Working out a career path

It took Yin Li more than 10 years to realize his dream — settling down in a big city with a decent job and a happy marriage. Chronicling the changes of his life as he pursued a career, photographer Wu Fang provides a guide for graduates currently entering the job market.

After graduating from a tertiary institution in Hefei, capital city of Anhui province, in 2010, Yin had five jobs in different cities and now works as a construction supervisor in Hefei.

It was not an easy journey for the man born into a rural family in the mountainous Taihu county of Anqing city, Anhui.

It was when he attended a job fair in Hefei in 2010 that the civil engineering graduate first realized the difficulty of finding a job.

Although unrelated to his major, his first spell of employment was at an interior design company with a monthly salary of 600 yuan ($83.78). After spending 150 yuan to rent a shared flat, there was only 450 yuan left to maintain his basic life. Due to the low salary, Yin quit the job eight months later.

In January 2011, he found a job at a scaffolding company in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, earning 1,700 yuan a month. It was physically challenging and he usually got up at about 4 am and finished work after 7 pm.

During this period, he didn't give up studying and passed the association constructor certificate exam.

With that under his belt, he got his third job in a related field at a property company in Huangshan, Anhui, and his monthly income swelled to 4,250 yuan.

In July 2014, he was employed by an investment company based in Hefei and transferred to Wuhu, Anhui, to manage the company's real estate projects.

During this time, Yin met his girlfriend, but his big city dream remained just that — a dream.

To earn more money, he became a construction supervisor for property developer China Evergrande Group. His salary was nearly 20,000 yuan per month. In 2018, he bought a car and took out a mortgage for a presold apartment. In 2019, he married his girlfriend.

In 2020, quitting his role at the property developer, Yin started his own business. In 2021, Yin and his family moved into their new home and now Yin plans to buy an apartment in a more suitable location for his son's education.

"From Yin's story, we can see how education and hard work has changed a man's life," the photographer Wu says.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the employment of college students has been a priority for governments at all levels as the number of graduates has continued to increase in the past few years — reaching 11.58 million this year — putting pressure on the job market.

For Wu, the difficulties that Yin has faced epitomize the situation facing many students entering society, and his story, ultimately one of success, may provide inspiration to new graduates.