8 The Higher The Qualification, The Better It Is

Adopting a responsible attitude, Zhang Yuan organized his thoughts and said, "The pillar industries are now astrobotany, the space industry, and nanomaterial science. Astrobotany is to cultivate superior mutant plants, and the plants are widely used to grow food, extract industrial raw materials, and for medical treatment."

"However, the minimum qualification for that industry is a postgraduate degree… if I'm not wrong."

Ye Qingqing furrowed her brows and softly blurted out. "A postgraduate degree…"

She was rather fond of plants, such as growing all sorts of flowers and plants. It was comfortable, enjoyable and she would earn a high salary. However, when she heard of the qualification requirement, she turned timid.

Zhang Yuan continued with his explanation, "The space industry is even larger. There are basically all sorts of different industries and jobs available there, and all the top manufacturing industries have already been relocated to the moon. The low gravity and oxygen-free environment are more suitable for heavy industrial development. The latest generation of photonic chip technology was also produced on the moon, and there is a huge lack of talents in that sector.

"Higher-end jobs would be engineers, and below that would be mechanics. These minimally require a postgraduate qualification.

"The lowest-end jobs would be skilled technicians. They have the lowest qualification requirement. An undergraduate degree from a 995 university should suffice."

"995…" Ye Qingqing's eyes widened in shock and she repeated to herself.

Project 995 was a major decision made by Xia Country at the turn of the century. It involved a total of 40 universities, basically those that were selected were the best universities in the country.

She couldn't help but stick out her tongue and said, "It's impossible for me to enter those universities…"

Zhang Yuan did not stop there as he continued, "As for the research of nanomaterials, it requires an even higher qualification. It is impossible to enter the industry without a Ph.D. Even the skilled technicians working there have to be from 995 universities."

"Ah? Even undergraduates can only be a skilled worker? Moreover, they still have to be from 995 universities!" Zhang Yuan's Uncle was startled.

The workers in space cities were much more valuable than those on Earth. It showed that the annual salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars was not that easy to earn.

Zhang Yuan hastily added, "Oh, there are also service industries in space cities. After all, humans can't possibly work 24/7. We still have to rest and play. There is also the medical industry, doctors and nurses can usually go up to space if they are skilled enough. After all, just relying on artificial intelligence is not enough to fully cover these areas."

"I think the admittance rate is around one in a thousand?"

One in a thousand!

Ye Qingqing's complexion turned red. Even if she was bad at math, she knew what that probability meant.

"Therefore, if you want a good future, you need to enter a good university. If you have the chance, go for a doctorate. In any case, the higher your qualification, the better it is. Situations where Ph. D holders are unable to land a job would no longer happen like the olden times."

Ye Qingqing's brows were furrowed to the extreme. Even though she knew the importance of education, she had yet to enter society at her age. Thus, she was unaware of the difficulties of life and would always have a dislike for studying.

After all, studying was really boring!

Oh god, if she were to get a doctorate in the future, she still had to study for another decade. There seemed to be an angry bird residing in her heart as she wished that she could hit the culprit of her uneasy heart, Zhang Yuan's face.

"Cousin… What qualifications do you have?" Ye Qingqing asked with bad intentions as her eyes were rolling about.

"Me?"

Zhang Yuan scratched his head and said in embarrassment, "I majored in Space Mechanical Engineering and I only graduated recently. Truthfully, my qualifications are insufficient, so I am only a maintenance worker. After boarding the spaceship, my daily work would be to check and maintain the spaceship or do some simple cleaning. It's a very simple job."

"If I study more, I would probably be promoted to a higher position…"

There was nothing wrong to admit he was a maintenance worker. After all, he had been selected from a thousand applicants.

Zhang Yuan was a hardworking person even in the past and now that his IQ had been enhanced, he became even more diligent. He was confident that he would soon reach a higher level after several years of studies.

"Oh, a space maintenance worker. Do you know how to repair stuff? Like an air conditioner or television?" Ye Qingqing asked again.

Zhang Yuan blanked out momentarily when faced with such bizarre questions. What he learned was to repair a spaceship. How could he possibly know how to repair an air conditioner?

The differences between those two objects were miles apart.

"Then can you repair my dad's broken radio?" Ye Qingqing slyly asked.

Soon, Zhang Yuan understood what the little girl was scheming at.

She wanted to downplay the common perception that 'studying was useful' so that she could reduce the future oppression from her parents! Moreover, he had accidentally become the annoying 'neighbor's child'.1

He chuckled internally and thought that it was very normal for children these days to dislike studying. In the beginning, he had gone through that phase too. Except for some crazy people, who would be fond of studying all day long?

Do they really think using the brain was not tiring?

"That radio is very noisy, like super noisy. Brother, can you help repair it?"

In the face of the difficult question the little lady had thrown out, as a… *cough* genius, how could he be stumbled by a task within his job scope?

The matter of fixing things was extremely easy!

Zhang Yuan thickened his skin and said, "The structure of ordinary electronics is not complicated. Fixing a radio shouldn't be too difficult."

Suddenly, his Uncle hastily interjected, "Why are you talking about the radio right now? Let's eat, let's eat first!"

...

After the meal, Zhang Yuan felt his heart itching for some reason.

The strange desire to explore was constantly urging him on to give it a try.

"Uncle, I'd like to give it a try fixing it if possible!"

His Uncle hesitated for a moment but he soon returned to his room to grab his prized possession against his will.

"I spent a huge sum of money to buy this, and I got this at a bargain too. If it were not for the defect, it would be worth so much more…" In the face of his prized possession, his Uncle beamed with joy.

Zhang Yuan was momentarily stunned. Unexpectedly, it was an antique of the 20th century.

The square radio before him had two long antennae. The outer plastic had been cleaned rather thoroughly and was rough to the touch. With a single glance, it was clear that it was an item with history.

People nowadays regarded the era before the petroleum crisis as the 'Old Age, the era of the regression of a century as the 'Grey Age', and the era after the ignition of nuclear fusion as the 'New Age'.

Collecting antique electronics from the Old Age had become a new trend at present, similar to how some people collected jade and antiques. His uncle was one such enthusiast.

"This is still working? It should more or less have a history of 300 years!" When he said the word 300, Zhang Yuan could not help but drag his tone.

When his uncle heard Zhang Yuan's surprised tone, it seemed to have scratched his internal itch. "Of course it's still working. Just that the volume is somewhat loud at the start. I don't know why it makes so much noise, but that is the only problem with it."

He took out a cassette from his safe and inserted it into the radio. [2. I'm assuming it is a radio cassette player, from how it has antennae and can insert cassettes!]

Obviously, the cassette was also an antique. It was already impossible to identify the image of the singer on the cassette casing.

After plugging the radio plug into a special socket, suddenly, a series of loud noises erupted and the device itself slightly trembled.

*Buzz* *Buzz*

It was so loud that it shocked Zhang Yuan for a moment.