The only thing growing faster than the sticker price on a college education may be the debate around the value of one -- particularly if a student majors in something with no obvious pathway to a decent job.

在关于大学教育的问题上，比学费升温还快的唯一东西也许就是围绕一个人的价值而展开的辩论了――尤其是在一个学生所学的专业没有明显的途径可以提供一份体面工作的情况下。

In January, President Barack Obama inadvertently caused a bit of an uproar when he questioned the value of a degree in art history while he was talking about better aligning job-training programs with employer needs. Mr. Obama later sent a handwritten apology note to a University of Texas art historian who took offense at the remark.

一月份，巴拉克・奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统在谈论将职业培训计划更好地与雇主需求结合这一话题时，他对艺术史学位价值的质疑不经意引起了一片哗然。奥巴马后来亲笔写了一封致歉信，送交给得克萨斯大学(University of Texas)一名对其言辞表示强烈不满的艺术史学家。

Apologies aside, the question of what a student should major in and what sort of return on investment it can generate is becoming an increasingly important question, as families struggle to pay for school and graduates shoulder growing college debt. The Journal asked three experts to take part in a virtual roundtable and weigh in on the importance of selecting a major to making a living -- and having a life.

且抛开道歉一事不谈，就在家庭勉力支付学费、毕业生背负着越来越沉重的大学债务之时，学生应该学习什么专业以及该专业能产生什么样的投资回报已经成为一个越来越重要的问题。《华尔街日报》邀请三名专家参加了一个虚拟圆桌会议，讨论专业的选择对于谋生――以及充实地生活――的重要性。

Around our virtual table is Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities; Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce; and Jason Tyszko, senior director, policy, education and workforce, for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

在我们的虚拟圆桌旁就坐的是美国大专院校协会(the Association of American Colleges and Universities)的主席卡罗尔・吉尔里・施耐德(Carol Geary Schneider)、乔治敦大学(Georgetown University)教育与就业研究中心主任安东尼・卡内瓦莱(Anthony Carnevale)以及美国商会(U.S. Chamber of Commerce)负责政策、教育和就业的高级主管贾森・蒂什科(Jason Tyszko)。

Here are edited excerpts of their conversation.

以下是经过编辑的他们三人谈话的节选。

WSJ: President Schneider, would you advise a college student to pick their college major based on future salary?

《华尔街日报》：施耐德主席，你会建议大学生根据未来的薪酬水平去选择他们的专业吗？

MS. SCHNEIDER: I would advise a college-bound student not to assume that any specific major is the key to either career or life success. It takes much more than a major to get a great education. Rather, students should look for a college or university that has organized its educational program -- curriculum and co-curriculum alike -- to help students build big-picture knowledge of the world around them; develop high-level skills they will need for careers, civil society and their own lives; acquire real-world practice and experience; and above all, to find their own sense of purpose and vocation in the largest sense of that term.

施耐德：我要奉劝即将步入大学的学生不要把任何特定的专业当成是人生或事业成功的关键。获得优质的教育所需的远不止专业这一个因素。更确切地说，学生应该寻找的是一所安排好教学计划――包括课程和联合课程――的学院或大学，帮助学生构建关于他们周围世界的宏观知识；培养今后的职业、民间社会及他们自身生活所需的高级技能；学习现实世界的实践和经验；最重要的是，在最大程度上找到自己的明确目标和使命感。

With all that said, every student also needs practical guidance in connecting their studies with career choices and in knowing the range of likely salaries for possible careers. It's not so much choosing a major, as thinking through your possible career choices and pathways. Majors themselves are a small part of the college equation!

说一千道一万，每个学生在把学习与职业选择相结合方面以及了解可能从事的职业的大致薪酬范围方面还需要实用的指导。与彻底想清楚你可能做的职业选择和道路相比，选择一个专业算不了什么。专业本身只是大学这个综合体中很小的一部分！

MR. TYSZKO: Students and families in today's economy fully understand that accessing postsecondary education or training is critical to their economic future (historic levels of access attest to that), but failure to question and assess the value proposition of a college and major is no longer tenable for middle-class and low-income families. Assessing the return on investment of colleges and majors has never been more important to the growth of our economy and the economic well-being of our graduates.

