调查：工程学和化学专业就业最佳

Students wishing to safeguard their careers against changes in the job market should opt for science rather than arts degrees, according to a survey of undergraduates.

一项对本科生的调查显示，希望降低就业风险的学生最好选择读理科专业而非文科专业。

Engineering and chemistry were considered to be the most ‘future proof’, as they are courses most likely to lead to an enduring and adaptable career.

工程学和化学专业的学生最有可能找到一份稳定又容易适应的职业，这两种专业被认为是未来就业的最佳保证。

Students polled by a college were broadly optimistic that their chosen courses would prepare them for a world in which the job market could change dramatically during their working lives.

这项由皮尔森学院（Pearson College）展开的调查显示，大多数受访学生对自己的专业持乐观态度，认为能顺应未来变幻莫测的人才市场。

But opinion was sharply divided over which degrees were best for future-proof careers.

但哪些专业才是未来职业生涯的最佳保证？学生各有观点。

Eighty-two per cent of respondents believed engineering would help develop future-proof skills, with 74 per cent believing the same of chemistry and 73 per cent of computer science.

82%的受访者相信工程学专业有助于培养能抵御未来就业市场变化的“万金油”技能，74%和73%的受访者分别认为化学专业和计算机科学专业可以培养出“万金油”技能。

But just 33 per cent of undergraduates believed history would lead to a future-proof career, and 40 per cent English.

只有33%的大学生相信历史专业能保证未来就业，而40%的大学生选择英语专业。

However more than two thirds of students - 67 per cent - thought the world of work would be significantly different or completely unrecognisable in 20 years.

另外，67%（超过三分之二）的学生认为20年后全球的工作环境将发生翻天覆地的变化。

The findings, published today, come after Education Secretary Nicky Morgan sparked controversy with claims that teenagers should steer clear of the arts and humanities and opt for science or maths subjects if they want to access the widest range of jobs.

这项调查结果发布不久前，英国教育部长尼基·摩根（Nicky Morgan）在2017年11月发表言论称，青少年如果未来想增加就业受聘机会，那么应该避开艺术和人文专业而选择科学或数学专业。这一言论引发诸多争议。

She said that in previous decades students would only take maths or science if they wanted to pursue a specific career such as medicine or pharmacy, but nowadays that ‘couldn’t be further from the truth’.

她说，在过去几十年，只有想从事像医学或药剂学这种特定的职业的学生才会去选择数学或科学专业，现如今这种想法已经“严重和现实脱节”。

‘If you wanted to do something different, or even if you didn’t know what you wanted to do…then the arts and humanities were what you chose. Because they were useful – we were told – for all kinds of jobs. Of course now we know that couldn’t be further from the truth, that the subjects that keep young people’s options open and unlock doors to all sorts of careers are the STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects.’

“如果你想做点其他的工作，或者还不知道自己想做什么，那么你就会去选艺术或人文学科，因为大家都说它们很有用——行行都受用。但现在我们知道，这种说法根本不符合事实：能灵活选择未来职业、行行都吃香的专业变成自然科学、技术、工程学、数学等理工专业。”

She also described maths as ‘the subject that employers value most’ and said that pupils who study A-level maths will earn 10 per cent more over their lifetime.

她同时也认为数学是“雇主最看重的专业”。学生如果通过高深级（英国中等教育高级水平课程）数学考试，一辈子能多挣10%的薪水。

‘These figures show us that too many young people are making choices aged 15 which will hold them back for the rest of their lives,’ she said.

“这些数字告诉我们，有太多年轻人在15岁就做出了会阻碍自己一生发展的决定。”

However the remarks prompted an outcry among supporters of the arts and humanities, with critics maintaining that creative subjects were vital to Britain’s economy.

然而，这些言论引发了支持人文艺术学科的人们的强烈抗议，他们认为创作类型的专业对英国经济有着举重轻重的作用。

Later in the month, it emerged that a leading investment bank was aiming to hire a new generation of arts graduates because it blames ‘linear thinking’ mathematicians and economists for elements of the financial crisis. Royal Bank of Scotland launched a recruitment drive on campuses targeting humanities students to bring greater ‘diversity’ to its workforce.

摩根的言论发出后不久，苏格兰皇家银行（Royal Bank of Scotland）就推出了针对人文专业的校园招聘会，聘用了一批新时代的艺术毕业生，力求为银行注入更多元化的血液。银行表示，数学家和经济学家对金融危机的分析都采用“线性思维”。

Outlining the move, Tim Skeet, managing director of RBS capital markets, said: ‘We still need the mathematicians and economists, we still need those disciplines but what we need to do is leaven it, we need an input from people who have left-field, blue-sky creative thinking, who can bring the ability to ask the tough questions. If going through this crisis we had had a few more people who could have said - look, explain that to me in plain English...I think we might have avoided some of the problems.’

苏格兰皇家银行资本市场部总经理蒂姆·斯基特（Tim Skeet）说：“我们仍需要数学家和经济学家以及这些学科的专业知识，但我们现在还缺少一种‘催化剂’，即可以发出尖锐问题的创意人才。如果在经历这次金融危机之后公司有更多的人可以化繁为简地向我表述危机问题，我觉得我们就有可能避免部分问题。”

The poll of undergraduates, which questioned 1,000 students on the outlook for the jobs market, was commissioned by Pearson College, billed as the first institution run by an FTSE 100 company to offer degrees in the UK.

此次由英国皮尔森学院负责的就职业前景调查收集了1000名大学生的信息。该学院是第一家由英国富时100（FTSE 100）上市公司设立的学院，有颁发学位证书许可权。

As well as variations across subjects, men were notably more confident than women about their prospects, with 78 per cent saying their degrees would prepare them for future jobs, against 67 per cent of women.

除专业差异外还存在性别差异：男性明显比女性对职业前景更自信，78%的男大学生认为自己的学位可以为未来的就职添砖加瓦，而这么认为的女大学生则只有67%。

Roxanne Stockwell, principal of Pearson College, said: ‘Undergraduates in the UK know they face a rapidly changing world – but they are confident that their studies will prepare them for the challenges ahead.

皮尔森大学校长罗克珊·斯托克韦尔（Roxanne Stockwell）说：“英国的大学生们都知道他们面对着一个瞬息万变的世界，同时也相信自己所学的知识会为未来的就业铺好道路。对于所有正在圣诞假期期间准备大学期末考试和申请大学的学生来说，这都是非常正面的信息。

'That’s an incredibly positive message to all those students who are spending the festive season revising for exams and finishing university applications.

“申请大学的学生们选专业时要精明一点，确保自己所选的专业能培养出适应时代快速发展的心态和能力。”