1. True, going to college for four years can be an enriching, eye-opening experience. True, a bachelor’s degree is still an asset if you’re trying to make it in America. It’s also a must for many creme de la creme careers.
在大学里度过四年的时光可以丰富生活，开阔眼界。的确在美国，如果你想取得成功，大学学位依然是资本。它也是很多精英职业生涯中所必需的。
2. But not all kids are cut out for college, despite the expectations of their parents or teachers. And, especially in the brave new world of the 21st century, not all kids need to go to college right after high school — or ever — to succeed, say J. Michael Farr, author of America’s Top Jobs for People Without a Four-Year Degree.
尽管父母和老师抱着极大的期望，但并不是所有的孩子都一定要上大学。尤其是在二十一世纪的今天，崇尚大胆，并不是孩子要想成功，都要在中学毕业后去读大学，麦克法尔《最佳工作—适合于没有文凭的人》的作者这样说。
3. “The mythology here is that everybody has to go to college to do well. Not true,” says Farr. “This generation is a little bit better off than ours. But there are so many more options. It’s more complex now.”
“每个人要想做得好必须上大学，这是虚假的宣传。”法尔说，“这一代的生活要比我们丰富些。但是选择的余地更多了，事情更复杂了。”
4. A boom economy coupled with dramatic changes in technology has created entirely new jobs and expanded opportunities in age-old professions. Many of these occupations — from computer programmers and Web page designers to chefs and police officers — don’t require a bachelor’s degree. Neither do many good jobs in the arts, crafts, skilled trades, construction, service industry, science, and health fields. Such jobs include: aircraft mechanic, cardiovascular technologist, electronic technician, law clerk, registered nurse, sales rep, secretary, travel agent…the list goes on.
经济的繁荣伴随着技术的快速发展，促使很多新职业的产业，并在传统的行业增加了就业机会。许多职业—从电脑程序员、网页设计员到厨师、警察—都不需要大学文凭。在艺术、工艺、手工业、建筑、服务、科学和医药等很多领域也不需要。这些工作包括：飞机机械工、心血管技术员、电子工程师、法律界人士、注册护士、销售代表、秘书、旅行代理商等等。
5. Jenna Norvell, 21, is now full of career ideas thanks to a ten-month cosmetology program she attended this year [2000] at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis. She paid ＄9,865 for tuition and about ＄6,000 more in expenses, including rent for a on-bedroom apartment she shared with another student. Although Norvell got lots of career leads from salon recruiters at a career fair hosted by the institute, she didn’t meet any from California — where she wants to live. So she plans to find a job out West on her own, perhaps in television or maybe doing makeup for fashion shows. Or selling cosmetics. Or managing a salon. “You’d be surprised how many occupations there are in this field,” says Norrvell.
杰纳诺维尔21岁，对于职业生涯有很多想法。她于今年(2000)参加了米尼普里斯的阿沃达学院举办的为期十个月的整容术培训。学费是9865美元，其他费用6000美元，包括与另一学生合租单间公寓。尽管诺维尔在学院组织的招聘会上获得了美容招聘人员的赏识，但是她并没有碰到来自加利福尼亚的招聘人员—她居住在那里。因此她决定自己在西部找工作，也许在电视上或为时尚节目作化妆师，或者销售化妆品，或者管理美容院。诺维尔说，“你也许感到奇怪，这个领域竟然有这么多职业。”
6. High school students often don’t understand there are so many options available to them, say Farr. “That’s a shame. People who are interested in various things really can earn a decent living even if they don’t want to go to college.”
法尔说，中学生通常不能理解他们面前其实有很多选择。“这是令人羞愧的事情。即使他们不想上大学，对各种事情感兴趣的人也能过上体面的生活。”
7. It’s still true that people with more education, on average, earn more money. But 28 percent of workers without a four-year degree earn more than the average worker with a bachelor’s degree, according to Harlow G. Unger, author of But What if I Don’t Want to Go to College? a guide to educational alternatives to college. And more and more computer-savvy young people are skipping college to join the high-tech revolution as computer network engineers, Internet entrepreneurs, and game designers.
按照一般情况，教育程度越高，挣得钱越多，这依然是事实。但根据哈罗·安格—《如果我不想上大学怎么办》这本教育指南的作者的说法，28%不具备四年大学文凭的工作者要比具有学位的一般工作者挣得多。越来越多沉溺于计算机的年轻人不上大学，而作为计算机网络工程师、因特网创业者和游戏设计者，加入到高科技革命中。
8. Don’t get the wrong idea. This doesn’t mean you can waltz right into a great job straight out of high school with no skills, training, or effort. To get a good job without a four-year degree, you still must have at least a solid high school education. “Even if you think you’re not going to college, you still need to pay attention,” says Farr. “You need to know how to be part of a team, how to communicate effectively verbally, how to learn.”
