About university majors

First of all, it should be noted that the majors in table 1 are subdivided strictly according to the "major", "minor major" and "specific major" classified by colleges and universities from the perspective of candidates' voluntary application, while the majors in table 2 are classified according to the majors engaged in the job market from the perspective of candidates' employment. There are some differences between them. For example, "medical and health" in Table 2 can't be found in the college entrance examination, but it can certainly be found in universities such as medicine and pharmacy.

Table 1 is the top ten in the 2006 college entrance examination professional registration heat ranking table.

Table 2 shows the top ten professional needs of college graduates in 2006. Source: Ministry of Personnel's Notice on Printing and Distributing the Employment Acceptance of College Graduates in 2005 and the Demand Survey and Analysis in 2006, March 2006 10, Ministry of Personnel [2006] No.27. The data is official and authoritative.

This paper assumes that the above data are accurate and objective. Comparing these two sets of data, I hope it can enlighten and analyze the candidates of the college entrance examination in 2007.

First of all, it should be noted that the majors in table 1 are subdivided strictly according to the "major", "minor major" and "specific major" classified by colleges and universities from the perspective of candidates' voluntary application, while the majors in table 2 are classified according to the majors engaged in the job market from the perspective of candidates' employment.

There are some differences between them. For example, "medical and health" in Table 2 can't be found in the college entrance examination, but it can certainly be found in universities such as medicine and pharmacy.

First, the top analysis of the leaderboard

In 2006, international economy and trade ranked first in the professional registration list of college entrance examination. It shows that this is indeed a promising major, otherwise not so many candidates and parents will choose it. The development of China's economy, the improvement of China's international economic status, and China enterprises going abroad have all promoted the demand for international economic and trade talents. The propaganda of China's entry into WTO also makes this major more and more popular. However, such a hot major did not appear in the list of professional needs of college graduates in 2006 (Table 2), which means that the employment situation of graduates majoring in international economy and trade is actually not very good. Why? In layman's terms, international trade means doing international business, selling things from China and buying things from foreign countries. In the planned economy era, this major is also the best. They are assigned to import and export companies of various ministries, such as "China XX Import and Export Company". These import and export companies monopolize the import and export rights of all walks of life, and all import and export trade has to be skinned among them. Today, the import and export rights have been basically liberalized. The business of those state-owned import and export companies has plummeted. On the contrary, many companies can import and export by themselves. These companies need talents who not only have knowledge of international economy and trade, but also need good foreign language skills and skilled international negotiation skills, preferably familiar with products and markets. These are not available to fresh college graduates. They prefer to choose from employees who are already familiar with the company's business, or recruit experienced employees from outside. Recruiting and using international economic and trade graduates is not more advantageous than other clerks. I just heard that the embassy of a developed country in China selected a marketing specialist from hundreds of applicants, and finally hired a person with hotel management major, experience in studying in the United States, hotel lobby supervisor and marketing experience. Therefore, many graduates majoring in international economy and trade now change careers out of helplessness. If you must be engaged in this industry, you'd better practice for several years before applying.

