"..." Fan Rui's mother's face immediately darkened, and then she said directly, "Teacher, we've also done some research these past few days. The majors you mentioned don't seem to be professions that are easy to find employment in!"
"Let's not even talk about History and Philosophy. The names alone suggest difficulty in finding jobs. I don't even understand what they study in the humanities college. As for studying religion, this is a materialistic country, we don't engage in those feudal superstitious practices. Are you suggesting my Fan Rui will have to become a monk and have no descendants?" Fan Rui's mother said in one breath. Fan Rui, standing beside her, turned pale and quickly tugged at his mother's sleeve, urging her to stop talking.
However, before the homeroom teacher could speak, a parent nearby interjected with a smile, "Fan Rui's mother, you can't say that. It's not that our teacher isn't recommending good majors for your child, it's just that your child is barely at the score line for a first-tier university, which makes things very difficult to manage."
"Those good majors with good future employment prospects are naturally sought after by many students, driving up the score requirements. Fan Rui's scores make it quite challenging. These majors, although relatively niche, still grant a first-tier university diploma upon graduation!" While these words were logical, they were undeniably blunt. Fan Rui's mother's face turned red, and she was about to retort.
"Wait, actually, there are some relatively good majors we can try for!" the homeroom teacher quickly said. He wasn't offended by Fan Rui's mother's words, as similar scenarios and statements occurred almost every year, and he was long accustomed to it.
It was precisely because these scenarios were frequently repeated that he knew if he didn't stop these two women, they would likely argue for about half an hour, making it impossible to hold his parent-teacher meeting. Therefore, he immediately intervened, addressing the issue that concerned Fan Rui's mother the most.
"Which majors?" As expected, Fan Rui's mother forgot her anger with the other parent and eagerly asked.
"Look, for example, the International Relations School at XX University. This major is quite good for finding employment. I had two or three students previously with similar situations to Fan Rui. They all studied this major and are now working in various NGO organizations, with good outcomes!" the homeroom teacher said.
"I can't do this!" Fan Rui exclaimed, shaking his head vigorously. "This major clearly requires English, and if I can't pass CET-4 or CET-6, I probably won't even get a graduation certificate. My English grades are not good enough for this major; it would be suicide! I won't go!"
"That's true!" the homeroom teacher nodded. In fact, he had one more thing to say, which was that the International Relations School didn't just require CET-4 or CET-6 English, but rather TEM-8 (Test for English Majors Band 8) proficiency, and sometimes even the need to learn two or three additional languages.
Furthermore, this school was not something one could easily get into with ordinary scores. He simply knew Fan Rui would be unwilling to study this major and brought it up to diffuse the situation and prevent an argument.
However, Fan Rui's mother was insistent, asking the teacher to continue recommending majors that were easy to find employment in. The homeroom teacher felt helpless. As the other mother had said, majors with bright employment prospects were already hot commodities with very high score requirements, which Fan Rui couldn't possibly meet. How could he find such majors for him?
Fortunately, the homeroom teacher was indeed experienced. After some thought, he said, "How about studying Funeral Services? Although only one college nationwide offers this major, the employment prospects are excellent. It's said that graduates are in high demand, and the salaries are quite high, around seven to eight thousand yuan per month!"
"...Teacher, who would dare to study this major? Can we choose another one?" Fan Rui's mother's expression was such that she wished she could send the homeroom teacher to experience the funeral services major himself.
"This is genuinely good for employment, and the score requirements are not high. Even students with second-tier university scores can get in..." the homeroom teacher muttered to himself, then continued to introduce, "Then how about Human Resource Management? I think this major is a bit niche currently, and employment is somewhat difficult."
"However, its future prospects are very good. Many new large enterprises are born in China every year. Once an enterprise expands, it will inevitably require a professional human resource management team. Therefore, I estimate that in four years, there will be a significant talent gap. If you study this major, there will be many opportunities!" the homeroom teacher said.
"Is that so!" A hint of satisfaction finally appeared on Fan Rui's mother's face. This Human Resource Management major sounded quite good, at least the name was impressive.
However, before she could be happy for even a few minutes, she heard someone from the parent group say, "Fan Rui's mother, absolutely do not choose this major. My neighbor's aunt's son's classmate studied this major, and even graduated from a 985 university in Human Resource Management. But now he only earns 3,000 yuan a month, which is worse than a student from a second-tier university."
"Moreover, I heard that Human Resource Management is specifically for doing the unpopular jobs, being responsible for firing employees every day. He gets beaten up by those fired employees three or four times a year. Once, he was hospitalized for more than a week, and it wasn't even considered a work-related injury. He's truly miserable!"
"Ah..." Fan Rui's mother's expression turned distressed again, and she immediately looked at the homeroom teacher and asked, "Teacher, do you have any other recommendations?"
