GIVING up the iron rice bowl that goes with a state job might be a risky leap, but many young mainland talents have found the move a springboard for their careers.
Larry Ding Liang is one such talent. The 34-year-old is president of Powerise (China) Software Centre, a private software company employing 200 people and designated by the State Commission of Science as a leading player in southern China's software industry.
Portrayed by official media as a young patriotic technician who forewent the opportunity to study in the United States and set up his computer company to serve the motherland, Mr Ding actually set up Powerise after his dream to study abroad failed to come true.
As a fresh university graduate in Beijing, Mr Ding went back to his birthplace of Changsha in 1985 and joined Hunan University as a research fellow.
'I thought it might have been easier in Hunan University for me to be sent abroad for further study.
'But it turned out to be even harder for me to leave after joining the university [due to a shortage of computer talents],' he said.
Disappointed, Mr Ding left the academic arena and joined a state-owned computer company in 1990.
