The Way Out for Non-Academic Students
Top students prefer government positions, big tech companies, and technical roles.
All of these paths are stuck in vicious academic competition. Breaking into them with an ordinary degree usually means starting at a small company and grinding for years to build project experience before you can make the jump. But how long does your career actually last? Can you clear the three thresholds at 30, 35, and 40?
Don't follow the advice of older professionals—it's pointless. Sure, they might have gotten into big tech with a second-tier university degree or started in R&D as undergrads. But what was the competitive landscape like back then? Was it as cutthroat as now? Would companies casually lay off 20% of staff at any moment? Any strategy needs to account for current conditions and factor in where your peers actually stand.
Sales and marketing is the field with the lowest barrier to entry and the highest ceiling.
When your university isn't prestigious, you must deliberately avoid pretentious, overly theoretical, or glamorous-sounding majors. Lanxiang Technical School's principal said it best: if they went in that direction, what would distinguish them from Tsinghua? Can you really outcompete others at empty prestige? That's exactly why management programs are so problematic. From a company's perspective, it's effectively the same as studying a dead-end major—or studying nothing at all.
Keep in mind you'll eventually be entering the market, and talent itself is a commodity. You need to figure out how to position yourself as a product and build your core competitiveness.
Never despise sales or marketing thinking. Especially in a commodity-driven economy, you need to embrace it—love it.
If you can sell it, you can make money.