蒂什科：在如今的经济形势下，学生及他们的家人都充分意识到，获得高等教育或培训对于他们的经济前途至关重要（历史数据说明了这一点），可是对一所大学和一个专业的价值定位不予探讨和评估对于中产阶级和低收入家庭来说都是不合理的。如今评估大学和专业的投资回报对于我们的经济增长和大学毕业生的经济利益来说是前所未有地重要。

MS. SCHNEIDER: I completely agree with Jason that colleges, universities and community colleges need to be far more specific with prospective and current students about how they prepare students for the job search and for career success. Where I disagree is with the notion that the major is the only piece of career preparation that matters. I've heard students say: 'If I just do well in my major, I'll be ready for my career.' We need to help them see that it takes more than a major to prepare even for careers, much less for the whole of one's life.

施耐德：我完全同意贾森的这种看法，学院、综合性大学和社区学院需要向当前和未来的学生提供详尽程度远甚于今的信息，让其清楚大学会如何让学生为求职和事业成功做好准备。我所不赞同的是认为专业是职业准备中唯一重要的因素这种观点。我听到过有学生这样说：“我只要把专业课学好了，我的职业生涯就万事俱备了。”我们需要帮助他们领会到，即便只为职业生涯做准备，所需的也不仅仅只是专业知识，更别提要为整个人生做准备了。

MR. CARNEVALE: As the economic value of education increases, we will need to remember that education, especially higher education, is about more than dollars and cents. It should do more than provide foot soldiers for the American economy. Educators in both secondary and postsecondary institutions have cultural and political missions to ensure that there is an educated citizenry that can continue to defend and promote our democratic ideals. Moreover, educational institutions need to be preserved as safe havens free from both political and economic power.

卡内瓦莱：随着教育经济价值的增加，我们要记住，教育，尤其是高等教育，不仅仅是事关财富收入的东西。它不应该仅限于为美国经济提供步兵。中等和高等教育机构的教育工作者都肩负着文化和政治上的使命，要保证有那么一代公民能够继续捍卫和发扬我们的民主理想。此外，教育机构需要继续被人当成免受政治和经济势力影响的避风港。

If commodification means investing in narrow job training, it's just bad economics. General occupational competencies like problem solving and critical thinking are the patient capital in most occupations nowadays. They enable and leaven further learning in applied contexts.

如果商业化意味着对狭隘的就业培训进行投资，那只能算是糟糕透顶的经济学。像解决问题和批判性思维这样的通用职业能力如今在大多数职业领域都是耐心资本，它们使人能够在应用环境中进一步学习并发挥潜移默化的影响。

But, if secondary and postsecondary educators cannot fulfill their economic mission to help youths and adults become successful workers, they also will fail in their cultural and political missions to create good neighbors and good citizens. And increasing the economic relevance of education should, if done properly, extend the educators ability to empower Americans to do work on the world, rather than retreat from it.

然而，中等和高等教育机构的教育工作者如果不能完成帮助青年及成年人成为成功就业人员的经济使命，他们塑造好邻居、好公民的文化、政治使命也会功败垂成。如果措施得当，增加教育的经济相关性应该能够扩展教育工作者的能力，使其能够让美国人为这个世界做出实实在在的工作，而不是退避三舍。

WSJ: Governors around the country are discussing incentives for courses of study. Is that wise or is this tantamount to the commodification of the academy?

《华尔街日报》：全国各地的州长正在讨论各门课程的激励机制问题。这样做明智吗？这是否已经无异于高等教育的商业化了呢？

MS. SCHNEIDER: Incentivizing routes to specific fields is very challenging indeed -- especially given the volatility in the economy. Hot fields come and go, but careers are life choices, not stock picks. We certainly need more scientists and engineers, but we also need college graduates who are willing to work in important fields (like education or social work) that don't pay as well, but also may be highly rewarding.

施耐德：人为激励学生选择某一特定专业领域的做法实际上非常具有挑战性――尤其是考虑到经济的波动性特征。热门专业变化无常，而职业生涯的选择则是贯穿终生的，不是挑选股票。我们当然需要更多的科学家和工程师，但我们也需要乐意在收入没那么好、回报却可能很高的重要领域（比如教育或社会服务）工作的大学毕业生。

MR. TYSZKO: Nobody denies that the diversity of colleges and majors benefits individuals and society in many ways; however, students and families are taking on significant debt in order to get the skills needed to access a career in a struggling economy.

蒂什科：没有人否认大学和专业的多样化会让个人和社会在多方面受益。然而，为了在经济不景气时期获得步入职业生涯所需的技能，学生及其家人现在正承受着沉重的债务负担。

Whether from the perspective of a student as a customer, the federal government as a lender or state government and taxpayers as investors, higher education must be more transparent in its value proposition to both the communities it serves and to the broader economy. Students need to be able to assess if their intended college and/or major will achieve the kind of access and results in the marketplace that it claims.

