A job seeker surnamed Miao from Changsha, Hunan Province, who holds a master's degree, passed all five rounds of online interviews at a leading tech firm this spring. After quitting his old job to prepare for joining the tech firm in July, he was told by the company that the hiring process could not proceed because his first degree was from a vocational college, not a four-year university undergraduate program.

Many highly educated job seekers report facing "first degree" barriers of this kind. Though invisible in job postings, such bias exists in resume screening, salary grading and promotion. Authorities have banned placing hiring restrictions on schools and modes of study. However, these policies have yet to be implemented to the letter. Given candidates' first tertiary qualification is generally determined by their score in the national college entrance examination (gaokao in Chinese), some commenters see it more as a measure of high school performance than of overall ability.

Ye Cilu (Beijing Youth Daily): Employer preference for screening candidates by their first degree reflects a structural reality. With 12.7 million graduates in 2026, reviewing every applicant's true ability is costly. Using the gaokao score as a filter is the cheapest, fastest option.

But efficiency cannot replace fairness. The gaokao measures only what someone knew at 18, not their adult potential. Those who climb from a vocational college to a master's degree demonstrate extraordinary self-discipline, resilience and perseverance. That growth is itself powerful proof of quality.

For companies, clinging rigidly to first-degree thresholds may look like "selecting the best of the best," but in reality it narrows their talent-selection scope, causing them to miss out on large numbers of hardworking, high-potential candidates. This can easily lead to job-person mismatches and wasted talent, and in the long run undermines companies' own talent pipelines and capacity for innovation. For society as a whole, the hidden rule that "one exam decides your entire life" severely erodes the social value of lifelong learning, weakening society's drive for progress and space for upward mobility.

Currently, most regulations against educational discrimination remain soft advocacy, lacking accountability mechanisms and clear regulatory oversight. As a result, companies face virtually zero cost for violations. Meanwhile, when job seekers suffer unfair treatment, the discrimination mostly occurs in private communication, making evidence difficult to obtain. The vast majority choose to compromise in silence, and this widespread silence in turn further fuels the spread of industry misconduct.

Fairness in employment is a foundation of social justice. Talent evaluation must reward ability and achievement. Breaking invisible first-degree barriers requires employers to adopt more methodical hiring standards and regulators to close loopholes and open complaint channels so hidden discrimination has nowhere to hide.

Antonio Muzhi (Toutiao.com): There is some sense in emphasizing first degrees. Gaokao scores are the result of a person giving their all, and they best reflect a person's intelligence and learning ability. They can also reflect the strength of a person's self-discipline.

Xianiguangi (Toutiao.com): Although it may sound harsh, it is said that one's first degree reflects their intelligence best (repeat examinees aside), while the second degree reflects their level of effort. This is not absolutely correct, but it still makes a lot of sense. When employers face a massive pool of applicants, looking at first degrees is a time-saving, effort-saving approach, the results of which are usually not too bad.

Zhidaohennuzi (Toutiao.com): Some people do not understand the importance of studying until the moment of the gaokao and subsequently score poorly. They awaken after the gaokao and only then begin to work hard, striving and improving continuously. Their efforts and achievements should neither be denied nor discriminated against.

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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