[摘要]最近，一項新的調查研究顯示，美國薪酬最高的10大本科專業中，有9個均屬于工程技術類，它們分別是：石油、冶金、采礦與礦物、化工、電力、航空航天、機械、計算機、地質或地球物理專業。

一項最新研究顯示，美國薪酬最高的10大本科專業中，有9個均屬于工程類，分別是：石油、冶金、采礦與礦物、化工、電力、航空航天、機械、計算機、地質或地球物理專業。

People pick a college major for all kinds of reasons, of course, some of which have little or nothing to do with money. Even so, and especially now that record numbers of graduates enter the workforce carrying a heavy load of debt, about 80% of college students choose a major based at least in part on how well the resulting career will pay, says a newstudy from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

選擇大學專業時，每個人都有自己的理由，當然有一些理由與金錢關系不大，甚至沒有關系。喬治城大學教育與勞動力研究中心的一項最新研究顯示，即便如此，鑒于參加工作時背負沉重債務的學生人數已創下歷史記錄，近80%的大學生在選擇專業時，至少會在一定程度上考慮相關職業的收入前景。

No wonder, then, that business and STEM majors, both of which lead to relatively high salaries, are the most common. Accounting for 46% of all new grads, the two fields pay, on average, at least $37,000 at the entry level and an average salary of $65,000 over the course of a career, often reaching a median of $100,000 or more during someone’s peak earning years.

所以，能夠獲得較高收入的商業類和STEM專業（即科學、技術、工程與數學）成為熱門也就不足為奇。46%的新畢業生就讀于這兩類專業。這兩個領域的入門級平均年薪至少達到37,000美元，整個職業生涯的平均年薪可達到65,000美元，職業巔峰階段的平均收入可達到100,000美元甚至更高。

Any bachelor’s degree confers an edge. College graduates earn, on average, $1 million more over their lifetimes than people with only a high school diploma. But “all degrees are not created equal,” notes Anthony P. Carnevale, director of the Center and lead author of the study. “Your major has a large effect on your ability to get a job and work your way up.”

學士學位能夠帶來優勢。大學畢業生整個職業生涯的平均收入，比僅有高中學歷的人要多出100萬美元。研究中心主任及該項研究的主要負責人安東尼•P•卡內瓦萊表示：“但并非所有專業都是平等的。你的專業對于未來的就業能力和發展前景，有著巨大的影響。”

In all, the report analyzed lifetime earnings for 137 majors. Of the 10 undergraduate degrees that pay the most, only one — pharmacy and pharmaceutical science (median salary: $113,000) — is not in engineering. The rest are in nine engineering fields: petroleum ($136,000); metallurgical ($98,000); mining and mineral ($96,000); chemical ($96,000); electrical ($93,000); aerospace ($90,000); mechanical ($87,000); computer ($87,000); and geological or geophysical ($87,000).

該份報告共分析了137個專業的職業生涯總收入。在薪酬最高的10大本科專業中，僅有一個專業——藥劑學與制藥學（平均收入113,000美元）——不屬于工程類。其他9個專業均為工程類：石油( 136,000美元 )、冶金( 98,000美元 )；采礦與礦物( 96,000美元 )；化工( 96,000美元 )；電力( 93,000美元 )；航空航天( 90,000美)、機械( 87,000美元 )；計算機( 87,000美元 )和地質或地球物理( 87,000美元 )。

The worst-paying fields are in the arts, education, and community service (even with a graduate degree). Early-childhood education, at an average salary of $39,000 in mid-career, pays the least. To illustrate the difference, the researchers calculated that a petroleum engineer is likely to earn $3.4 million more, over the course of his or her working life, than a kindergarten teacher.

收入最低的領域為藝術、教育和社區服務（即便獲得研究生學位）。早期幼兒教育在職業中期的平均收入為39,000美元，排在最末。為了說明這一差距，研究人員計算得出一名石油工程師職業生涯中的收入，要比一名幼師多出340萬美元。

But, when it comes to deciding how to spend a lifetime, money clearly isn’t everything. Besides how well they pay, the Georgetown study also looked at the popularity of all 137 fields, and found some interesting disconnects. Elementary education, for instance, makes the Top 10 in popularity, despite topping out at a relatively modest $43,000 in median pay. Psychology rates fifth in popularity despite its low rank in salary (No. 112 out of 137). Dead last in the popularity contest: geological and geophysical engineering and metallurgical engineering, despite ranking No. 10 and No. 3 in lifetime earnings.

但在決定如何度過一生時，金錢顯然不是一切。除了薪酬，喬治城大學還研究了137個專業領域的受歡迎程度，并發現了一些有趣的斷裂現象。例如，基礎教育的平均收入僅有相對一般的43,000美元，但其受歡迎程度卻排在前十位。心理學專業的受歡迎程度排在第5位，但其收入排名卻較低（137個專業中排名第112位）。人氣競賽中墊底的專業是地質與地球物理工程和冶金工程，雖然這兩個專業的職業生涯收入分別排在第10位和第3位。

Want to major in theater arts or English literature? The odds of ever making six figures with a bachelor’s in the humanities may be against you, but Carnevale says a close reading of the numbers could support your choice anyway. Important as it is, a college major “isn’t destiny,” he observes, adding that the research shows that “the top 25% of humanities and liberal arts graduates earn more than the bottom 25%” of people who major in some kind of engineering.

想學習戲劇藝術或英國文學?這兩個人文科學專業的本科學歷，很難給你帶來六位數的收入。但卡內瓦萊表示，仔細研究這些數字可以為你的選擇提供支持。但他表示，雖然大學專業很重要，但它并不能“決定命運”。有研究顯示“人文專業前25%的研究生，其收入超過了某些工程類專業后25%的學生。”

外語

[發布者：yezi]

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