Chinese doctor with PhD leaves medical career to deliver food, pursue music part-time

A Chinese doctoral graduate in medicine left her promising hospital job to embrace a “less meritocratic” lifestyle as a part-time freelancer.Liu Zihan, 31, delivers food, performs at a pub, sells breakfast, and explores a variety of part-time jobs that captivate her interests while providing for her living expenses.Before leaving her full-time employment in February, Liu served as a psychiatrist and postdoctoral researcher at a Grade 3A hospital in Zhuhai, in southern China’s Guangdong province. This hospital is in the highest, most prestigious tier of the national healthcare classification system.Liu characterised the first 30 years of her life as “meritocratic.” She grew up in one of the most competitive provinces, Hebei in northern China, and studied for a year at Hengshui High School, which is nationally renowned for its military-style discipline.She gained admission to the medical school at Sichuan University and further pursued her doctoral degree at the University of Macau’s Faculty of Health Sciences.To cover her living expenses, Liu Zihan delivers food, performs at a pub, sells breakfast, and explores various part-time jobs that capture her interest. Photo: yzwb.netBy 2022, at the age of 27, Liu had earned her doctoral degree and already secured a position at a prestigious hospital in Zhuhai.Liu received positive feedback from her patients, some of whom even sent her thank-you letters and gratitude pennants.She noted that she enjoyed engaging with patients without distinguishing between their identities and social labels.“I prefer genuine communication between hearts,” she stated.Ultimately, she found it increasingly difficult to tolerate the conventional work environment, which necessitated adherence to a rigid daily schedule.It took her two years to finally decide to resign.Liu sings part-time at a pub, dreaming of hosting a concert one day and adapting her journey into a film. Photo: yzwb.netLiu recognises that a PhD can lead to a respectable job and a good salary, but she realised that this was not the life she desired.After resigning, she first travelled, then sold breakfast and sang at a pub. During this time, she connected with a diverse group of friends who operate restaurants, pubs, and food stalls – jobs often deemed less glamorous. However, Liu found in them an “optimism, resilience, and chill” that were rare in her previous life.She learned from their experiences and embraced a free-spirited life as a part-time worker, without planning her next day or calculating monthly earnings.Liu continues to practise her profession part-time as a therapist. She expressed that the constraints she experienced at work, as well as her fears of exploring alternative lifestyles, are common among today’s youth.Now a part-time therapist, Liu noted that her former workplace constraints and her anxieties about pursuing alternative paths are common experiences for today’s youth. Photo: yzwb.netShe is deeply moved by the kindness shown by gig workers towards one another.“Delivery riders share traffic updates, and pub singers and stall owners look out for each other. In comparison to grades and competition, there are far more significant values, like care and support.”Liu’s parents, while proud of her credentials as a PhD graduate and doctor, are puzzled by her choices. However, they are gradually coming to terms with her decision after she explained that countless new experiences await her.She dreams of hosting a concert, turning her journey into a film, and having a small yard where her cat can play freely one day.Further Reading