About the only progress I have detected in job selection is in show business. Star entertainers of every era are accorded hefty pay packets, but the stigma that used to be associated with the profession is now largely gone. Even starving artists and artistes would proudly say they are stars in waiting.

China's tradition of channeling the brightest into stable and respectable professions and away from entrepreneurship could be the effect of long-held discrimination against self-made men and women - unless one is big enough to grab headlines and turn into a household name a la Jack Ma. The fear and even stigma of striking out on one's own are not unfounded as entrepreneurship is notoriously risky. The rate of failure is extremely high, especially in the first few years, and you may never run out of challenges even if you are at the top of the game. You may say this is the same everywhere. But even had Bill Gates failed in turning Microsoft into a profitable business, I bet his father would not have nagged him for years about quitting Harvard. Now imagine what Chen Sheng would face if his plunge into private business, to use a Chinese analogy, had run into serious adversity.

The crux of the matter lies in public attitude toward small businesses, which, in turn, is largely determined by government policies and regulations in that area. Most entrepreneurs are not going to end up in the market position or wealth bracket of Ma or Gates. They may not even come close to owning 200 chain stores. But in a small-business-friendly atmosphere they might be able to earn a comfortable living for themselves and their families while providing goods and services unaccounted for by big business. With the average starting salary for a college graduate at just 3,378 yuan a month last year, that will be the fulcrum for a balance with tradition-ordained professions.

Reports in recent years highlight graduates from prestigious schools who for one reason or another have forsaken the preferred career paths and taken adventures left and right. High-tech tends to be held in high regard whereas low-tech or no tech, such as selling groceries, is often sneered at. Sadly, the focus is ultimately results-oriented. "Say, there's this young man from Xi'an who craves his hometown snack so much that he gave up his job in the information industry and started his own snack stand. Now he is pulling in more than 10,000 yuan a day."