Liu Kai and Yu Min, from Harbin Institute of Technology‘s Weihai campus in Shandong Province, are starting to think that a major in biotechnology wasn‘t the way to go.
哈尔滨工业大学山东威海分校的应届毕业生刘凯（音）和于敏现在觉得，当初真不应该选择生物技术专业。

After several days of job-hunting in Beijing, they are no closer to jobs in their field. Despite their good exam performances, they find that what they lack is a competitive edge.
经过一段在北京找工作的日子之后，他们离从事本专业工作的目标还是那么遥远。虽然大学期间成绩不错，但他们发现，自己仍缺乏竞争优势。

‘My uncle once urged me to choose mechanical engineering or auto engineering as my major,‘ Yu said. ‘I chose biotechnology out of my interest in biology class in high school. However, the deeper I go in this area, the more I realize it doesn‘t suit me well, and now it‘s too late to change.‘
于敏说，我舅舅当初曾劝我学机械工程或自动化方面的专业，但我根据自己对高中生物课的兴趣选择了生物技术专业。不过，我对这个领域了解得越深，越感觉它不适合我。但现在再改已经晚了。

Students in China need to pick a major before enrolling in college and there is little flexibility for a change. At least for the early years of their working life, the diploma and the major are their only bargaining chips in the market for talent. This year, thanks to the Chinese government‘s infrastructure-focused stimulus plan, a mechanical-engineering major looks extra attractive.
中国的学生在上大学之前就要选择专业，入学后要改变专业基本没有机会。至少在他们工作后的最初几年，文凭和专业是他们在人才市场上仅有的讨价还价的砝码。由于中国政府推出的大规模经济刺激计划主要集中于基础建设方面，因此，机械工程专业现在看来特别具有吸引力。

Trying to shift gears from his major, Yu spent much of his fourth year in college preparing for the entrance exam for a human-resources graduate degree at Renmin University. Failing the exam, he is now looking for a job in sales, which he thinks better suits his personality. On the resume he hands out at the job fairs he highlights two internships as sales promoter at two Shandong companies rather than his biotechnology major. He does get a chance for an interview for a sales position with a home-decorating material supplier, but his mother tells him it pays too little.
于敏试图改变专业方向，于是，大学四年级他将很多时间花在准备中国人民大学(Renmin University)人力资源专业研究生入学考试上面。但考试没能通过，于敏现在开始寻找销售方面的职位，他觉得这样的工作适合他的性格。在人才招聘会上递出的简历上，他突出强调的是自己实习期间在山东两家企业担任促销员的经历，而不是生物技术专业的背景。他倒是得到过一家家居装饰材料公司销售职位的面试机会，但他妈妈认为，这个公司给的工资太低。

Liu, who has loved biotechnology since high school, is finding out that companies in this field are only offering sales position to fresh graduates, positions that, ironically, don‘t require a college diploma. After a brief talk with a pharmaceutical firm selling health products for the elderly, Liu is rejected as ‘over-qualified.‘
从高中时期就痴迷生物技术的刘凯发现，这个领域的企业提供给应届毕业生的职位只有销售类的，但让他哭笑不得的是，这类职位不需要大学学历。他跟一家销售老年保健产品的公司进行了短暂交谈，最后被回绝了，原因是他学历太高。

‘I don‘t want to end up with a job that is totally irrelevant to what I have been studying so hard over the past four years in college,‘ said Liu, who still hopes to find a job related to his major.
刘凯说，我不希望最后找到的是一个跟我的专业毫不相关的工作，毕竟我过去四年大学期间学习很刻苦。他现在仍希望能找到一个跟专业有关的工作。

After attending seven job fairs in Beijing, he hands in only two resumes, for positions as quality-control inspector at two pharmaceutical companies. He is not hopeful.
在北京参加了七场招聘会后，刘凯一共只递出两份简历，申请的职位是两家制药企业的质检员。他现在不抱什么希望。

Of Liu‘s 27 classmates, three have gotten into graduate schools. Of the others, only one has so far secured a job — as a sales person for an elevator company.
在刘凯的27名同班同学中，已有三人被研究生院录取。其余同学目前只有一人已经找到工作，是在一家电梯公司做销售