经济学人双语版：毕业生的烦恼

经济学人双语版：毕业生的烦恼

Business

商业报道

Schumpeter Angst for the educated

毕业生的烦恼

A university degree no longer confers financial security

大学学位不再提供经济担保

MILLIONS of school-leavers in the rich world are about to bid a tearful goodbye to their parents and start a new life at university.

成千上万的毕业生着即将泪别父母开始大学生活。

Some are inspired by a pure love of learning.

他们中的有些是被纯粹的求知欲驱使。

But most also believe that spending three or four years at university—and accumulating huge debts in the process—will boost their chances of landing a

well-paid and secure job.

但是更多人相信读三四年大学将会有助于他们觅得高收入、稳定的工作。与此同时，求学期间会大量负债。

Their elders have always told them that education is the best way to equip themselves to thrive in a globalised world.

他们的学长总是告诉他们：接受教育是使自己在全球化的世界里立于不败之地的最好办法。

Blue-collar workers will see their jobs offshored and automated, the familiar argument goes.

蓝领工人将会看到他们的岗位被迁移海外以及被自动化代替，类似的论点层出不穷。

School dropouts will have to cope with a life of cash-strapped insecurity.

辍学者将要过着经济困难的不安定生活。

But the graduate elite will have the world at its feet.

但是毕业生中的佼佼者掌握着主动。

There is some evidence to support this view.

一些证据支持着这种看法。

A recent study from Georgetown University's Centre on Education and the Workforce argues that obtaining a post-secondary credential is almost always worth it.

乔治敦大学教育和劳动力中心最近的一项研究表明获得高等教育证明总是物有所值。

Educational qualifications are tightly correlated with earnings:

学历与薪酬紧密的联系在一起：

an American with a professional degree can expect to pocket $3.6m over a lifetime; 在美国，获得专业学位的劳工职业生涯总预期薪酬为360万；

one with merely a high-school diploma can expect only $1.3m.

仅获得高中文凭的劳工职业生涯的总预期薪酬为130万。

The gap between more- and less-educated earners may be widening.

这种收入差距还在加大。

A study in 2002 found that someone with a bachelor's degree could expect to earn 75% more over a lifetime than someone with only a high-school diploma. Today the premium is even higher.

2002年的一项关于劳工职业生涯中获得的总薪酬研究表明：获得学士学位的将比获得高中学历高出75%。如今，奖金甚至更高。

But is the past a reliable guide to the future?

但是能照搬经验吗？

Or are we at the beginning of a new phase in the relationship between jobs and education?

亦或说我们处于职业与学历关系的新阶段吗？

There are good reasons for thinking that old patterns are about to change—and that the current recession-driven downturn in the demand for Western graduates will morph into something structural.

有充足的理由让人们相信旧模式即将改变：现今经济不景气导致的对西方毕业生需求的减少将会演变为结构之变。

The gale of creative destruction that has shaken so many blue-collar workers over the past few decades is beginning to shake the cognitive elite as well.

过去数十年来，创造性毁灭之潮使得众多蓝领为之烦恼，如今，它开始开始席卷认知精英界。

The supply of university graduates is increasing rapidly.

毕业生数量逐年递增。

The Chronicle of Higher Education calculates that between 1990 and 2007 the number of students going to university increased by 22% in North America, 74% in Europe, 144% in Latin America and 203% in Asia.

高等教育年鉴估计1990至2007的接受大学教育的人数中：北美增加了22%，欧洲增加了74%，拉丁美洲增加了144%，亚洲增加了203%。

In 2007 150m people attended university around the world, including 70m in Asia. 2007年世界范围内1.5亿人接受大学教育，其中亚洲有7000万。

Emerging economies—especially China—are pouring resources into building universities that can compete with the elite of America and Europe.

新兴经济体正的塔形土木建设与欧美高等学府想抗衡的高校的热潮正方兴未艾，中国尤甚。

They are also producing professional-services firms such as Tata Consulting Services and Infosys that take fresh graduates and turn them into world-class computer programmers and consultants.

他们同时也是诸如塔塔咨询、infosys等专业服务公司的缔造者。大学毕业生在此类公司里完成了化蝶蜕变。

The best and the brightest of the rich world must increasingly compete with the best and the brightest from poorer countries who are willing to work harder for less money.

发达国家最优秀最聪明的毕业生必须逐渐与不发达国家的卖力工作、薪酬低廉的毕业生竞争。