, the same report reveals that six months after graduation, the average monthly income of graduates majoring in engineering are much less than those from finance-related majors."
So Chinese kids are going where the money is, just like their counterparts in the U.S.
You can read the full Global Times story here: