A Meituan delivery worker walks among office towers in Beijing, China. Image for representational purposes.
Credit: Reuters Photo
A Chinese delivery worker, Ding Yuanzhao, has gone viral on social media and has been nicknamed "food delivery worker with the highest education level". With a master's degree from Oxford and a PhD from Nanyang Technological University, he is currently working as a delivery boy with Meituan, a platform for shopping, The South China Morning Post reported.
Ding had taken the national university entrance test, 'gaokao', and had scored an exceptional 700 out of 750 in the examination. He was accepted in the Tsinghua University, where he graduated with his bachelor's degree in chemistry. Having done his master's degree in energy engineering from the Peking University and another in biodiversity from Oxford, his qualifications are what many deem as extraordinary.
However, due to the dire job crisis in China, Ding could not find a suitable job despite his educational background. He earlier worked at the National University of Singapore as a postdoctoral researcher.
He noted that people land similar job roles despite their academic achievements. "It is a stable job. I can support my family with the income I receive. If you work hard, you can earn a reasonable living. It's not a bad job," Ding said on his social media. Currently, he works 10 hours a day, and earns around $550 a week.
He mentioned how he would get his exercise done through his work, "One advantage of delivering food is that you can get your workout in at the same time," he mentioned.
SCMP reported users' reactions to his job, where one mentioned, "He studied extensively but still ended up doing food delivery work."