Registration for the annual central government employee exam, which begins Monday, is expected to attract some 2 million applicants who will vie for up to 20,839 jobs, the most in recent years.
The exam, which is set for November 25, is the only way to be hired for a job with the central government and its agencies.
This year the job descriptions for available grassroots positions provide much more detail clarifying the rigorous nature of the work that successful candidates are expected to endure.
"Revealing the hard condition will debunk the traditional notion that government employees have higher social status, a stable home life and fixed working hours," Chu Zhaohui, professor at the National Institute of Education Sciences, told the Global Times.
The descriptions provide a more honest description of the nature of the work which is far from glamorous, say experts.
"It's a positive move to make public detailed job descriptions," said Chu, adding that greater transparency will help candidates have a clearer view of what is expected of them.
More than half of the positions require frequent business travel and work outdoors, the Nanjing-based Yangtze Evening Post reported.
According to a survey of college graduates, 60 percent of 2011 grads who work in government said they feel happy, the highest among all types of jobs, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Chu also noted that the clearer job descriptions may scare away many candidates.
However, Yuan Dong, head of the Beijing School of the Huatu Education Group, a Chinese education company specializing in the national civil service exam, disagreed.
"Hard conditions are not the most important factor affecting a candidate's choice. Term limits on jobs matter more," Yuan said.
"A new policy that prevents successful applicants during the past two years from taking the exam this year in the hope of obtaining a better position," added Yuan.
"The new two-year limit will hinder many candidates," said Yuan, adding that working for the government is still considered a decent job.
The central government employee exam, involving an administrative proficiency test of more than 100 multiple choice questions and a writing test, lasts a day.
