Five months left before thesis is submitted and everything is packed back into my suitcases when I'm about to embark on a new journey, whatever that may be. Online tests, telephone interviews and waiting lists. Jobhunting has come to a bottleneck partially because of the post-study work visa requirement for all overseas students. Some companies have screening questions asking if one has the permanent right to work in this country. Nope. Sorry we cannot process your application any further. Of course one has to keep applying, keep getting rejected, keep practising tests and attending interviews and all that before receiving a YES. Some can multitask, some can't. I'm the latter.
The reasoning is simple. Thesis, which is what I spend most of my time on, counts 60% of our final grade. Of course grades don't matter any more when you have a Masters. People don't even care what you did it in. Just another attempt to differentiate ourselves from the pool, isn't it. Having the opportunity to dig into the literature of sustainability marketing is great. Having the chance to work with Publicis over the course of my project is challenging. Do all the thinkings twice - academically and in practice. Deliverables apart from the perfectly written, carefully proofread and beautifully bound thesis, are formal presentations for the organisations involved. Lots of tasks coming up giving me the chance to practise, challenge myself and proving what I am capable of in the real world of work. Which is AMAZING. I'm really excited about this project!!
Deadlines. New deadlines. Timetable. Timetable changes. Timetable changes again.
On top of all the work I do, I did manage to get a life somehow. Coventry visit on a very sunny day. Met up with Siyuan, an artist who works at jobs.ac.uk and home-delivered a surprise for Peter Muckersie my British grandpa - I wish him well. Been to student concert night watching talented fellow students playing guitar, memories drifting back to the summer in Beijing Houhai when we sang our song in a pub. Indian night, the music was sooo danceable although food was a bit spicy for me (definitely not spicy at all for those from India). La Tasca, delicious Spanish tapas - can't wait till summer when I could visit Spain for the first time. Brunch and Easter egg hunt around campus, relaxing in the sunshine, being lazy, we were like kids fighting for the big prize when searching for chocolate eggs.
Cranfield Taxi Buddy has been, reasonably successful, thanks to technical solutions accompanied. Lots of members in the group now, posting taxi-sharing requests and sharing a lift with other Cranfield buddies. Good stuff. Should have done this since the beginning of the term though!! : ( Would have saved hundreds of $$.
Make the most out of my stay here at Cranfield, really. Busy, stressful, working hard yet no regrets.
I understand you get used to the western life style since you have been in this continent for years.However going back to China for a job is not as bad as you might imagine.Staying by parents' side,sharing joys with lots of friends at Houhai or somewhere else as you mentioned, enjoying chinese food which you were brought up with are not what you want now?Ask yourself about a simple question What did you come to this country for years ago?Is it"better life"? So your defintion of "better" is being distant from home leaving parents alone?Your understanding of "better"is having the monotonous british food,at least I hold, everyday.You might keep a good relationship with a multitude of foreign friends from England,Italy,France or whatever.Do you really share the same experience or mind with them compared with your childhood playmates or friends in China.You do appreciate the old good times with childhood playmates or friends,don't you?Think it over and make your decision.Just pose my opinions as reference.Wish you have a good time no matter where you are!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leo for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on what you would say regarding job-hunting back home. China is the biggest emerging market now and will be the one with the greatest potential in the next few decades. No doubt about that especially being Chinese myself.
Don't know if you have been in the situation where you live in another culture for years while everyone else you knew from childhood have been living in another, doing things you don't do, living their lives in different ways, having to deal with a lot of complications you're not used to, things as such. I'm not saying life here is necessarily better. It is very different.
You cannot imagine the loneliness I have been through at times all these years and all the challenges I have had when trying to cope with studies, earn money through part-time jobs when everyone else was enjoying travelling around Europe over holidays, get involved in all sorts of extra-curricular activities and making new friends. There is a world of opportunities I wouldn't have been able to seize otherwise. We have one life and I want to make the most out of it.
That's it.
: )
Admittedly students like you would have foreseeable problems with environment in China.However that is a new challenge for you, who is smart enough at dealing with a variety of difficulties.I did not mean to persuade you to find a job in China.Just let you be aware of a different situation home,which might be suitable for you and release you from great pressure compared with Europe.And actually I could imagine the loneliness an oversea student endured especially a girl.That is another reason why I suggest you go back home.
ReplyDeleteI cannot tell which is right or wrong.I am not saying which is better or worse.A thousand people eyes with 1,000 Hamlet.
To be what you want to be and be happy with that is a matter of utmost importance.
Thank you Leo for your kind comments. Sorry for replying late.
ReplyDeleteThe overseas study experience does not give one exceptional competitive advantage to get a satisfactory job back home as there are so many of us who study abroad and go back after studies - don't know if you would agree with me.
Without proper work experience overseas, it is very difficult to make a living at graduate level, while all the advantages you have may be your English standard compared with the local talents. I have words from some of China's most senior HRs and headhunters, talking from their own experience or headhunting over the years. Lessons need to be learned.
Overseas work experience is vital, unless you have contacts, or 'guanxi', which will guarantee a job position for you back in China. As I always believe in, we're only young once and I simply want to make the most out of life, really, so that when I do go back to work in China one day, I have an exceptionally strong profile that outstands from the crowd, which I've been working towards for the past five years.