China’s graduates told to embrace financial reshuffle, ‘don’t feel ashamed’ about career
- Students at a university in Shanghai told not to be ashamed of taking a job in China’s finance sector amid the industry’s heightened scrutiny and dwindling reputation
A commencement speech at a top Chinese university in Shanghai went viral this weekend after a professor reassured students not to be ashamed of taking a job in the finance sector, sparking debate amid the industry’s heightened scrutiny and dwindling reputation.
Li Feng, deputy dean of Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Advanced Institute of Finance, said on Saturday that despite the current emphasis on technological innovation, finance remains crucial to China’s economic strength, and that graduates should feel “deeply proud” to be working in finance.
“Some people have started to think that the finance industry is worthless because it does not seem to be hardcore technology, viewing it as an unnecessary transaction cost,” Li said.
“Even some finance professionals, including our students and alumni, have developed a sense of professional shame.”
As finance professionals, or those engaged in corporate investment and financing, we should not feel ashamed, but rather deeply proud