Li Hongyang

To many people, waste collectors are generally elderly and nannies are always 50-something women, which makes these jobs appear most suitable for older people.

However, recent news stories have provoked discussion online by describing how a growing number of university graduates in their 30s are becoming manual laborers.

Some people say the influx will bring fresh thinking to the blue-collar sector, while others contend that university students are no longer the "chosen ones".

In China, when a student passes the gaokao－the national college entrance exam－their parents hold a banquet to celebrate with friends and relatives. In the 1990s and 2000s, gaining admission to a university virtually guaranteed the lucky student a decent, stable job after graduation.

Students worked hard throughout their childhoods to pass the gaokao, attended university and then landed a promising white-collar job.

Those who failed the exam took blue-collar work, which led to a general perception that manual laborers were undereducated and money was their only motivation for work.

In the 2000s, the government implemented a policy to expand enrollment. Last year, there were 8.74 million college graduates, a rise of 400,000 from 2019, according to the Ministry of Education.

The expansion caused a surplus of white-collar workers, so the divisions between different types of work were refined and some task-based, but boring, positions were created.

Many university graduates follow the trend of sitting in an office, even though they don't enjoy their jobs. Without engagement or passion for the work, they are less likely to create value for their employers.

By contrast, Zhang Quan, who studied international management as a postgraduate at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, quit his job with a financial company and now works as a waste collector.

He said he enjoys his new pace of work and also earns a lot more. He has found pleasure and treasure in his new job and he plans to plow deep in the field of environmental protection. If more graduates join him, the sector is likely to become driven by innovation.

Unlike jobs based on intellectual or mental ability, some forms of manual labor provide immediate results and some people appear predisposed to be interested in that process.

For example, Zhou Hao, who dropped out of Peking University and transferred to a technical college, told China Youth Daily that he has loved messing about with machinery since childhood and prefers practical things to pure science and research.

For the past few decades, the media and netizens have tried to dissuade top university students from becoming blue-collar workers, but attitudes seem to have softened a little recently.

In the comments section below an online news report about Zhang, one post read: "His blue-collar job was an active selection, not forced by anything or anyone. His experience proves the real importance of receiving higher education. His knowledge and confidence mean he is open to more choices."

Another well-liked comment said: "Zhang has courage and is highly resistant to pressure. Nobody has any reason to call him 'shameful' for doing this job."

Indeed, education and knowledge should not restrict our view to the top of the pyramid, but should allow us to discover more possibilities in our lives and careers.

When the stereotype of blue-collar professions is eventually eliminated, stories such as Zhang's and Zhou's will no longer be hot topics. In the future, manual occupations will see many more entrants who hold a bachelor's degree at the very least.

By then, we will have babysitters who can speak foreign languages, mechanics who can make advanced components for high-tech products and waste collectors who can master the entire recycling process.