百無一用文科生？大學選專業(yè)的六大誤區(qū)

Many colleges ask you to choose a major as early as your senior year of high school, on your admissions application. Yet there’s a good chance you’ll change your mind. The Education Department says that about 30 percent of students switch majors at least once.

不少大學會要求你在高中最后一年提交入學申請時，就早早選好專業(yè)。然而，你的想法很有可能會改變。教育部說，約有30%的學生至少會換一次專業(yè)。

Students get plenty of advice about picking a major. It turns out, though, that most of it is from family and friends, according to a September Gallup survey. Only 11 percent had sought guidance from a high school counselor, and 28 percent from a college adviser. And most didn’t think that the advice was especially helpful. Maybe it’s because much of the conventional thinking about majors is wrong.

學生們會得到大量關于選專業(yè)的建議。蓋洛普(Gallup)9月的一項調(diào)查顯示，大多數(shù)建議都來自于家人和朋友，僅有11%的學生會從高中顧問那里尋求指導，28%的人會從大學顧問那里尋求建議。而且，大多數(shù)人都不覺得這些建議特別有用。原因可能在于，許多關于專業(yè)的慣性思維都是錯誤的。

Myth 1: For the big money, STEM always delivers.

誤解一：STEM(Science, technology, engineering, mathematics，即科學、技術、工程、數(shù)學)總能讓你賺大錢。

It’s true that computer science and engineering top all the pay rankings, but salaries within specific majors vary greatly.

計算機科學和工程確實占據(jù)薪酬榜首，但具體專業(yè)內(nèi)的薪水差距還是很大的。

“Students and parents have a pretty good idea of what majors pay the most, but they have a poor sense of the magnitude of the differences within the major,” said Douglas A. Webber, an associate professor of economics at Temple University who studies earnings by academic field. He points to one example: The top quarter of earners who majored in English make more over their lifetimes than the bottom quarter of chemical engineers.

“學生和家長們很清楚哪種專業(yè)的薪水最高，但他們對這些專業(yè)內(nèi)部差異的程度沒什么概念，”天普大學(Temple University)研究學術界收入的經(jīng)濟學副教授道格拉斯·A·韋伯(Douglas A. Webber)說。他舉了一個例子：英語專業(yè)四分之一收入最高的人群一生中掙到的錢，要多于四分之一收入最低的化學工程師。

But what if you never make it to the top of the pay scale? Even English or history graduates who make just above the median lifetime earnings for their major do pretty well when compared to typical graduates in business or a STEM field.

但如果你拿不到最高的薪水呢?和一般畢業(yè)于商科和STEM領域的學生相比，就連那些終身收入水平僅高于其專業(yè)中等水平的英語或歷史系畢業(yè)生也算不錯的。

Take the median lifetime earnings of business majors, the most popular undergraduate degree. The typical graduate earns $2.86 million over a lifetime. When you put business graduates side by side with those who graduated with what are considered low-paying majors, you’ll see that those who are slightly above the median salary in their fields are not that far behind the business grads. For example, an English major in the 60th percentile makes $2.76 million in a lifetime, a major in psychology $2.57 million and a history major $2.64 million.

商科是最受歡迎的大學本科學位，拿該專業(yè)的中等終身收入水平來說，一般商科畢業(yè)生一輩子能掙286萬美元。當你把商科畢業(yè)生和那些人們眼中的低收入專業(yè)放在一起比較時，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)，那些在自己領域內(nèi)薪酬略微高于中等的人，和商科畢業(yè)生比起來掙得差不多。比如，收入位列第60百分位的英語專業(yè)學生一生能掙276萬美元，同樣排名的心理學專業(yè)學生能掙257萬美元，歷史專業(yè)學生則能掙264萬美元。

Myth 2: Women want to have it all.

誤解二：女性要掌控一切。

Women are now the clear majority on college campuses, making up 56 percent of students enrolled this fall. They are also more likely than men to graduate.

如今的大學校園里，女性明顯占大多數(shù)，構成今年秋季入學學生的56%。和男性相比，她們成功畢業(yè)的可能性也更大。

But when it comes to selecting a major, what women choose tends to segregate them into lower paying fields, such as education and social services, according to a report that Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce will publish later this year. Just look at some of the highest paying fields and the proportion of women who major in them: business economics (31 percent), chemical engineering (28 percent), computer science (20 percent), electrical engineering (10 percent), mechanical engineering (8 percent).

但喬治城大學教育與勞動力中心(Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce)一項將于今年晚些時候發(fā)表的報告顯示，在選專業(yè)時，女性往往會把自己局限在報酬較低的領域，比如教育和社會服務?？纯茨切┦杖胱罡叩念I域，以及女性學習這些專業(yè)中的比例，就可以說明問題：商業(yè)經(jīng)濟(31%)、化學工程(28%)、計算機科學(20%)、電氣工程(10%)、機械工程(8%)。

“Women can’t win even as they dominate at every level of higher education,” said Anthony P. Carnevale, director of the Georgetown center.

“就算在高等教育的每一個階段都占據(jù)優(yōu)勢，女性仍然無法贏過男性，”喬治城大學該中心主任安東尼·P·卡內(nèi)瓦萊(Anthony P. Carnevale)說。

Dr. Carnevale wouldn’t speculate as to why women make their choices. But he notes that if the proportion of women in fields where men dominate increased by just 10 percent, the gender pay gap would narrow considerably: from 78 cents paid to women for every dollar men receive to 90 cents for every dollar men receive.

卡內(nèi)瓦萊博士不愿就女性做出此類選擇的原因做出猜測。但他指出，在男性占優(yōu)勢的這些領域中，如果女性的比例能上升10%，性別薪資差距將大幅縮小：男性每得到1美元的報酬，女性所獲得的報酬將從78美分提高到90美分。

Myth 3: Choice of major matters more than choice of college.

誤解三：選專業(yè)比選學校更重要。

Not so. In seven states — Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington — students can search public databases for early earnings of graduates of institutions within the state. And those databases show that students who graduate from more selective schools tend to make more money. After all, the better the college, the better the professional network opportunities, through alumni, parents of classmates and eventually classmates themselves.

并非如此。在阿肯色、科羅拉多、明尼蘇達、田納西、德克薩斯、弗吉尼亞和華盛頓這七個州里，學生們可以在公開數(shù)據(jù)庫中搜索，查詢這些州各高校畢業(yè)生的早期收入。這些數(shù)據(jù)庫顯示，從挑選學生標準更為嚴格的學校畢業(yè)的學生會掙得更多。畢竟，大學越好，通過校友、同學父母，乃至最終通過同班同學得來的職業(yè)關系網(wǎng)絡就更佳。

These undergraduates are more able to pursue majors in lower paying fields because their networks help them land good jobs. Arts, humanities and social science majors are more prevalent on elite campuses than at second-tier colleges, where students tend to pick vocational majors like business, education and health. In all, more than half of students at less selective schools major in career-focused subjects; at elite schools, less than a quarter do, according to an analysis by the website FiveThirtyEight of the 78 “most selective schools” in Barron’s rankings, compared with 1,800 “less selective schools.”

這些大學生更有條件去選擇低收入領域的專業(yè)，因為他們的人脈能幫他們找到好工作。在精英大學里，藝術、人文和社會科學專業(yè)比在二線大學里更為普遍，二線大學的學生們往往會選擇商業(yè)、教育和衛(wèi)生等針對就業(yè)的專業(yè)?？偠灾?，根據(jù)FiveThirtyEight網(wǎng)站對《巴倫周刊》(Barron’s)排名的78所“最熱門學校”與1800所“不太熱門學校”的對比分析，在不太熱門的學校里，半數(shù)以上的學生選擇以事業(yè)為導向的專業(yè);而在精英學校里，不到四分之一的學生這樣做。

“Students at selective colleges are allowed to explore their intellectual curiosity as undergraduates because they will get their job training in graduate school or have access to a network that gets them top jobs, regardless of their undergraduate major,” Dr. Carnevale said.

“熱門大學的學生可以在本科期間探索自己的知識興趣，因為他們可以在研究生院獲得職業(yè)培訓，或者進入一個能讓他們獲得最高職位的關系網(wǎng)，不管他們的本科專業(yè)是什么，”卡內(nèi)瓦萊說。

They are also more likely to have two majors than students at second-tier colleges, who tend to be more financially needy and have to work, affording less time to double major.

與二線大學相比，精英大學的學生也更有可能學習兩個專業(yè)。二線大學的學生往往有更迫切的財務需求，他們必須工作，沒時間學習兩個專業(yè)。

One tip: Complementary majors with overlapping requirements are easier to juggle, but two unrelated majors probably yield bigger gains in the job market, said Richard N. Pitt, an associate professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University who has studied the rise of the double major. “It increases your breadth of knowledge,” he said.

一個小貼士：范德比爾特大學(Vanderbilt University)社會學副教授、曾研究雙學位的興起的理查德·N·皮特(Richard N. Pitt)表示，有重疊需求的互補專業(yè)更容易應付，但兩個不相關的專業(yè)很可能會讓你在就業(yè)市場上更受歡迎。“這能增加知識的廣度，”他說。

Myth 4: Liberal arts majors are unemployable.

誤解4：文科專業(yè)找不到工作。

The liberal arts is a favorite target of politicians, with the latest salvo coming from the governor of Kentucky, Matt Bevin. “If you’re studying interpretive dance, God bless you, but there’s not a lot of jobs right now in America looking for people with that as a skill set,” Governor Bevin said in a speech in September.

文科是政治人士最喜歡攻擊的一個目標，最近的攻擊來自肯塔基州長馬特·貝文(Matt Bevin)。“如果你學的是形意舞蹈，那么上帝保佑你，因為現(xiàn)在美國沒有很多雇主在尋找擁有這種技能的人，”貝文在9月份的一次演講中說。

Interpretive dance may not be in demand, but the competencies that liberal arts majors emphasize — writing, synthesis, problem solving — are sought after by employers. A 2017 study by David J. Deming, an associate professor of education and economics at Harvard, found jobs requiring both the so-called soft skills and thinking skills have seen the largest growth in employment and pay in the last three decades.

形意舞蹈的市場需求可能不大，但文科專業(yè)所注重的能力——寫作、綜合、解決問題——正是雇主們想要的。哈佛大學(Harvard)的教育與經(jīng)濟學副教授戴維·J·戴明(David J. Deming)2017年進行的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在過去30年里，需要所謂的軟技能和思考能力的工作，在就業(yè)和薪酬方面的增長幅度最大。

One knock on the liberal arts is that it’s difficult to find a first job. But a study by Burning Glass Technologies, a Boston-based company that analyzes job-market trends, concluded that if liberal arts graduates gain proficiency in one of eight technical skills, such as social media or data analysis, their prospects of landing entry-level jobs increase substantially.

文科的一個問題是很難找到第一份工作。不過，波士頓分析就業(yè)市場趨勢的Burning Glass科技公司進行的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，如果文科畢業(yè)生能熟練掌握社交媒體或數(shù)據(jù)分析等八項技術技能中的一項，那么他們獲得初級職位工作機會的幾率就會大幅增加。

The long-held belief by parents and students that liberal arts graduates are unemployable ignores the reality of the modern economy, where jobs require a mix of skills not easily packaged in a college major, said George Anders, author of “You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Education.” In his book, Mr. Anders profiles graduates with degrees in philosophy, sociology and linguistics in jobs as diverse as sales, finance and market research.

《你無所不能——“無用”的文科教育的驚人力量》(You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Education)一書的作者喬治·安德斯(George Anders)表示，長期以來，家長和學生們一直認為文科畢業(yè)生找不到工作，這種觀念忽視了現(xiàn)代經(jīng)濟的一個現(xiàn)實：現(xiàn)在的工作所需要的技能不是哪一個大學專業(yè)能夠輕松涵蓋的。安德斯在書中介紹了哲學、社會學和語言學等專業(yè)的畢業(yè)生所干的五花八門的工作，包括銷售、金融和市場研究。

“Once C.E.O.s see liberal arts graduates in action,” Mr. Anders said, “they come aboard to the idea that they need more of them.”

“一旦首席執(zhí)行官們看到文科畢業(yè)生有用，”安德斯說，“他們就會覺得自己需要更多此類人才。”

Myth 5: It’s important to choose a major early.

誤區(qū)5：盡早選擇專業(yè)很重要。

Why settle on a field of study before experiencing the smorgasbord college has to offer, be it study abroad, a club activity or a surprising elective?

為什么要鉆到一個領域里，而不是先體驗完大學提供的各式課程，比如出國學習、俱樂部活動，或者一門出人意料的選修課?

Of students who said they felt committed to their major when they arrived on campus, 20 percent had selected a new major by the end of their first year, according to a national survey by the University of California, Los Angeles.

