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Man, 39, with PhD from NTU, did food delivery in S'pore & apparently went back to China to do it
He identified himself as a Singapore permanent resident.
A man from China, who graduated with a PhD degree from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), became a food delivery rider with GrabFood in 2023.
This was apparently after he was unable to secure a suitable job.
The following year, the man, named Ding Yuanzhao, shared in a WeChat article that he had become a full-time food delivery rider with foodpanda Singapore.
While Ding, now 39, did not make any further announcements about his current vocation, his latest videos on his WeChat channel, as of June 2025, indicated that he had become a food delivery rider in China's Fujian province.
Previously, in July 2024, he had identifiedhimself as a Singapore permanent resident (PR) and stated that he was looking for a research or teaching position in Singapore.
In Singapore, the food delivery vocation is open to Singaporeans and permanent residents.
Credentials
According to Ding's LinkedIn page, he has attended various renowned institutions around the world, in addition to NTU.In 2008, Ding obtained his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and industrial biological engineering from Tsinghua University, one of China's most prestigious institutions.
He then pursued a master's degree in energy and resource engineering from Peking University, which is another elite institute in China, before earning his PhD degree in environmental microbiology at NTU in 2017.
In 2020, Ding obtained a second master's degree in diversity, conservation, and management from the University of Oxford.
According to his professional experience credentials, Ding worked as a researcher at NTU from 2017 to 2018 and from 2020 to 2021.
His last job was serving as a research fellow at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he apparently worked on novel semiconductor chips.
Why do food delivery?
According to a WeChat article penned by Ding in July 2023, he decided to become a GrabFood delivery rider because he could get paid daily, allowing him to cover his living expenses in Singapore while searching for a new job.However, he did not elaborate on how he ended up not employed in any other roles he was hoping to take up.
While Ding said the job of a food delivery rider was "backbreaking" and that it was not easy to make 20 deliveries a day, he was happy that he could make S$110.10 by the end of the day.
He further claimed that, with the extra incentives every week, his income could rise to S$128.10 per day.
To prove his story, Ding had also uploaded a screenshot of his earnings and a photo of him in a GrabFood delivery rider uniform.
Other perks
Besides monetary gains, Ding contended that making food deliveries also allowed riders to exercise outdoors and live a healthier lifestyle.He even invited his followers to try making food deliveries, reassuring them that the language barrier were not an issue and that all they needed to do to become a rider was to register through the app, complete the relevant training, and pass a test.
"My English was a bit bad, and I often giggle during conversations. 'OK', 'Thank you', 'Arrived'. As long as you know these three common phrases, you are good," added Ding.
Became full-time food deliver rider
In another WeChat article published in April 2024, Ding shared that he had now become a full-time delivery rider at foodpanda with no other sources of income.
Using his earnings on Apr. 21, 2024 as an example, Ding said he earned S$254.05 by the end of the day after making 21 deliveries in around 10 hours.
According to a screenshot of his earnings breakdown, the income comprised delivery fees, tips, and other incentives.
However, Ding cautioned that the amount could fluctuate throughout the week and that delivery riders should expect to earn an average of S$50 to S$100 per day.
In the article, Ding also responded to a follower's question, asking why he did not become a tutor, which could have paid him better.
Ding said that it was because he was a relatively shy person who was too embarrassed to look out for potential clients.
In June 2025, Ding was also featured by Hong Kong media HK01 after he told Chinese students taking the college entrance exam not to stress too much over it, as they would end up in similar jobs eventually.
Top images via 丁远昭爱留学/WeChat
