'Bright future': Stanford PhD scholar takes job as clerk in rural China

Su Zhen ranked first in the written test, interview, and final score among the six candidates vying for city civil service

A Stanford physics PhD graduate has become a grassroots civil servant in rural China, choosing an unconventional career path after returning home.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Suzhou, a city west of Shanghai, announced its recruits for the civil service bureau for the year. Among the 330 new hires joining the city's public service is Su Zhen, the sole appointee with a doctoral degree.

While most candidates are from lesser-known colleges and vocational schools in China, Su graduated from Stanford University, an American institution ranked third in the Best Global Universities rankings.

Su ranked first in the written test, interview, and final score among the six candidates vying for the same position, SCMP reported while quoting authorities in Suzhou.

Instead of working in a city, he will be stationed in a rural town. Records indicate he applied for the position of Township Basic Affairs Management in Lingbi, a county in northern Anhui province with a population of nearly 1 million, falling under Suzhou's jurisdiction.

The job description include public service, rural revitalisation, and promoting social civility, which typically involves encouraging respectful behavior and phasing out outdated rural customs such as lavish funerals, the report said,

Hyman, a former high school classmate of Su's, broke the news on online site Zhihu. “I think his intelligence and diligence make him a better academic researcher than me, and there is no doubt that he has a bright future ahead of him,” he said.

Su hails from Xiao County, a northern Anhui province region with around 1 million residents. Beginning in 2016, he pursued a doctoral programme in applied physics within the Stanford University's physics department, submitting his dissertation on serial X-ray crystallography in August 2022, the report said

Prior to this, he completed his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Science and Technology of China, where he received the esteemed Guo Moruo Scholarship, the university's highest honour.