In times of tech crackdown, being public servants become a preferable option for...

In times of tech crackdown, being public servants become a preferable option for Chinese coders- PingWest

In times of tech crackdown, being public servants become a preferable option for Chinese coders

Rebbeca Ren

posted on August 6, 2021 4:38 pmEditor : Wang Boyuan

Continued crackdown pushes tech workers to seek more security, like working for the government.

China's ongoing crackdown on the Internet sector has brought not only heavy losses to investors but also chilled ordinary people working in this industry.

When realizing that rapid expansion may become a thing of the past and uncertainties increase, some tech workers decide to leave and seek jobs with more stability. Therefore, working for the government, the most secure job in China, becomes the most popular choice among them.

"Now I am fully aware of how fragile private enterprises can be. The online tutoring, an industry with hundreds of billions of dollars, was almost destroyed because of a policy, and you never know who will be struck by the lightning next," said Zhang Fan, a software engineer of a short video platform. With a 3-year-old kid, she is applying for a government-related job in her hometown. 

Last month, a sweeping order released by Chinese authorities banned the tutoring sector from making profits, raising capital, and limiting what they can teach. It triggered extensive layoffs in the industry and massive selloffs on the stock market.

From Zhang's perspective, age discrimination is quite common among internet companies, but working in state agencies will be free from the pressure. "As long as you don't make any big mistakes, you can work until retirement, and the pension is much higher than the average level of other industries," she said. "Some friends around me are also considering getting into the state-owned system."

"Edtech is coming to an end, what kind of job are you looking for?" a post published on Maimai, an anonymous community app for the workplace, asked. Some replied that they plan to take civil service exams or to enter the system.

Xiao Wang, a programmer who has worked in a leading online education institution for five years, told PingWest that he also plans to find a position in the government system. Although the technical team hasn't heard of laying off, he still feels that the company's prospects are clouded under the harsh crackdown.

Interestingly, before joining the private firm, he used to work in the R&D department of a large state-owned enterprise. The severe bureaucracy and relatively backward technology there drove him to leave. But now, the man in his early thirties has changed his mind and would like to return to a more stable environment.

"I should stop the loss in time," Wang said, "The latest government policy now prohibits private K-12 education companies from going public, so my stock may not be cashed out. Also, years of overtime have burnt me out."

For a long time, with offering lavish salaries and promising prospects, the fast-growing Internet industry is the place where the most talent inflows. Many fresh graduates from top-tier Chinese universities take entering tech giants as their ultimate goal.  

Previously, China's hands-off approach to the tech sector has minted billionaires and giants at a breathtaking pace. It is generally believed young people can grow with the fast-growing industry both psychologically and financially. 

Since the second half of last year, the speed of the crackdown has been dizzying with a series of practices being regulated, including monopolistic behaviors, data security threats, disorderly expansion of capital, overseas listings, etc.

Regulators imposed a record fine of $2.8 billion on Alibaba for alleged monopolistic conduct and ordered it to change its business practices. Faced with the prospect of unprecedented penalties, Didi had to remove its main app and dozens of others from smartphone stores. Prominent Chinese tech startups including Keep, Hellobike, Ximalaya have canceled plans to go public in the US. 

In the eyes of some tech workers, the political risks and uncertainties imposed on the industry have far exceeded their expectations for the future, especially considering that explosive growth is in the past tense.

Apparently, the return-on-investment ratio of risk-taking and dedication has fallen, so the steady work without overtime has won the hearts of young people who have experienced ups and downs in the internet industry. "The end of the universe is the civil servant", people joked on social media, referring to no position better than a civil servant in China.

A Github repository named "coder2gwy", created by three former employees from top internet companies, went online in January. So far, it has obtained 18k stars and 2.7k forks. The creators said that they have transformed from programmers to people working for government agencies and would like to share their experience with more people.

"Back-end coder Mike has become a civil servant in first-tier cities, front end coder Mary works for a public institution 10 minutes away from home. I have turned into a teacher at a university near my hometown. We all have a bright future," the description of the repo shows.

In recent years, the enthusiasm for civil service examinations has been on the rise. According to the National Civil Service Bureau, there were 1.576 million qualified candidates in 2020, while only 25,700 will be recruited.

As China is actively promoting digitalized governance, the importance and demand for tech talents are also increasing. Many local governments have also established big data centers and smart city projects to recruit relevant talents.

(At the request of the interviewee, their names are pseudonyms)

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash