I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 282 I wonder if planting a phoenix tree will attract a golden phoenix?

Information about the recruitment presentation was posted four days ago by the Jiaotong University Career Center Office on the job posting board and the university's official website. The presentation is scheduled for 2:30 PM today in classroom C202 of the Student Center on the Xuhui Campus.

Fang Qingye drove to the school at 2 o'clock. When she arrived at the student center, she saw Li Li and several other people working. Besides Li Li, there was Zhang Xuhao, whom Fang Qingye knew, and Qin Jing, who had been sent to Ele.me for an internship.

"Is everything ready?" Fang Qingye asked.

"Alright, boss."

Fang Qingye saw stacks of promotional materials on the classroom podium and a blue poster with white lettering on the wall:
"Live life to the fullest, for youth is the perfect time to pursue dreams."

Below is a line of smaller print: "Shencheng Tuofang Commerce and Technology Investment Co., Ltd.'s Large-Scale Campus Promotion Conference."

The following sections are: "Company Introduction", "Diverse Career Opportunities", "Compensation and Benefits", and "Recruitment Process".

The most eye-catching aspect is the salary and benefits: Salary: 30-50 RMB per year for Master's degree holders, and 50-80 RMB per year for PhD holders.
Settlement allowance: 5 RMB for master's degree holders, 10 RMB for doctoral degree holders; five social insurances and one housing fund; meal allowance; heating and cooling allowance; paid annual leave; leave for visiting relatives in other places.
One of the most eye-catching points is: all master's and doctoral graduates hired by the company will receive a company-provided apartment!
Housing community address: Pudong New Area; Area: 88-100 square meters for Master's degree holders, 100-110 square meters for PhD holders. If a PhD holder has worked for the company for 5 years or more, or a Master's degree holder for 8 years or more, the property rights of this housing unit will be transferred to the holder's name free of charge!
Looking at the promotional poster, Fang Qingye realized that this was the only way they could recruit master's and doctoral students from top universities like Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

I wonder if planting a phoenix tree will attract a golden phoenix?

Actually, Fang Qingye wasn't sure herself either.

The dormitory building for doctoral students at Jiaotong University.

Zhao Chaoyi was sitting at his computer, staring intently at the screen, searching for information on CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) when the dormitory door was suddenly pushed open. He knew who it was without even turning around.

There's only one person who can enter his room without knocking: his good friend Zhou Shengxuan.

Both are doctoral students in the School of Mathematical Sciences, but Zhou Shengxuan studies basic mathematics while Zhao Chaoyi specializes in financial mathematics.

Zhou Shengxuan likes to shave his head and wear crew neck shirts in the summer, which is in stark contrast to Zhao Chaoyi, who keeps his hair long all year round.

The two also have very different personalities. Zhou Shengxuan is outgoing and likes to drink. He is always smoking, especially when he is doing academic work.

In contrast, Zhao Chaoyi is calm and composed. He can drink a bottle of beer and his face turns red. He never smokes and prefers to drink tea, but this does not prevent the two from being good friends.

We've been classmates since university, and still are now.

Today, Zhou Shengxuan sat on Zhao Chaoyi's bed with a cigarette in one hand and a beer bottle in the other, and took a big gulp of beer.

Seeing his friend's expression, Zhao Chaoyi turned his head and asked casually.

"Not happy?"

"What's there to be happy about!" Zhou Shengxuan is from Xijing, and his most frequent catchphrase is "what the hell."

Zhao Chaoyi knew why he was unhappy; it was about finding a job after graduation.

Zhou Shengxuan had always wanted to stay at the university as a teaching assistant, and he had been striving for this goal since he started pursuing his doctorate. His supervisor, Tian Gang, was also a famous professor at Jiaotong University. He valued his student highly and hoped that he would stay at the university after graduation to continue working as his assistant. However, just a few days ago, Professor Tian told Zhou Shengxuan with regret that his chances of staying at the university to teach were basically gone.

Because he has no overseas study experience!
“Shengxuan, the school has already issued a strict requirement that doctoral students must have overseas study experience to stay on as teaching assistants, so there’s nothing I can do.” Professor Tian looked at his student with a regretful expression. “How about this, I recommend you to teach at Donghua University. I know the president, so it shouldn’t be a big problem. Their requirements aren’t as high as our school’s.” Zhao Chaoyi’s heart sank.

He studied basic mathematics, which has a narrower job market compared to applied mathematics; basically, it leads to teaching at various universities.

If you can't get into Jiaotong University, and it's impossible to get into other 985 universities like Fudan and Tongji, then you're left with 211 universities like East China University of Science and Technology and Donghua University.

Seeing Zhou Shengxuan's dejected look, Professor Tian smiled and comforted him, "Donghua University is very close to our Jiaotong University. You can come back and visit often. You can also come to me if you have any academic problems!"

"Thank you, mentor." Zhou Shengxuan was furious and wanted to vent, but he knew he couldn't be disrespectful in front of his mentor. He couldn't blame his mentor; the mentor had already tried his best.

So these past few days, Zhou Shengxuan has been drowning his sorrows in alcohol, often getting completely drunk.

Seeing his friend like this, Zhao Chaoyi comforted him, "Actually, teaching at Donghua University isn't bad. Anyway, all we mathematicians need is a quiet desk."

“But the atmosphere! How can the academic atmosphere at Donghua University compare to that at Jiaotong University?!” Zhou Shengxuan retorted. “As for project funding, needless to say, there’s no comparison.”

Zhou Shengxuan took a swig of beer.

Zhao Chaoyi fell silent.

Compared to Zhou Shengxuan, his job prospects are much better.

He studied financial mathematics, a highly sought-after major in the banking and securities industry, which can lead to positions such as actuary, securities analyst, and quantitative financial analyst. He has already received offers from several large financial and securities companies, including Citibank and Ping An Securities, but he has not yet made a final decision.

“Come on, let’s take a look at this.” Zhou Shengxuan suddenly pulled a brochure out of his pocket and put it on the desk.

Zhao Chaoyi glanced at it and saw that it was a job posting from a company called Tuofang Technology. He looked at it carefully and laughed, "The conditions are pretty good. An annual salary of 50 to 80 yuan, and they even give you an apartment in Pudong! This is more favorable than foreign banks like Citibank and Morgan Stanley."

“So, I’ll give it a try. He said he was recruiting PhDs in mathematics, but he didn’t say he only wanted financial mathematics. I guess the HR at this company doesn’t understand at all,” Zhou Shengxuan laughed.

"You don't want to do academic research anymore?" Zhao Chaoyi asked back.

"What the hell! I want to do academic research, but this damn school won't accept me!" Thinking of this, Zhou Shengxuan's anger flared up again. "But I've published two papers in *Inventiones Mathematicae*!"

Zhao Chaoyi certainly knew about *Inventiones Mathematicae*, published by Springer, which aims to publish groundbreaking and important results in all areas of pure and applied mathematics and enjoys a high academic reputation. It covers various aspects of pure and applied mathematics, such as algebraic geometry, differential geometry, functional analysis, and probability theory. It is also a domestically recognized SCI-indexed mathematics journal.

Seeing his friend about to lose his temper again, Zhao Chaoyi quickly stopped him, "Come on, come on, I'll go with you to see." After saying that, he pulled Zhou Shengxuan outside, asking as they walked, "Have you ever written a resume?"

"Write what?!"

"You need to grab the hammer too. Hurry up and go to your dorm, and bring the journal where you published your paper."

Zhao Chaoyi and Zhou Shengxuan arrived at classroom C202 in the student center; the presentation was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)