Lin Xiaobai (center) teaches beginners to draw at a workshop in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in 2019. [Photo/China Daily]

Change of career paths brings challenges and rewards

Many workers, especially the young, are opting to leave the traditional job market to pursue more flexible employment opportunities.

The majority of them do so after working for five to 10 years, according to a report released last year by Maimai, a social networking app for office employees, and iXigua Video, an online video service provider.

Su Lan, a human resources director based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, said: "Young people nowadays have less financial pressure than those born in the 1970s and 1980s, as they grow up in a more open-minded society with more access to information. As a result, they have greater freedom to make their own decisions."

Countless people decide to change their career paths on impulse.

After breaking up with her boyfriend, Tang Xue, 24, resigned from her job six months ago to buy a farm in Anji county, Zhejiang.

"I believe it is important to do things on impulse sometimes, as I did earlier this year. I chose to take control of my own destiny without worrying about becoming trapped in a meaningless job," said Tang, who worked for short-video platforms at three companies in Hangzhou after graduating from a university in Hunan province in 2019.

Tang saw a farm in Jinhua, Zhejiang, advertised online, and was attracted by prospect of working in the open air, escaping stressful urban life, making new friends, and finding the ideal lifestyle.

"I thought that changing the course of my life might pose a risk, but I was willing to take it. It is never too late to restart my career, as I am a smart person with excellent abilities," said Tang, who worked at the farm in Jinhua for a few months before buying her own in Anji earlier this year.

To realize her dream of buying a farm, she took an online training course on agricultural operations. Her small farm covers 1.3 hectares and boasts a 160-square-meter courtyard. She plans to run the farm as a "shared vegetable field" project, with customers ordering the produce she grows.

Lu Sina, 28, works as a voluntary teacher at a Chinese school in Thailand in 2018. [Photo/China Daily]

"It's good to see more people deciding to resign from their jobs, as this gives them increased freedom. Gradually transitioning from a stable job enables you to gain more experience and confidence, gradually find your real self, and take control of your life," Tang said.

She added that she will not be returning to the traditional job market.

According to a survey on "naked resignations" released last year by 51Job, one of the biggest human resource service companies in China, the two main reasons for such resignations are too much pressure and boring work. "Naked resignations" refer to people quitting their jobs without any backup plan, or without knowing where their next pay check is coming from.

Some 30 percent of the interviewees planning such resignations said they would save more than six months' salary before leaving their job without a future career plan.