In 2006, mechanical design and manufacturing were the top majors for college graduates. It shows that this professional field is developing rapidly and needs a large number of professionals. This is consistent with the current domestic economic development in China. Mechanical specialty is a real specialty, from ships of 10,000-ton class to mobile phones, to the advanced technology of the space shuttle, to the manufacture of paper clips, talents in the mechanical industry are being used. But a few years ago, the employment demand of this major was very general, because many large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises were depressed. The situation has changed in recent years, and some large private enterprises have developed rapidly. Another reason is the universality of mechanical specialty. Those who study engineering machinery can adapt to medical equipment, while those who study petroleum machinery can build airplanes. The four-year academic system is the same for everyone in the first three years. Moreover, it is not only enterprises in the machinery industry that need mechanical professionals. As long as any industry uses equipment and production lines, mechanical professionals are indispensable. For example, pharmaceutical, dairy, food, rubber and other industries need mechanical professionals to install and maintain production equipment. As long as the whole social economy develops normally, there will be many jobs in this "real" major. The demand of mechanical specialty for professionals ranks first, which indirectly shows that China's economy is developing normally, and both production enterprises and R&D units need professionals to "work". Mechanical graduates can be engineers' assistants when they enter the enterprise, and then grow into engineers at work, and some of them take up management positions. However, such a major with such a strong demand is unknown in the ranking table of enrollment heat of the college entrance examination in 2006 (table 1), which means that the candidates majoring in mechanical design and manufacturing are not enthusiastic about registering. Why? One is that the depression of large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises still exists in the past few years, and people are unwilling to work in production or R&D enterprises. Even some candidates' parents or relatives and friends were "laid off" from such enterprises, and they still have a lingering fear. In addition, the media and society promote well-known entrepreneurs and managers, while engineers are often unknown. In addition, mechanical engineers have to go to the workshop, sometimes wearing blue overalls and helmets, giving people a feeling of "blue collar". This series of reasons make this kind of professional registration neglected.

The top two in the two sets of data are "unknown on the list" each other, which constitutes such a huge contrast.

Second, two majors are on the list at the same time.

For the convenience of narration and reference, we re-post table 1 and table 2 in College Entrance Examination-Collision between Registration and Employment (1) below:

In the 2006 college entrance examination enrollment list (table 1) and the 2006 college graduates' professional demand list (table 2, abbreviated as demand list), there are six majors on the list:

English, the second in the registration list and the eighth in the demand list;

Computer, the registration list is fourth, and the demand list is second;

Electronic information category, the sixth in the registration list and the third in the demand list;

Electrical engineering and automation, registration formNo. 10, and demand form No.7;

Accounting, the ninth in the registration list, the demand list10;

Management category, the third in the registration list (referring to business administration) and the fifth in the demand list (referring to management category in general).

That is to say, among the top ten majors on the registration list, six majors have a good employment situation at present (note that it may change now, four years later); Similarly, six of the top ten majors in the demand list are very popular at present. It's good that both rankings can be in the top ten. No matter where they are, there are still many candidates and parents who have considered employment when signing up. Let's briefly analyze these six majors:

1. English, it is not only ranked second in the registration list, but we notice that it is almost the same as the "heat" of the first place. This kind of professional content hardly needs explanation. With the expansion of international communication in China, the use of English professionals who used to work as teachers has greatly expanded. Not only many foreign companies and offices in major cities need a large number of English talents, but also many large state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, international businesses, exhibitions, conferences, travel companies, entry-exit intermediary service agencies and so on. Here, we should also correct a misunderstanding. Some people think that English is just a communication tool, and it is not worth taking it as your major. In fact, I think the purpose of higher education is more to provide people with a high-quality training opportunity and experience, and the so-called professional knowledge infusion is relatively secondary in this process. In other words, students complete such a training process by learning and mastering professional knowledge. After taking up their jobs, students may engage in various jobs. A lot of specific knowledge they learned in college is often forgotten or "outdated" with the passage of time. However, this "opportunity and experience of high-quality training" will have a lifelong impact on people. Candidates who like and choose English major need not worry about their "lack of professional knowledge". Besides, in addition to large-scale language ability training, English majors will offer many related courses to further broaden students' adaptability after graduation. English major graduates can engage in management and clerical positions in almost any other industry except special professional and technical positions.

2. In the computer category, registration ranks fourth, demand ranks second, and demand is even hotter than registration. If the five majors in the two lists are evaluated comprehensively at the same time, the computer major is undoubtedly the champion, which can be described as "both supply and demand are booming". Computers, whether software or hardware, have penetrated into almost all industries. The demand for computer professionals will last for a long time. Even if China students go abroad to work, I'm afraid they have to do computer work besides serving food. So there is no need to say more about computer science. Here, I also want to say a misunderstanding. Because of the popularity of computer desks, almost everyone can use them. Some people think that a computer is a computer, and you can type and play games online. They are also tools, and it is not worth taking them as your major. In fact, computer is a science, and knowledge has increased. The four-year undergraduate course is only to lay the foundation, and whether it can become a climate depends on future work practice.

