When Zhou Long is wielding his knife on a pig, he doesn't look like the 24-year-old university graduate who majored in law from China's Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SUPSL) that he really is.

Zhou Long, 24, a graduate from the law department of China's Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SUPSL) sells pork at a supermarket in west China's Chongqing Municipality in this undated photo. [Chongqing Morning News]

Selling pork is Zhou's first job after he finished a four-year law degree at SUPSL and he has been wielding his knife for more than a year, the Chongqing Morning News reported on July 27.

"At the beginning of the job, I was a little ashamed. But now, I have gotten used to it and learned a lot from it," Zhou told the paper, adding that he could resort to his knowledge from years of schooling when drafting a report or a work summary.

"I never expected that I would sell pork one day while I pursued my studies at school," he told the paper.

"I started job seeking after my graduation from SUPSL in June last year but I faced great pressure as I failed to find a job," says Zhou.

"I got the job selling pork at the supermarket with the help of one of my classmates," he said.

Zhou's coming to the supermarket raised the eyebrows of other experienced workers and raised doubts whether a graduatea graduate holding a Bachelor's Degree in law would be dedicated to selling pork - a job widely considered less reputable in China.

The head of the pork department Liu Bo says most youngsters wouldn't like to work in the department because of the job, the paper reported.

"I couldn't even raise my arms the first week," Zhou told the paper, referring to his first-week job of chopping pig's bones.

"But I didn't give it up after I realized how hard it is to find a job," says Zhou.

Zhou was gradually accepted after a three-month internship, according to the paper.

One of the most skilled workers, Wang Zhiwei, even took him on as an apprentice, passing on his more than 20-years of experience to the 24-year-old man.

Zhou's story came as millions of graduate students face great pressure in entering the employment market and raised concerns over China's educational system .

China will see 4.13 million college graduates this year, Minister of Education Zhou Ji said earlier this year.

The so-called 'zero-salary' policy has emerged following the fierce competition.

According to a survey, more and more qualified graduate students feel they have no other choice than to accept the zero-salary policy if they want to work. Data collected from 1,200 enterprises shows that 34 per cent of students demand a salary of 1,000 RMB per month (US$125), a report on sina.com, one of China's leading news portals, says.

Zhou is not the only one selling pork.

Lu Buxuan, a graduate student from China's elite Beijing University had to sell pork in order to make a living after years of failure in various jobs, a case that sparked heated debate throughout China in 2003.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Guo Qiang in Beijing at guoqiang@chinadaily.com.cn