More graduates opt for blue-collar life

Educated elite no longer opposed to joining the ranks of manual workers. Li Hongyang reports.

Zhang Quan, one of hundreds of waste collectors registered with a recycling company in Chengdu, Sichuan province, recently amazed his colleagues and netizens with his resume.

The 31-year-old said he has a master's in international management from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, and he used to work as an analyst for a State-owned financial enterprise.

His decision to abandon his office job and become a blue-collar worker is at odds with the accepted career path of most university graduates.

Last month, China News Service posted a video detailing Zhang's change of occupation on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like service. It provoked widespread discussion about whether young people who have enjoyed higher education should waste their talent on "petty" jobs.

Zhang said: "Most people treat waste collection as a low-end job. When I am sorting recyclable materials from smelly garbage, passing parents sometimes warn their curious children to keep away from me and my trash pile.

"I feel uncomfortable hearing those words, but I know what I am doing because waste sorting is a promising industry in China. I plan to devote myself to this career and maybe open my own business in the sector."

Having started his new life in December, the native of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, buys recyclable waste from local residents and carries it by truck to a recycling station where he sells it at a profit.

His monthly income can reach 40,000 yuan ($6,152), while his basic salary as an analyst in Chengdu was 1,500 yuan.

The downside is that he works more than 10 hours a day and is only free after 10 pm. When he discussed his story on the phone, he yawned several times.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of: I'm doing what I want and making money with my own hands. At the end of last year, my father was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. I need to support him financially," he said.

Once, he wore a suit to his office job, but now he drives a truck around the city and picks up waste on dusty roadsides. Before, he handled multimillion yuan investment deals, but now he bargains with people over a few cents for some cardboard.

Zhang said he enjoys his new job. "When I worked in the office, I dared not speak out loud because people communicated with each other via WeChat. I prefer my current situation, which is more physical and with noisier surroundings," he said.

He recalled a scene in the UK that impressed him, when he witnessed a group of construction workers on the street who sang as they toiled. During their lunch break, they bought coffee and sat chatting on the side of the road. "They seemed really happy to me," he said.