对即将从哈尔滨工业大学山东威海分校毕业、正在北京找工作的刘凯（音）和于敏来说，他们觉得自尊感正在一点点地丧失。

For Liu Kai and Yu Min, about to graduate from Harbin Institute of Technology's Weihai campus in Shandong Province and on a job-hunting trip in Beijing, the indignities are piling up.

比如，做为京外院校的学生，他们不能进入在北京一些大学内举办的校内招聘会。

For one, as students from outside Beijing, they aren't allowed into job fairs held on the campuses of some Beijing universities.

在他们参加的招聘会上，大多数职位要么是级别太低，有时只要高中学历即可，要么就是太高，需要求职者有多年工作经验。

At the job fairs they do attend, most jobs are either too low-level, sometimes just requiring a high-school diploma, or too advanced, geared for applicants with years of working experience.

但让他们“受伤”的主要原因却是薪酬问题。

But the main source of humiliation is the issue of pay.

对没有工作经验的求职者来说，销售岗位的基本月工资最低只有1,000元至1,500元（约为146至234美元）。

For applicants with no work experience, the base salary for a sales job is as little as 1,000 yuan to 1.500 yuan (around $146 to $234) a month.

刘凯说，我们对工资的期望值不高，只要能养活自己就可以了。

'We don't have high salary expectations as long as we can make a living on our own,' says Liu.

但每月1,000元够他们生活用吗？

But can they live on 1,000 yuan a month?

相比较而言，北京一位民工的月收入约为1,200元，而许多保姆的收入可以比这高出一倍。

To put it in perspective, a migrant worker in Beijing earns around 1,200 yuan a month, and many so-called ayis ─ or aunties, a term for housemaids can make twice that.

在住宿方面，的确，可能会在北京五环以外找到12平米的单间宿舍，每月大概350元。

As for accommodation, sure, it's possible to find a 12-square-meter single room beyond Beijing's Fifth Ring Road for 350 yuan a month

但根据房地产门户网站搜房网(Soufun.com)上的数据判断，一居室的租金很少有低于每月1,500元的。

but a 1-bedroom apartment rarely rents for less than 1,500 yuan a month, judging from listings at real-estate portal Soufun.com.

对天津市14所高校1,000多名毕业生的调查发现，9.8%的学生对首份工作的起薪预期低于1,000元，

A survey of more than 1,000 college graduates from 14 universities in Tianjin finds that 9.8% expect a first salary of below 1,000 yuan a month,

62%的人期望月工资在1,001-2,000元之间，没有一人的期望值在5,000元以上。

while 62% see a monthly pay in the 1,001- 2,000-yuan range, while not one expects a salary beyond 5,000 yuan (in Chinese here).

在招聘会上，于敏最终得到一个月基本工资1,000元的销售职位的面试机会。

At the job fairs, Yu finally lands an interview for a sales position with a monthly base pay of 1,000 yuan.

这份工作的一个好处是包括免费食宿。但在接到父母的电话后，他还是放弃了这个机会。

A plus is that food and dormitory-style accommodation are paid for. But he still passes on the chance after a phone call from his parents.

他说，我妈妈坚决反对我去这家公司的想法，她认为1,000元的工资根本不够我在北京生存。

'My mom strongly rejected my idea to go for this company, as she didn't think the 1,000 yuan salary was enough for me to survive on in Beijing,' he said.

于敏的母亲不想让孩子接受月薪低于3,000元的工作。

Yu's mother doesn't want him to accept anything for less than 3,000 yuan a month.

根据招聘会的招聘启事判断，这似乎是一个越来越不现实的目标。于敏说，目前我没看到有任何可能性。

Judging from the job-fair billboards, that seems an increasingly unrealistic goal. 'I don't see any possibility of that for now,' Yu says.

在号称北京硅谷的中关村的一个招聘会上，一家在网上出售化妆品的私企正在招聘电话销售，基本工资为每月1,500元。

At a job fair in Zhongguancun, nicknamed Beijing's Sillicon Valley, a privately owned company selling cosmetics online is hiring telemarketers, at a base salary of 1,500 yuan a month.

人力资源经理刘延松（音）说，今年我们的确看到很多大学生申请这种层次较低的工作。

'We indeed see a lot more college graduates applying for such comparatively low-level positions this year', said human-resources manager Liu Yansong.