To stay or not to stay? (2)

Stay in the UK

Advantages:

UK employers are being encouraged to give Chinese students more work experience opportunities. The China-UK Internship Programme, devised by international consultancy Global Education Group (GEG) and the Chinese Embassy in the UK, is designed to help Chinese students, who find it difficult to get practical work experience while they study. Under the UK’s new immigration system, international students who graduated from a UK institution can apply for the Post Study Work Visa. Successful applicants will be granted permission to work in the UK for up to two years without a work permit. After that, you may be allowed you to stay and work longer if you have been with the same employer for six months and you pass a further point-based assessment. This is an outstanding opportunity for those Chinese students who want to work in the UK.

Disadvantages:

Although many countries including the UK claim they will not treat those foreigners differently, the truth is that discrimination is everywhere. The discrimination is not only related with the policies of government, but also about the local citizens’ attitude. For local companies, they prefer to employ native people who know the local culture and society very well. Take journalists as an example, ethnic minorities are still under-represented in media industry. In the UK, a large number of journalists, particular in senior positions are white, middle class and men.

I interviewed some of my friends for their working plans.

Mu He, having her Post Study Work Visa and taking an accountant job said that “If people are seeking equal opportunity, I would say that stay London is a better choice. In China, it is usual to know many people use their relatives or contact’s resources get a job, instead of through the competition of talents. Despite certain prejudices in the UK, as long as you can show your talents and competency, you will get equal treatment.”

“I will come back to China.I have family and many good friends in China. I can make friends in a foreign country, but those friends will never be as good as the friends I grew up with. Another reason is if I stay in China, English will be my greatest advantage. But, if I stay in an English-speaking country, I do not have confident that I can use English better they can!” Xuan Dong, a third year students from Goldsmith College expressed her different view.

Jingyi Lee plans to go back China after finishing his economic degree. “I can see the bright future in China, but not in the UK. UK is still in severe financial crisis, which means the unemployment rate tends to be higher and higher and can not be controled in a short time.” he said.

“As far as I am concerned, I will not immediately come back as the salaries are really much higher in the UK,” Laura Liang explained, “I mean, for all the years you studied and all the money you have spent, isn’t the best way to stay here to make your money count?”

Overall, the final decision depends on the actual working situation and which side is better for different individuals.

If you will graduate soon, are you going to stay in the UK or return China? If you are still studying, have you even thought about your future plans? Leave comments to state your opinion about this topic.