A study conducted by some Chinese scholars shows that an increasing number of graduates from premier institutions of higher education are joining the "ant tribe" (young graduates pursuing their dreams in big cities despite severe difficulties) as vocational school graduates shift to small- and medium-sized cities, says an article in Xi'an Evening News. Excerpts:

Many graduates from premier educational institutions are accepting jobs for which they are overqualified not because the overall demand for human resources has changed but because they have realized that getting a job is more difficult than they had thought it would be.

Since premier institute graduates have impressive certificates and are confident of their capabilities, they choose to stay in big cities in pursuit of their dreams even if that means taking up jobs that require degrees from just vocational schools.

Many vocational school graduates are leaving big cities for small- and medium-sized ones not because of any change in their attitude toward jobs or the limits of their career development.

They are doing so because it is far less costly to live in small- and medium-sized cities than in the big ones.

Vocational school graduates find it very difficult to get a well-paid job in big cities and though they know it is difficult to find a good job in small- and medium-sized cities, too, they still shift to smaller cities because the cost of living in them is much lower.

This, however, is not a healthy flow of human resources and could lead to brain drain in many big cities.

Only through comprehensive development and restructuring of the national economy can big as well as small- and medium-sized cities offer more jobs and guarantee occupational development to graduates.