Higher Education and Career Prospects in China

This book explores how students in China vary in their understanding of careers upon arrival at college and how these initial differences develop into distinctive career preparation pathways. Drawing on survey data, students’ self-reflections, and semi-structured interviews over the four years, the book examines students’ engagement in curricular and extracurricular activities, as well as their interactions with peers, faculty, and staff, and how this affects their ability to navigate, develop, and cultivate career prospects and relevant skills. It also considers how colleges may aggravate social inequality rather than equalize among students with divergent family backgrounds through cumulative advantage framework, impacting on their conceptualization and construction of careers. Addressing a key generation in a key market, this text will interest students, scholars and practitioners in sociology, social work, education, and public policy, career counselling, student affairs, human resources, and education policy. 

Felicia F. Tian is an Associate Professor of Sociology in Fudan University, China. Her research interests include transition to adulthood, social networks, and social stratification and mobility. She published From Youth to Adulthood: Social Transformation, Class Differentiation, and Transition to Adulthood in Urban China [In Chinese] (2016).

Lin Chen is an Associate Professor of Social Work in Fudan University, China. Her research interests include qualitative research methods, social identities, interpersonal relationships, decision-making, and long-term care. She published Evolving Eldercare in Contemporary China: Two Generations, One Decision (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).