5 jobs for a jobseeker: in China, PhD graduates may have far more opportunities than US

SCMP | April 21, 2025, 2 a.m. | Original

As early research jobs dwindle in the US due to funding cuts and hiring freezes, a new study has found in China, PhD graduates outnumber postdoctoral job vacancies by five to one. Photo: Shutterstock

  • [ 2:30pm, 21 Apr, 2025 ]

    An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that PhD graduates seeking postdoctoral positions outnumbered postdoc job vacancies.

A survey published at the end of March found the supply of postdoctoral positions at Chinese universities “far exceeds” the number of young researchers looking for a job.

The findings were reached after an analysis of more than 24,000 university job postings and a similarly sized sample of jobseekers from channels such as the Chinese Ministry of Education and online recruitment platforms.

According to the statistics, for every five postdoctoral early career research vacancies, there was on average just one jobseeker. Of all recruitment groups, the study found the largest gap between vacancies and demand was among postdocs.

The study titled “Report on the Development of Young Talents in Chinese Universities”, was published by Lipin, an online recruitment platform mainly for young researchers with master’s and doctoral degrees in China.

High-profile Chinese scientists including Wang Jiangtao, who worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for seven years, have chosen to return to home as the Trump administration slashes research funding. Photo: Getty
High-profile Chinese scientists including Wang Jiangtao, who worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for seven years, have chosen to return to home as the Trump administration slashes research funding. Photo: Getty
“This means that young academics are under relatively little pressure to compete for the postdoc job,” the report said, noting the trend was also an indication that the positions were not very attractive to early career researchers and scientists .

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