社會: 大學並不適合每個人

A person who compares the annual earnings of college and high school graduates would no doubt conclude that higher education is a good investment—the present value of the college earnings premium (the better part of $1 million) seemingly far outdistances college costs, yielding a high rate of return. But for many, attending college is unequivocally not the right decision on purely economic grounds.

如果比較一下大學畢業生和高中畢業生的收入水平，當然我們會發現高等教育是一項明智的投資，因爲大學所獲取的收入似乎遠遠超過學費。但是對很多人來說，如果單從經濟角度分析，上大學並非一個明智的選擇。

First of all, college graduates on average are smarter and have better work habits than high school graduates. Those who graduated from college were better students in high school, for example. Thus, at least a portion of the earnings premium associated with college has nothing to do with college per se, but rather with other traits.

第一，從平均水平來看，大學畢業生要比高中畢業生更聰慧，有更好的工作習慣，那些考入大學的人都是高中裏的尖子學生。所以，大學教育所帶來的額外收入當中，至少有一部分與大學本身無關，而是學生素質的問題。

Second, a goodly proportion (more than 40 percent) of those attending four-year colleges full-time fail to graduate, even within six years. At some colleges, the dropout rate is strikingly higher. While college students sometimes still gain marketable skills from partial attendance, others end up taking jobs that are often given to high school graduates, making little more money but having college debts and some lost earnings accrued while unsuccessfully pursing a degree.

第二，一大部分學生（超過40％）在四年全日制大學中沒能畢業，甚至延長到了年也無法畢業。有些高校中的退學率令人不敢相信。雖然有一些學生通過半日制學習也獲取了一些市場上需要的技能，但其他人只能獲得給高中畢業生預備的工作崗位。他們在沒有獲得學位，沒有掙到錢，又揹負了沉重的學費貸款。

Third, not everyone is average. A non-swimmer trying to cross a stream that on average is three feet deep might drown because part of the stream is seven feet in depth. The same kind of thing sometimes happens to college graduates too entranced by statistics on averages. Earnings vary considerably between the graduates of different schools, and within schools, earnings differ a great deal between majors. Accounting, computer science, and engineering majors, for example, almost always make more than those majoring in education, social work, or ethnic studies.

第三，平均數不說明問題。一個不會游泳的人在橫越一條平均水深3英尺的河流時有可能被淹死，因爲這條河流中有的地方水深達7英尺。用平均統計數據描述的大學畢業生也存在同樣的問題。不同高校畢業的學生收入水平也有很大的差別，即使在同一所學校中，不同專業畢業生的收入也有很大差距。例如，財務、計算機和工程專業的畢業生通常比教育、社會工作和倫理學專業的畢業生收入高。

Fourth, the number of new college graduates far exceeds the growth in the number of technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have gravitated. As a consequence, we have a new phenomenon: underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with much less education. We have, for example, more than 100, 000 janitors with college degrees, and 16, 000 degree-holding parking lot attendants.

第四，大學畢業生的數量遠遠超過技術、管理和專業等吸引高等教育人才的就業崗位的增長數量。所以我們發現：那些沒能找到好工作的大學畢業生，正在從事不需要高等教育人員的工作。在我們國家，現在有10萬持有大學學位的看門人，有16000名大學畢業生在作停車場管理員。

Does this mean no one should go to college? Of course not. First of all, college is more than training for a career, and many might benefit from the social and non-purely academic aspects of advanced schooling, even if the rate of return on college as a financial investment is low. Second, high school students with certain attributes are far less likely to drop out of school, and are likely to equal or excel the average statistics.

這是不是說所有人都不應當上大學呢？當然不是。首先，大學不僅僅是提供就業培訓的場所，人們還可以在大學中提升社交和其它非學術性的能力，即使從經濟角度來看，這些能力的回報率並不高。其次，優秀的大學生並不會輟學，他們的收入水平一般都會與平均數持平或者高。

Students who do well in high school and on college entrance exams are much more likely to graduate. Those going to private schools may pay more in tuition, but they also have lower dropout rates. Those majoring in some subjects, such as education or one of the humanities, can sometimes improve their job situation by double majoring or earning a minor in, say, economics.

在高中和大學入學考試中成績優秀的學生很多。進入私立學校的學生雖然支付了昂貴的學費，但退學的並不多。那些主修教育、人文學科的學生，還可以通過輔修其它專業，比如經濟學，來提升他們的就業前景。

As a general rule, I would say graduates in the top quarter of their class at a high-quality high school should go on to a four-year degree program, while those in the bottom quarter of their class at a high school with a mediocre educational reputation should not (opting instead for alternative methods of credentialing and training).

所以，在我看來，在高中排名前四分之一的學生應當就讀四年全日制大學，在普通高中排名位於後四分之一的學生應當選擇考慮其他。

Those in between should consider perhaps doing a two-year program and then transferring to a four-year school. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but it is important for us to keep in mind that college is not for everyone.

那些位於中間的學生或許可以考慮先讀一個兩年制的專業，然後轉到四年制大學。當然，總有例外，重要的是，我們要記住，不是所有人都適合上大學。