加州大學洛杉磯分校(University of California, Los Angeles)的一項全國性調(diào)查顯示，在入校時認為自己不會換專業(yè)的學生中，20%的人在第一學年結束后選擇了一門新專業(yè)。

Changing majors can cost you a semester or two, especially if you switch to one unrelated to your first choice. To reduce that risk, several schools, including Arizona State University, Georgia State University and Lehman College in the Bronx, have created “meta-majors,” which group majors under a larger academic umbrella.

換專業(yè)可能會浪費你一兩個學期的時間，尤其是當你選的新專業(yè)與你第一次選的專業(yè)無關的話。為了降低這種風險，亞利桑那州立大學(Arizona State University)、佐治亞州立大學(Georgia State University)以及布朗克斯區(qū)的萊曼學院(Lehman College)等幾所大學創(chuàng)立了“元專業(yè)”(meta-majors)，也就是一個更大的學術門類下的數(shù)個專業(yè)組合。

“We have moved away from trying to get students to choose their majors as they enter,” said Timothy Renick, Georgia State’s vice provost and vice president for enrollment management and student success.

“我們已經(jīng)不再試圖讓學生們在入學時選專業(yè)，”佐治亞州立大學負責招生管理和學生成功的副教務長兼副校長蒂莫西·里尼克(Timothy Renick)說。

Instead, all incoming students choose from one of seven meta-majors, representing large academic and work force fields, such as business, education and STEM. First semester, students gather in learning communities and register for a block of general-education courses within that meta-major. Programming is designed so that students get to know the differences between majors within the field.

取而代之的是所有新生都從七個元專業(yè)中選擇一個專業(yè)，它們代表著更大的學術和工作領域，比如商業(yè)、教育和STEM。第一學期，學生們聚集在學習社區(qū)里，在這個元專業(yè)范圍內(nèi)選擇一組普遍教育課程。這樣的課程設計是為了讓學生們了解該領域不同專業(yè)之間的差異。

“Students in our business meta-major get to understand the difference between finance, accounting, management and marketing so they can choose their major from an informed perspective,” Dr. Renick said. They usually do by the end of their first year.

“商業(yè)元專業(yè)的學生可以了解金融、會計、管理和營銷的區(qū)別，這樣他們就可以在知情的前提下選擇自己的專業(yè)，”里尼克博士說。他們通常會在第一學年結束后選擇專業(yè)。

Myth 6: You need a major.

誤解6：你需要一個專業(yè)。

A handful of colleges, including Indiana University and the Evergreen State College, offer the option to ignore the official list of majors and design a course of study. Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor for The Times, designed his at Indiana — enigmatology.

印第安納大學(Indiana University)和州立埃弗格林學院(Evergreen State College)等大學允許學生無視正式的專業(yè)列表，設計自己的學習課程。時報的縱橫字謎編輯威爾·肖茨(Will Shortz)在印第安納大學設計了自己的課程——謎語學。

“Majors are artificial and restrictive,” said Christine Ortiz, a dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on leave to design a new nonprofit university that will have no majors, and also no lectures or classrooms.

“專業(yè)是人為設置的，具有限制性，”麻省理工學院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)的系主任克里斯汀·奧爾蒂斯(Christine Ortiz)說。她目前選擇暫時離職去設計一所新的非贏利大學，它將不設專業(yè)，也沒有課堂或教室。

“Majors result from the academic structure of the university, tied to the classic academic disciplines. There is no reason they need to be boxed up like that. They don’t take into account emerging fields that cross disciplines.”

“專業(yè)是從大學的學術架構中衍生出來的，與經(jīng)典學科相關聯(lián)。沒必要受這種束縛。它們沒有考慮到那些跨學科的新興領域。”

Majors tend to lag behind changes in the workplace. No wonder fewer than a third of college graduates work in jobs related to their majors. And picking one based on today’s in-demand jobs is risky, said Dr. Webber of Temple, especially if the occupation is threatened by automation.

專業(yè)往往滯后于職場的變化。難怪只有不到三分之一的大學畢業(yè)生從事的是與自己的專業(yè)相關的工作。天普大學的韋伯表示，根據(jù)當前的工作需求選專業(yè)是有風險的，尤其是如果這種職業(yè)受到自動化威脅的話。

“I would argue against majoring in accounting,” he said, “or anything that a computer can be programmed to do.”

“我反對主修會計，”他說，“以及任何可以通過電腦編程取代的學科。”