Student enters the real world
John Lam Yin-yiu, 20, is a final-year student in business administration at Chinese University. He has been an active student, working on the committee of Shaw College's Business Administration Society since 1995. He also works as a temporary clerk at an Education Department centre in Tsuen Wan that provides gifted children with extra tuition outside normal schooling.
What's on your mind? Working in the education centre is meaningful and interesting and my colleagues are very nice to me. Children are very expressive. Sometimes they tell you funny things that you have never thought of, but some are very naughty. Was it difficult to get a summer job this year? I tried many ways, like sifting through newspapers, applying through the school's appointment services, but finally I got the job through the Labour Department. I started looking for a job in April and I started work in mid May.
I went to the Labour Department early, at about 7 am, for several days. Many people had already queued up there but actually the office doesn't open until 9 am.
Although it was not easy to find the job, I'm fortunate to have it. Many of my friends will be unable to get work for the next few months.
What have you learned in your summer job? That working life is quite different from school life. I have learnt things that I can't get from lectures. Everyday I meet many people and I have learnt to manage them. Besides, I also have to produce promotion materials for the centre, like posters and leaflets, from which I gained computer knowledge.
What else will you do in the summer I'm extremely excited about a trip to Beijing in late August. The university has arranged a four-week Mandarin learning trip to a language school there. Recently, I spent a week learning basic Mandarin phonetic symbols in a camp held by the university.
Besides Mandarin lectures, the language school also arranged some interesting courses such as Chinese water painting or playing Chinese musical instruments. And the teachers will also take us to tourist places like the Summer Palace, the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square.
Do you worry about getting a job after 1997? Yes, of course. I think every university student will agree with me as the unemployment rate is high, the number of university students is increasing dramatically and the competition is very tight.
This is especially so in business, which does not require as much specialist knowledge so it is open to more people to enter, unlike engineering or architecture.
