Watching short videos for entertainment or study has become common in China, especially during the thriving online economy brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. But making a good short video is a complicated skill in itself, and Zhang Shixuan has been investigating and talking to some of people who are making a business of it.

Making a good short video requires knowledge of the subject, as well as training in video creation and editing. That's what the Shanghai-based short video studio, Ahead Four, boasts【拥有（引以为傲）】, with its more than 10 short video producers. Each of them hosts an account, and produces an offering two or three times a month. Keeping track of all that requires a mountain of work, and that's what 25-year-old Liu Ruobin does. She joined the studio 9 months ago after getting her master's degree from the University of Leeds, and her days are now full of recording and analyzing viewership data and comments, from both the studio's own video accounts and from other popular content creators.

Liu Ruobin, Operation Staff /// Ahead Four
（当初）投了不下于十个简历，都在短视频领域，内容运营、策划、文案。是因为我看到短视频正处在风口，我本身又有传媒背景，想抓住机遇。各种待遇还是很满意。
I applied for more than 10 jobs, all in the short video field - content, operations or planning, because I saw that the industry is beginning to thrive【兴盛】. And I studied media, and the income's not bad.

The studio now has 30 employees, two-thirds of them with a master's degree from prestigious【著名的】 universities like Columbia University and the University of Cambridge.

Robin Shaw, Co-founder /// Ahead Four
可供挑选的人才多了很多，明显发现很多人因为我们做过很多账号，有点名气，他们知道我们孵化了这些账号，就特别容易愿意加入我们。
There are an increasing number of qualified professionals on the job market. Many people have been following our accounts and they know that it was us that nurtured them, so they are interested in joining us.

Robin says his studio is still recruiting, and taking on five or six new employees a month.

For the past two years Shanghai Tech University has become aware of a significant increase in the number of graduates heading to【投身】the short video industry. One of the most important reasons is those high salaries.

Dr. Zhou Pingqiang, Assistant Dean /// School of Info. Sci-Tech, ShanghaiTech Univ.
本科生去这样的行业最高40多万，硕士70万，博士100万。
Our fresh graduates with a bachelor's degree entering the industry can make up to 400,000 yuan（over 60 thousand dollars）a year, and with a master's up to 700,000 yuan（over 100 thousand dollars）. Doctoral graduates, one million yuan（over 150 thousand dollars）.

Job-hunting site Liepin says the number of professionals in the short video industry grew 16% between 2019 and 2020, and the number of job openings jumped more than 67% during the same period.