3. Electronic information ranks sixth in registration and third in demand. Comprehensive evaluation is second only to computer. This major is very practical. In fact, it combines computer technology with electronic technology to solve technical problems of various information systems. At present, the industry with the largest number of employees is the communication industry. In a sense, this major is more interesting than computer major, with a wider technical level, spanning three major fields: electronics, information and computers. For a detailed introduction of this major and its related majors, bloggers can refer to two blog posts volunteered by the College Entrance Examination: Professional Application: Electronic Information Engineering VS Electronic Science and Technology and Electronic Information Science and Technology VS Microelectronics.

4. Electrical engineering and automation is the only engineering major besides computer and information major, and it is also on the list. At present, under the tendency of candidates to apply for economics and management majors and light industry majors, it is really commendable that electrical engineering and its automation majors can enter the list, even if the registration list ranks 10. But unfortunately, although it is an engineering course, it still does not break away from the small category of "electrical information" belonging to computers, information and communication. Faced with so many engineering majors, it seems that candidates only favor "electrical information"? Graduates majoring in electrical engineering and automation can engage in electrical operation management of power plants, power supply systems and various enterprises, as well as maintenance, installation and debugging of electrical equipment, and can also engage in engineering design and research and development in relevant units. Another college entrance examination volunteer blog post gives the most detailed introduction to this major. See "Electrical Engineering and Automation Major-Money Path Analysis" for details.

5. Accounting, in the two rankings, almost all have just been shortlisted (ranked ninth and tenth respectively). Accounting is a very common major, and every unit has an accountant. Of all the above majors, what does this major do? It seems that candidates and parents know best. Generally speaking, it is not a problem to apply for this major to find a job. However, it should be noted that a considerable number of companies do not require a bachelor's degree in the high demand for accountants. There are also some private companies, because of the trust problem, the accountant must be the boss's confidant. Therefore, the employment of accounting majors often has a low starting point and pays attention to practical operation ability. Accounting graduates from technical secondary schools and technical schools have better practical application ability than undergraduates. Therefore, while the demand is high, there are also many job seekers. Melody reposted the Analysis of Employment Prospects of Accounting Majors, and made a detailed analysis of the career prospects of accounting graduates.

6. Management category, strictly speaking, it is a bit reluctant to include management category in two rankings at the same time. More specifically, business administration has been a hot major in recent years. The third place in the registration list shows that the majority of candidates and parents like this major very much. This phenomenon is realistic and objective. Please note, however, that in Table 2, the fifth place is "management category", not "business administration". In addition to business management, there are dozens of categories of management science and engineering, public management, agricultural economic management, library and archival science. Coupled with economic management, there are many disciplines related to management. For example, the "accounting" mentioned above is actually just a major in the small category of "business administration" under the category of "management". Therefore, it is a very general concept that "management" ranks fifth in the demand list, and it can never be understood that "business administration" ranks fifth in the demand list. In my opinion, if the "business administration" major is listed separately to rank the employment demand, it will definitely not rank in the top ten. Business administration has a good reputation and many people apply for it. However, under the condition of market economy, the employment market must also conform to economic laws. The interpersonal communication ability, leadership and management ability, creativity and hands-on ability required by management positions are difficult to be reflected in school studies and exams. Most candidates who apply for business administration with CEO as the goal have to temporarily quit to other non-management positions in great disappointment. As long as you are not too picky, you can still find a job that is as satisfactory as possible. Because management majors are popular, there are many introduction articles to refer to:

Generally speaking, the above six majors are good choices for candidates. However, due to the large number of applicants, the required score is relatively high.