However, with the rapid development of the Internet, online games are growing into a new profession. Nowadays, there are e-sports programs at universities, and there is a huge demand for gamers on the market. More importantly, e-sports athletes and operators, recognized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security as new professional in April 2019, earn no less than those working in conventional sectors, and sometimes much more than the local average income.

Recognition by the ministry and universities will undoubtedly boost the e-sports industry, attracting more graduates to the field and expanding the potential for employment. Supporters see this as an update in conservative attitudes towards employment, but there is some worry that in doing so, universities are embellishing their employment rates at a difficult time for new job hunters.

A mind-changing concept

Zhang Chunyi (Beijing Youth Daily): Some people have joked that the Ministry of Education's new employment index is encouraging people to play games, or that parents will now never be able to stop kids playing games. There is suspicion that this move aims to help universities and colleges improve their record on graduate employment rates.

Yet the problem with these doubters is that their ideas of what a job should look like are outdated. They don't think playing video games qualifies as a job, but are instead distractions that eat into students' learning time. For them, playing video games can only be a hobby at most.

This is serious misunderstanding of what e-sports is. As early as 2003, the General Administration of Sport approved e-sports as a formal sports competition item. In April 2019, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced 13 new professions, including those of e-sports operator and e-sports athlete: in short, gamers.

So far, more than 500,000 people in China are involved in the e-sports industry, with 16 percent possessing a bachelor's degree or higher. Eighty-six percent of these people have a salary that is between one and three times the local average. Only 15 percent of e-sports-related posts are saturated, and the demand for talent amounts to around 2 million.

Once scorned, e-sports have long since developed into a high-income profession, with bright prospects for new recruits. It is time to adjust the old employment index so that it better reflects social realities, and help change this generation's attitudes toward a lot of new professions, expanding the range of jobs available to them.

A recent survey conducted by China Youth Daily of people aged 18 to 35 showed that 71 percent of interviewees paid more attention to whether a job has tangible benefits, like high income and welfare, over its traditionally perceived social status. It thus makes sense to encourage more graduates to pursue careers that interest them, without worrying too much about how their parents will view them once they are employed.

Sun Xiuling (Dazhong Daily): Those who question the e-sports profession focus on whether e-sports is a job in the real sense. E-sports is a thriving industry in China, with local governments in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen issuing supportive policies to shore up the development of this sector. In the coming five years, demand for gamers will reach around 2 million, and for now, there is a shortage of suitable talent.

This form of employment has been diversified by the appearance of new businesses like online shopping and influencers. Traditional indexes are unable to reflect the true landscape of the contemporary employment market. Counting those involved in these new businesses as employed better reflects the evolving employment market, while better preparing institutions to offer guidance to graduates. This practice will also modernize social ideas about employment, and a friendlier environment can boost these businesses' chance of surviving and thriving.

Potential loopholes

Xie Feijun (Shanghai Observer): While new professions are mushrooming all the time, conventional societal views find it hard to accommodate e-sports, online shopping and the like as legitimate forms of employment. Recent developments present a key question: Is it because certain authorities want to present a rosier picture of the country's employment situation that they have begun to include e-sports and self-employment in their calculations?

With the rapid emergence of new economic forms and occupations, society must stay abreast of these developments. People cannot refuse to accept or admit a profession just because they don't really know what it is. It is improper to regard the ministry's expanded list of jobs simply as a way to raise the employment rate.

Still, it is worth noting that despite the ministry's seemingly low threshold for what qualifies as employment, e-sports, influencers and other forms of self-employment are not easy areas for young graduates to get started in. While these new professions are rife with opportunity, individuals have to work harder and with more perseverance, than if they were to work in conventional industries. They will otherwise miss out altogether, let alone make big money. This is not only a warning to individuals, but also to the authorities that calculate these new activities as forms of employment.

The authorities must also track the development of online shoppers, gamers and public account owners in numerous ways. The fact that graduates quickly find work in one of these new sectors does not mean that they are guaranteed long-term employment. It is common for new recruits to lose their job within six months due to the difficulties in operating these new businesses. For this reason there should be support and guidance from the authorities, so that more of these businesses can go further and employ more people longer.

The younger generation, unlike their parents, aren't restricting themselves to traditional ideas of employment, and have broader minds when choosing jobs. Society must also update its concept of employment accordingly, accepting these new occupations instead of obsessing over conservative ideas of employment.

Fan Cheng (www.gmw.cn): Some top gamers are able to make big and stable money playing video games, and it would be improper to call them jobless. However, high incomes for a small fraction of e-sports competitors are not representative of the conditions elsewhere in the industry.

For example, at the end of 2018, WeChat announced that more than 600 WeChat public accounts earned more than 100,000 yuan ($14,100) a month on its platform in the past three quarters. These may sound like big earnings, but WeChat public accounts numbered some 20 million by the end of 2017, meaning less than 0.00003 percent reached returns of 100,000 yuan a month. Since e-sports is now to be listed as an occupation, there must be a reckoning for a majority of its practitioners.

It is right to take advantage of e-sports to expand employment. According to a forecast by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in 2019, e-sports will employ 2 million or so players in the coming five years. In 2019, 20 universities had already opened e-sports programs, and more than 200 colleges had programs related to e-sports. While the prospects are bright, the industry must be alert to potential bubbles.

It is undeniable that there is some rationality in classifying e-sports as a job, but potential loopholes and the various problems of this profession must not be overlooked. There must be effective management by the authorities, and a code of conduct must be established for the industry. A well-developed vocational education system and good industry security will also help e-sports to succeed.

Like any other job, easy money is hard to find in e-sports. Those who want to make a living or reap huge profits in this industry must prove they are professionally capable of playing video games well. If not, then maybe it would be better for them to turn to other, more conventional jobs that might suit them better.

Copyedited by Laurence Coulton