不要误会。这并不是说你在高中毕业后，可以在没有任何技术、培训和付出的情况下顺利找到一份好工作。要想在没有大学文凭的情况下找到好工作，你必须至少要接受良好的高中教育。法尔说，“即使你不想上大学，你仍需要注意。你必须懂得如何成为团队中的一员，知道如何有效沟通，懂得如何学习。”
9. And chances are, you will need training after high school through some form of alternative career education. Only four of the fastest growing occupations in the United States require a four-year degree or more, says Unger. But many of the others — home health aides, building maintenance, teaching aides — require post-high-school training.
此时机会在于，你需要在高中毕业后接受某些职业教育培训。安格说，在美国只有四种高速发展的职业要求从业者具备四年大学文凭或更高。但其他很多工作只需要高中毕业后参加培训即可—比如家庭健康助手，建筑维修工，教学助手等。
10. Which vocational education and training you’ll need — and the cost — depends upon the vocation you choose. Public community colleges offer some of the best vocational training, often specializing in areas such as the graphic arts, hotel and restaurant management, and building trades, according to Unger. Fulltime tuition averages ＄1,200 a year, although the range from state-to-state is ＄600 to ＄3,500. Vocational training at technical institutes will be costlier. Private junior colleges average ＄7,000 a year, according to Unger. Tuition for private-for-profit trade schools that usually specialize in one field, such as hair-styling or auto mechanics, varies widely, and Unger warns students to be wary of unethical operators.
你需要参加哪种职业教育和培训—以及培训费用—取决于你选择的职业。公共社区学院提供了很好的职业培训，涉及的领域包括绘画艺术、酒店和餐饮管理以及建材贸易，安格说。全脱产学习的学费平均为每年1200美元，各州从600到3500美元不等。技术学院和职业培训相对要贵些。安格说，私立初级学院的学费为每年7000美元。以赢利为目的，专注于美发或机械自动化等某个领域的学校通常收取学费的差别很大。安格提醒学生要警惕那些不道德的经营者。
11. Not just any vocational education or training will do. The trick is to find reputable, high-quality programs and to avoid con artists and dead-end programs, advises Unger. Look for programs that are accredited, offer in-depth academic and vocational instruction, teach real skills for real jobs, provide hands-on work-experience, help students in job-hunting, and are linked to potential employers.
安格建议说，并不是只能选择职业教育或培训。重要的是找到有知名度的、高质量的项目，要避免陷入骗局和没有希望的项目。一定要找可以信任的项目：提供有深度的理论和职业指导，教学生实际工作所需的基本技能，提供实习等工作机会，帮助学生求职，并和潜在雇主联系。
12. Too often, Unger argues, parents push their reluctant children to go to college. Many drop out. “We are forcing hundreds of thousands of kids to go to college and they clearly do not want to be there,” he says.
安格说，父母经常强迫不愿读书的孩子上大学。许多孩子中途退学。他说，“我们逼近千千万万的孩子上大学，很显然他们不愿意呆在那儿。”
13. What about high school graduates who don’t want college and don’t know what to do next？Start by visiting your school guidance office or library to thumb through The Occupational Outlook Handbook published every two years by the U.S. Labor Department. It offers nuts-and-bolts descriptions of jobs and the training required.
那些不想上大学又不知道下一步该做什么的高中毕业生怎么办呢？去向学校的就业指导师咨询，或者去图书馆阅读美国劳工部出版的《职业展望手册》。这本书每两年出版一次，书中对各种工作以及所需的培训进行了详细的描述。
14. Think about what interests you — sports, music, gardening, whatever — and what jobs let you pursue that interest, advises Unger. Visit people who do these jobs. Ask questions.
安格建议说，想一想你所感兴趣的事物—运动、音乐、园艺，或者其他—以及什么工作与这一兴趣有关。对从事这些工作的人进行拜访，并问些问题。
15. For example, a high school graduate who loves animals might find a great job grooming dogs in a kennel. But she may outgrow the grooming job. That day, she may decide to go to college to become a veterinarian. “A lot of kids who say they don’t want to go to college wind up going anyway, later on,” says Unger.
例如，一个高中毕业生喜欢小动物，她可以选择在狗场当饲养员。但是也许她长大后不再愿意饲养狗。那时她也许决定去上大学当兽医。安格说，“许多不愿上大学的孩子都在前进着。”