Search

This article addresses the impact of social capital on college graduate employment. After reviewing the literature, the authors analyze data collected by Peking University from 34 universities in 2005 and use statistical analysis to clarify the impact of social capital on students' choice of employment or further study, job placement rate, starting salary and job satisfaction. The study concludes that social capital differs for students from different social backgrounds; personal social capital affects students' choice to seek employment, but family social capital impacts their choice of further study; both family and personal social capital have a significant positive impact on graduates' placement rate, starting salary, and job satisfaction; and social capital has a more significant and positive impact on job placement rates for graduates at the associate's and undergraduate degree levels than for those at the master's level and above. [This article was translated by Michelle LeSourd.]

The dynamism of contemporary Chinese society reflects itself in higher education and the academic profession. The remarkable changes in the past 30 years include the shifting from a planned system to a market system on one hand, and the shifting from a closed system to an open system on the other hand. Five obvious transformations in higher education resulted from this social dynamism. They are identified as massification, decentralization, marketization, differentiation, and internationalization respectively. Such a dynamic context has complicated the scenario for the Chinese academic profession.