At the end of 2008, the Ministry of Education concluded employment pressure had become "very severe" over the past several years. In 2009, the ministry said the employment situation for new graduates would be "more severe."

A 2009 report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said there would be 6.11 million college graduates this year, 520,000 more than in 2008. The number of graduates has jumped since just four years ago, when there were 3.38 million. The academy expects 2009 to be the worst out of the last 30 years for college graduates looking for work.

In 2008, the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China created a plan that directed 100,000 college students to be sent to rural areas as village officials over the proceeding five years.

Some provinces had already started similar programs before the Central Government launched its broader plan. As early as 1995, Jiangsu Province started employing college graduates as village officials. In 1999, Hainan and Zhejiang provinces followed suit. By the end of 2008, there had already been 130,000 young village officials employed all over China, according to the Organization Department.

Since the job calls for a three-year commitment, the young officials face the problem of figuring out where to go when their contracts end.

Beijing, for example, had employed 2,000 college graduates in 2006 as village officials and promised they could choose whether they wanted to stay after their three years expired. In March 2009, however, the government said that only 20 percent of the students would be allowed to stay through an examination process. The remaining 80 percent would have to turn to the job market for employment.

The uncertainty makes the program bittersweet for participants.

"I was totally at a loss for what to do in the first year," said Gao. "I threw myself into the sweet corn project during the second year. In the third year, after I knew that the chances of staying here were dim, I started to feel upset and at a loss about where to go next."

Lu had similar concerns. "After staying in the village for three years, I am afraid I can't catch up on the technological advances in my field. When I talk to the students who are younger than me, they constantly bring up very new words that I can't even understand," he said. His stress level increased after sending out 500 resumes and receiving no replies.

Gao and Lu gave up their efforts to find work through the job market, deciding instead to start their own business producing packing boxes. They rented five houses in the village for 8,000 yuan ($1,170) a year and hired two disabled residents, paying each a salary of about 1,000 yuan ($146). They launched a website in June and the number of orders is increasing. They made about 6,000 yuan ($878) in the first month.

This route has become the choice for many village officials after finishing their three-year commitment. The government has offered preferential policies for young officials who start their own businesses. Several provinces, including Liaoning, Henan, Jiangxi and Jiangsu, have set aside funds to help banks offer loans for seeding businesses.

In April 2009, meanwhile, the Organiza-tion Department issued a regulation requiring public institutions to employ at least 40 percent of their job applicants who had already been serving in villages for three years.