Shuli Ren, Columnist

How Much Should a Tsinghua Graduate Be Making?

A diploma from a prestigious Chinese university might not be that special anymore.

July 16, 2025 at 4:00 PM EDT

Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barron’s. She is a CFA charterholder.

Undergraduates attend the 2025 Tsinghua University Commencement Ceremony in Beijing.
Photographer: VCG/Getty Images

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It’s post-graduation season in China. Tiger Moms are naturally comparing notes on the salaries of fresh alumni from top universities. What kind of return might they expect, after spending years — and sometimes a fortune — demanding academic excellence from their offspring?

A doctor friend told me recently that her son got a job at Huawei Technologies Co., considered one of the most prestigious employers in China. The young man studied computer science at Tsinghua University and then Brown University in the US. Huawei is starting him at 400,000 yuan ($55,689) a year, the parent beamed.