Overseas jobs more rewarding

"When I graduated, I thought I was prepared for any challenges my job might bring. But the reality caught me off guard," said Xie Yanxi, 25, who is set to go to Stuttgart to work in a nursing home.

Xie graduated as nurse in 2011, and worked for about two years in a Guangdong hospital before quitting.

She gained invaluable experience in the "tough departments" of intensive care for newborns, the departments of brain surgery and tumors, but her salary was not commensurate with her workload.