无论从作为消费者的学生、作为债权人的联邦政府还是作为投资者的州政府和纳税人的角度来看，高等教育都必须更加明确地向它服务的社区和范围更大的经济领域表明自己的价值主张。学生需要能够评估他们想上的大学以及/或者想学的专业是否会实现它所声称的那种进入人才市场的途径和结果。

WSJ: So, if you were a guidance counselor advising students, how would you help them weigh the relative importance of an economic payoff or self-enrichment when choosing a major? And would you advise students take advantage of some of the inexpensive and disruptive technologies entering the marketplace like Massive Open Online Courses that can save them money on the way to a degree?

《华尔街日报》：那么，假如你是一名给学生提供咨询的指导顾问，你会如何帮助他们在选择专业的时候权衡经济回报或自我修养的相对重要性？你是否会建议学生利用诸如大型开放式网络课程(Massive Open Online Courses)这样一些已进入市场的低成本颠覆性技术，这样他们在攻读学位的过程中可以省钱？

MR. TYSZKO: As a guidance counselor, I would begin by understanding the student's long-term goals. From there, I would work with them to lay out a personalized academic and career plan to make their goals a reality.

蒂什科：身为指导顾问，我首先要弄清学生的长远目标是什么，然后，我会和他们一起合作，制定个性化的学习和职业规划，将他们的目标变为现实。

This plan, however, needs to be grounded in reality. For example, will your major and career choice allow you to meet your family obligations? Will the ratio of your earnings to debt be something you can manage? Will your major selection make you competitive in your career search? Unfortunately, without greater data transparency, these conversations are unlikely to happen. Students today need to be savvy consumers and should be looking for the cheapest, fastest, high-quality programs that demonstrate the best performance. This can involve a combination of traditional higher education courses with innovations like MOOCs which can achieve the same or better quality at a fraction of the price and with greater flexibility.

然而，这项规划需要以现实为基础。比如，你的专业和职业选择是否允许你履行你的家庭责任？你的收入债务比率是否在你掌控的范围内？你选择的专业在你求职时是否让你具备竞争力？不幸的是，在没有更大数据透明度的前提下，这些谈话是不太可能开展的。今天的学生需要成为精明的消费者，应该寻找最廉价、最快捷、表现最佳的高质量专业培训项目。这样的项目可能需要将传统的高等教育课程和大型开放式网络课程（它可以以很少的学费和更大的灵活性来实现同等或者更好的质量）这样的创新结合起来。

MS. SCHNEIDER: Jason is exactly right that any useful college advice to students has to start with their own interests, inclinations and sense of possible career paths. But the reality is that, at too many postsecondary institutions, students are allowed to leave all planning for the future until they get around to it on their own -- which is usually much too late.

施耐德：贾森说得非常正确，大学给学生提供的任何建议都必须从他们的自身利益、倾向和对于可能的职业道路的理解出发。可现实是，在很多高等教育机构，学生可以把规划未来的事情一直推到事到临头的时候才去做――这通常都是已经太晚了。

Your other question asks whether students might finish college more affordably if they took advantage of 'disruptive' alternatives -- the course in a box, so to speak -- which ask students to do little more than read and discern the correct answers on bubble tests. I can't say this too emphatically. Learning to find the right answer on a standardized test is bad preparation for jobs in which you have to solve problems that don't yet have known answers.

你的另一个问题问到学生如果利用“颠覆性”的替代课程（只让学生做点阅读，然后在泡泡考试中辨别正确答案）――可以说是一种“盯着看”的课程――是否可以在经济上更轻松地完成大学学业。这个问题我不能着重讲。学习在标准化测试中找到正确答案无法让人做好充分的就业准备，在工作中你必须要解决尚不知道答案的问题。

It may cost you more to follow a path where faculty will work with you to help you hone high-level skills. But jobs that demand those high-level skills also are usually the ones that pay the most. The initial investment in a high-quality education does, for most graduates, pay off over time.

走让学校老师与你一起合作、帮助你磨练高级技能的这条道路可能会花费更多的金钱，但要求具备那些高级技能的工作通常也是薪水最多的工作。对大多数毕业生来说，最初对高质量教育的投资总有一天会让人得偿所愿的。