Illustration: Luo Xuan/GT

 Being a security guard in China rarely involves more work than standing around looking gormless. So there were some eyebrows raised when the security department of Sichuan University posted an ad looking for security guards with PhDs. After having been questioned by a huge wave of incredulous voices, the head of the department soon explained the reason in an interview, claiming that they want someone who can deal with paperwork as well as guarding the university. But what kind of paperwork needs to be done only by PhD graduates? This is not normal, but is nothing new either. An increasing number of today's doctoral students are hired for security or administrative jobs. Yet this work can definitely also be done by people without a doctorate degree. Employers tend to hire highly educated graduates, whatever the positions are. They seem convinced that the higher degree the applicants get, the more competent they are for the position, even if it has nothing to do with the skills learnt during a PhD. But aren't doctoral candidates going to expect more than a security guard's work?