Among the newly enrolled civil servants this year, a young man surnamed Su applying for a grassroots post in Suzhou, Anhui province, has set tongues wagging because he has a doctoral degree from Stanford University. People think this is a waste of talent, as the post does not need people with that education background.
Su, of course, has the right to apply for any job he likes. The fact that more such “overqualified” candidates are getting into government jobs over the past three years can be attributed to a general trend among university graduates to seek a stable job against uncertainties in the job market. Data show that for the 39,561 civil service vacancies in the central government system in 2024 there are a total of 2,831,327 applicants, or about 72 for each job; the hottest post has more than 3,500 applicants.
Further, it is debatable whether a civil service job is a waste of professional skills of those well-educated people. Some departments such as the environmental protection and relics protection bureaus need people with professional knowledge and training in certain fields.
Even in Su’s case, the authorities might find a way to make good use of the talent that the graduate from Stanford has. Maybe his participation will inject fresh vitality into the service and improve it. At least right now there is no reason to cry “waste of talent” so soon.