University Graduates from the Countryside Drifting in the City

Abstract

This article analyzes the formation and characteristics of intelligent migrant workers via a national questionnaire survey. The article notes that more and more university graduates from the countryside are employed in nonstandard jobs in the cities. Though their status has already been transformed from "resident of the countryside" into "registered resident not in the countryside," they do not have stable employment or registered permanent residence in the cities. They have similar characteristics to those of the traditional migrant worker, and have formed a specific group, namely intelligent migrant workers. Our investigation indicates that these intelligent migrant workers have several characteristics: they are of high quality, are young and energetic, pay great attention to relationships with classmates, lead a more fashionable lifestyle, and are drifting temporarily in the cities, but they do not possess the clustering characteristic exhibited by the "ant tribe" (yizu).