Professional orientations of China’s modern youth

Abstract

The subject of this research is the value orientations of China’s modern youth in the area of profession selection and professional self-development. Special attention is given to the phenomenon of stereotypization of a number of social perceptions and orientations pertaining to conditions, in which the process of professional self-development of the youth could see the highest level of success. This article includes theoretical and empirical aspects. The theoretical portion explores the specificity of professional education, modern trends and difficulties characteristic to modern China, as well as presents the data of earlier research devoted to this problematic. The empirical portion presents the results of surveys of China’s working youth, determines respondents’ priorities in the sphere of profession, and cites the presence of cognitive myths related to the role of higher education and social ties in the process of job searching. The scientific novelty of this research consists in author’s approach towards exploration of the formation of professional choice process among Chinese youth not only under the influence of objective conditions, but also through the prism of social stereotypization and mythologization. Based on the conducted research, the author proposes a series of measures aimed at overcoming professional imbalance in China.