"I really don't have any more. There aren't many majors you can choose from!" The homeroom teacher was completely speechless. He truly couldn't offer any better schools. But Fan Rui's mother wouldn't relent, constantly pleading, making the homeroom teacher sweat profusely. He could only reluctantly suggest, "If you insist on pursuing a good major, then perhaps you should consider some majors from second-tier universities. With Fan Rui's scores, he can choose any good major among the second-tier universities, and the employment and salary will be better than many first-tier majors!"
"How about we change our approach and go for a second-tier university!" the homeroom teacher suggested. As soon as he said this, he immediately regretted it, because Fan Rui's mother's eyes widened, and she shouted in a sharp voice, "What did you say? You want my son to go to a second-tier university? Who was it that came to our house and told me that a first-tier university is definitely better than a second-tier one, and persuaded my son to give up a good opportunity at Jiangnan Group and a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan to come here and participate in the college entrance examination? Explain yourself clearly!"
"!!!!" The homeroom teacher was instantly startled, then numb, and then broke out in a cold sweat.
In his frustration, he had forgotten that he had stopped Fan Rui, who had already been accepted into Jiangnan University, from participating in the college entrance examination, and had lectured extensively on how first-tier universities were definitely superior to second-tier ones.
Now, although he had secured a first-tier university placement, if he were to suggest Fan Rui go to a second-tier university, it would truly be an explosion. After all, Fan Rui already had an opportunity to attend a second-tier university, and it was a very special university where he could directly enter Jiangnan Group after graduation, and even earn over ten thousand yuan per month while studying. How could he say such a thing!
So, the homeroom teacher quickly tried to appease Fan Rui's mother with words, but Fan Rui's mother's emotions were starting to fray. During this time of discussing her son's employment and major, Fan Rui's mother had already begun to have some regrets. Why had she impulsively listened to this homeroom teacher and made her son give up the opportunity at Jiangnan University?
After all, regardless of anything else, the benefit of directly entering Jiangnan Group and earning over ten thousand yuan per month while studying was unique nationwide.
Before, she hadn't investigated thoroughly, but after the college entrance examination, when Fan Rui's family started researching various majors and employment prospects, they sadly discovered that 90% of graduates from Tsinghua and Peking University earned around 6,000 yuan after graduation, with only 10% earning over 8,000 yuan per month, and less than 5% earning over ten thousand yuan per month.
And these 1% were precisely those who entered Jiangnan Group. Jiangnan Group was the only company in the country that offered entry-level salaries of over ten thousand yuan per month to some fresh graduates.
Of course, this was for students from Tsinghua and Peking University. For students from 985 universities, the starting salary upon entry was 8,000 yuan. Although the difference was only 2,000, this was the difference between a four-digit and a five-digit number.
In other words, even if her son had an outstanding academic record, ranking in the top hundred in the province, and was fortunate enough to get into Tsinghua or Peking University, he would still have to compete and contend among these national elites to become one of the 5% who succeeded in earning over ten thousand yuan per month after graduation.
And she had directly pushed away these opportunities that were originally within reach. How could Fan Rui's mother feel? She had initially thought that as long as she attended a 985 university, she would easily earn over ten thousand yuan per month. But now, this tragic reality hit her like a lightning bolt.
In the past few days, Fan Rui's mother had been relying on self-hypnosis, telling herself that post-graduation income didn't represent lifetime income, and with her son's talent, he would surely earn over ten thousand yuan per month within a few years after graduation, and that missing out on Jiangnan University and Jiangnan Group still offered a bright future.
However, these beautiful fantasies were completely shattered by the homeroom teacher's suggestion that it would be better to go to a second-tier university.
Not only did they shatter, but at this moment, a somewhat sharp and sarcastic voice echoed in the classroom. The person said with a chuckle, "Who says entering Jiangnan University means earning over ten thousand yuan per month? My Zhao Yao brought back 100,000 RMB in one go the other day."
"Alas, who would have thought that my son, who was initially struggling to even get into a first-tier university, would start earning money for the family so early, and his monthly income is higher than our entire family's annual income. Our family is truly blessed!"
As this voice sounded, the entire room fell silent. The crowd automatically parted, revealing the speaker, who was none other than Zhao Yao's mother. Zhao Yao, standing behind his mother, was pulling at her sleeve with force, saying, "Mom, didn't you say you were just accompanying me to see my classmates? Why are you speaking like this?"
"Well, my mom is just kidding. My monthly income is only 10,000 yuan. That 100,000 wasn't my salary; it was a bonus from the company for solving a technical problem. It was a very accidental income. I was just lucky, so please don't misunderstand!" Zhao Yao quickly said.