Thousands of returnees seek employment at a job fair in Beijing held by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange under the Ministry of Education on November 16. Photo: CFP

Zhao Yuanyuan, a graduate with a master's degree in finance from the University of East Anglia in the UK, is in panic, as she has still failed to secure a job in Beijing after returning to China five months ago.

"When competing with students who graduated from Chinese universities, we actually have very few advantages," Zhao said.

The good days when studying abroad could guarantee a good job have gone. And unlike the past, a degree from abroad can no longer easily get students a hukou, or household registration, in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Zhao doesn't want to wait until the next year, as the situation might get worse.

Some 350,000 Chinese overseas students are expected to return to their home country in 2014, 80,000 more than that in 2013. At the same time, over 7 million university graduates at home will swarm into the job market. 

A fading dream

Since China's reform and opening up movement began in 1978, around 1.09 million Chinese who studied abroad have returned home, among which over 800,000 have returned in the last five years with the numbers growing by an average of 36 percent each year, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Annual Report on the Development of Chinese Returnees 2013, released in November by the Center for China and Globalization and Social Sciences Academic Press, stated that the rapidly developing economy and stable employment environment are the main reasons attracting returnees, with over 91 percent returning for better careers.

But the number of jobs for new hires in 2013 dropped about 15 percent from 2012 thanks to sluggish economic growth in China, said a Ministry of Education survey in February.

"My cousin who returned from the US eight years ago with a master's degree could easily get employed and today she has a Beijing hukou. The story seems very different for me," Zhao said. 

Meng Guang, a senior career counselor with zhaopin.com, a leading employment website, told the Global Times that students with degrees in engineering and sciences are still popular in the job market compared to those with similar degrees from Chinese universities.

"They usually have more practical experience compared to home students. Moreover, these industries in China are thriving. However, degrees in social sciences offer almost no advantage," Meng said.

Some students also complained about the time-consuming degree authentication process, which was designed by the Ministry of Education to check the credibility of their overseas studies. The process takes at least 20 business days and could be extended to a few months, but many jobs require the document urgently.

Returnees still prefer to work in developed regions, with more than 41 percent in Beijing, said the report.

The capital has a special policy for returnees to get a hukou, which requires applicants to have at least a master's degree and to have spent a whole year abroad. They must submit the application within two years after they return.

Under the policy, those who are not recruited by the State-owned enterprises, governments or some technology-driven companies have little chance to get a hukou.

Sophie Li, who has a master's degree from a South Korean university, believes that a Beijing hukou could offer her and her family better social welfare and education.

However, as she worked in a foreign company, the dream of becoming a Beijinger seems impossible. The desire made Li decide to purchase one from illegal agents.

Agents reached by the Global Times said a Beijing hukou costs at least 200,000 yuan ($32,940) for returnees, and far more for those with a degree in social sciences.

A similar situation also happened in Shanghai and Guangzhou, where similar policies are applied and many returnees work.

Official calls

In contrast to the tough employment situation and the reducing benefits which Zhao and Li faced, senior officials have repeatedly called on overseas-educated talent to contribute to the realization of the "Chinese dream of national rejuvenation."

President Xi Jinping said at the 100th anniversary of the Western Returned Scholars Association on October 21 that the government supports students and scholars studying abroad and encourages them to return to China, Xinhua reported.

Wang Hongcai, a professor of education with Xiamen University in Fujian Province, said that although there is an increasing number of students returning, their abilities cannot be guaranteed.

Some experts echoed with Wang, pointing out that a large proportion of the returnees are ordinary students who went abroad with family support and can't be deemed as properly talented, Xinhua reported.

In a bid to attract more talent, the country has taken various methods.

For instance, a nationwide One Thousand Talents scheme has been launched to boost the country's innovation capability since 2008, offering talented workers favorable policies in terms of taxation, insurance, housing, settlement for spouses and children, career development, research projects and government awards.

Yuan Chiping, vice director of the Center for Studies of Hong Kong, Macao and Pearl River Delta under the Sun Yat-sen University, was quoted by Xinhua as saying that the government used to neglect the scientific research system and now it should improve it to better attract high-end talent to return.

Wang believed that supportive policies may be increased in the future, including measures on encouraging overseas students to start their own business.

"The shrinking benefits for ordinary returnees won't trouble true talents, as innovation-driven and technology-driven industries will become the mainstream of China's business development," said Wang. 

Down to earth

Tang Xuan, with a master's degree in communications from Canada, seemed quite relaxed, as she has got three job offers in Shanghai so far.

"None of the offers promised me a hukou but promotion opportunities are more important," Tang said, adding that she hopes her contemporaries can be more realistic.

Meng pointed out that though students with a overseas university degree are not as popular as before, most of them, regardless of their majors, still have linguistic advantages.

The 2013 returnees' report said that the group's employment situation was in fact good, as 86 percent of the returnees become employed within six months after they returned.

Study abroad is getting even trendier in China despite worries over tough employment situations at home.

"Students need to change their ways of thinking and choose the jobs which are suitable to them rather than thinking too much about hukou," Wang said, adding that it's predictable that those cities will tighten returnees' benefits, considering the huge population