.jpg "Spend $22,000 to clone dead pet")
-a9f705f0fc2bb442b889e7ca8cfb4e9f.jpg "See detailed retirement age table")
.png "Roll call of 84 provincial cities when district level is abolished")
.jpg "Harm others, blame yourself for giving the car to a child")
.jpg "Special cooperative")
.jpg "Baidu Releases AI Model Competing with DeepSeek for Free")
.jpg "French President strongly declares sending troops to Ukraine")
.png "Vietnam faces 'not rich yet old'")
.jpg "How long do you have to work at a company to get pregnant?")
.jpg "Health sector completes measles vaccination campaign in March")
Submit a comment
After achieving impressive scores in the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), Chen Xuetong enrolled in the funeral management department.
The major to be launched in 2024 has an entrance score 20 to 30 points higher than other majors at China University of Social Management. The first batch has a quota of 150 students.
Chen, from Zhejiang, gave two main reasons. She watched many videos of embalmer bloggers and changed her view of the funeral industry. In addition, the industry has good prospects amid a tough job market.
She applied for a cremation internship at the Guangzhou Funeral Service Center. Many people praised Chen's foresight.
"If I could go back, I would also choose the funeral industry to ensure a stable income," one netizen commented. "Good choice, this industry has little competition, reasonable pay and very stable work."
The Chinese funeral industry is short 10,000 workers every year, but finding a job is not easy. Recruited by the Guangzhou Social Management Bureau, most of them have bachelor's degrees, some have master's degrees. The position requires a minimum vocational degree.
Zhao Yuceng, a lecturer at Chongqing Municipal Management College, said the employment rate for graduates from the funeral management and technology program is almost 100%. At the same time, the industry is growing thanks to the growing aging population.
But the stigma persists.
Lu Xiaoning, 24, from Hangzhou, has kept her job a secret from her grandparents. The older generation sees it as unlucky. She works far from home and rarely returns. “I can face discrimination from others, but I can’t make my family endure it,” she said.
Students like her were also ridiculed as "death workers" or "crematorium workers". They were even ostracized from communal meals.
Mr. Sun Shuren, dean of the Institute of Culture and Life at the China University of Social Management, explained that death is taboo in traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, the older generation often has prejudices against everything related to it.
Fan Xiudi, director of the Center for Educational Research at Tongji University in Shanghai, said the stigma against the funeral industry also stems from the lack of solid vocational education in China.
A report by the British life insurance company SunLife shows that the average cost of a funeral in China is $5,400, accounting for more than 45% of the average annual income. Meanwhile, the cost of a funeral in the US is only 12% compared to 10% globally.
At the same time, industry workers are also well compensated. One graduate said they typically earn $750 a month. Top students, who make up about 10 percent, earn $1,300. Each body-handling shift costs $120 and night shifts cost $150.
Yang Yucheng, who has worked at the Guizhou morgue for 12 years, said mortuary and crematorium workers typically earn more, ranging from $900 to $1,500. In first- and second-tier cities, they typically earn around $3,000 a month, based on a fixed salary and performance, and the bodies they handle.
“But it's worth the effort, they have to be on duty 24/7 even on holidays,” he said.
As job opportunities dwindle and the number of college graduates continues to rise, the funeral industry, which had long been shunned by young people, is becoming increasingly attractive.
.jpg "The Standing Committee of the National Assembly Party Committee gave opinions on some contents on the arrangement and streamlining of the apparatus.")
