為什麽我找不到工作？

 為什麽我找不到工作？

    問題：

2009年，我從一所頂尖的美國大學畢業，拿到了歐洲曆史學位，但從那以來，我就一直難以在美國找到工作。我試過民用情報，然後是金融和風險資本——從銷售到警察，各行各業都嚐試過。現在我走投無路，打算加入規模膨脹的美國軍隊。我相信，我受到的文科教育為我進入職場打下了良好的基礎（我還會講俄語），但好像雇主們並不認可。他們更喜歡州立大學畢業的商科或市場營銷專業的人選。是哪兒出了問題？

失業者，男，25歲

露西的回答：

很多地方都出了問題。供求關係對你不利：曆史係畢業生太多，可是工作崗位卻不夠。除非你畢業於一所超級頂尖的大學（牛津、劍橋、哈佛等等），否則你那張紙還真沒辦法給雇主留下特別深刻的印象。

就職業生涯來說，你的學曆完全是浪費時間。它並沒有為你進入職場做好準備，寫幾篇關於俾斯麥(Bismarck)或者克裏米亞戰爭起因的論文，並不能為由電子表格和營銷活動構成的世界打好基礎。

這不是說你浪費了三年時光。如果我是你媽媽，我不會打擊你學曆史的積極性——我的女兒就在學曆史。不過她不像你，她並沒有期待自己的學曆能換來有利可圖的就業前景。我剛剛給她打過電話，看她是不是覺得畢業後會很容易地找到工作。她回答說，當然不會，仿佛這是她聽到過的最愚蠢的問題。

曆史學位的意義不在於最終找份工作，而在於拓寬思路，學著寫出好句子——這些東西本身固然很好，但對於你進入職場既不是必需的，也是不夠的。三、四年的大學時光應該還會讓你厭倦窮學生東遊西逛的生活，為工作做好準備。

就你的情況而言，錯上加錯的並不是就業市場，而是你對就業市場的態度。走出大學校門時毫無頭緒是完全正常的，但你應該逐漸學會裝出有頭緒的樣子。在銷售、警察、銀行這些行業之間跳來跳去，隻會降低他們當中任何一個錄用你的機會。更好的做法是專注於一個領域，然後了解需要怎樣才會被錄用，是另一個學位？還是需要實習？如果一個人連假裝想得到那份工作都做不到，那麽不管他有什麽學曆，雇主都不會想錄用的。

眼下，參軍聽上去還算是一個不錯的計劃。即使隻弄明白了自己不想做什麽，也是一個好的開端。至少你能學到一些對職場有幫助的技能，比如服從領導。

讀者的建議

馬克思主義者的建議

馬克思在其著作《德意誌意識形態》(German Ideology)裏，描述了一位對生活感到滿足的人：他上午打獵，下午捕魚，晚上從事哲學批判。選定一行（當兵？）並堅持幹下去：你很快就會飛黃騰達，此外，在你遭遇到人生中不可避免的逆境時，你的這段經曆會變成你的內在財富——那些學營銷的人不僅缺乏、而且根本無從知曉這種財富。

匿名，男

別再怨天尤人

我猜你是個蜜罐兒裏泡大、愛發牢騷的家夥，要是這樣，當兵可能真的非常適合你。相信我——我自己也是學文科（古典文學）的，也曾當過軍官——當兵是你大學畢業後頭份工作的最佳選擇。

副總裁，男，40歲

去作咖啡師

你似乎正在為一種錯覺所困，認為歐洲曆史學學位在當今（或者說在以往）的就業市場上值點什麽。我來打消你這種錯覺吧。你擁有的是一個“您想在您的拿鐵裏加點調味料嗎”學位。既然你俄語很流利，我建議你給星巴克(Starbucks)發份簡曆。你可能會在莫斯科衝泡拿鐵和瑪奇朵(macchiatos)。

前咖啡師，女，40歲

繼續找啊

現在正值衰退，你的學位又不特別實用，如此踏上職業生涯確實有點背。但這總比出生在盧旺達又有先天性顎裂好吧。去找個職業顧問，弄清楚你到底擅長幹哪行。然後照這個目標去找。

退休財務總監，男

變聰明點吧

我非常理解你的處境。我曾是舊金山一家公司的會計主任，如今卻被告知不要再做會計工作了，因為我沒有商學學位（碰巧，我也會講俄語）。但我建議你別去當兵，而是像我這樣去讀MBA。

匿名，男

去告那些出蠢主意的人

溫習一下法律，去起訴你的職業顧問和曆史老師，罪名是沒勸阻你去讀一個無用學科貴得可笑的學位。

 

 

英文對照

                                                                      Why can’t I get a job?

The problem

In 2009, I graduated from a top-tier US university with a degree in European history and since then I have struggled to find work in the US. I tried civilian intelligence, then finance and venture capital – everything from sales to being a police officer. Now, in despair, I am enlisting in the swollen US military. I believe my liberal arts education has given me a good basis for joining the workforce (I also speak Russian) but it seems employers do not agree. They prefer candidates from a state university with qualifications in business or marketing. What has gone wrong?

Unemployed, male, 25

Lucy’s answer

Quite a lot has gone wrong. Supply and demand are against you: there are too many history graduates and not enough jobs. Unless your degree is from a super-top university (Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, etc) employers are not going to be terribly impressed by your piece of paper.

In career terms your degree has been a waste of time. It has not prepared you for the workforce at all: writing essays about Bismarck or the causes of the Crimean war is no grounding for the world of spreadsheets and marketing campaigns.

That isn’t to say that you wasted your three years. If I were your mother, I wouldn’t have discouraged you from studying history – in fact my own daughter is doing just that. But unlike you, she has no expectation that her degree will lead to gainful employment. I just phoned her to check whether she thought it would be easy to find a job when she graduated. Obviously not, she replied, as if this were the dumbest question she had ever been asked.

The point of a history degree is not to get a job at the end of it but to broaden the mind, to learn to write a proper sentence – something that, though good in itself, is neither necessary nor sufficient to get on in corporate life. Three or four years at university should also leave you weary of mooching round as a penniless student and ready for a proper job.

What has gone doubly wrong in your case is not so much the job market but your approach to it. It is perfectly normal to be clueless on leaving university – but you need to get better at faking it. By casting about between sales, the police force and banking, you reduce your chances of being taken on by any of them. It would have been better to concentrate on one area and then find out what you needed in order to be hired. Another degree? An internship? No employer wants to employ anyone – whatever degree they might have – if that person can’t even pretend they are gagging for the job.

For now, being in the military sounds like a good scheme. Even if you only learn what you don’t want to do with your life, that will be a start. At least you’ll be picking up some skills that really do help in the workforce. Like doing what you are told

Your advice

Marxist advice

In his German Ideology, Marx described the fulfilled man as hunting in the morning, fishing in the afternoon and philosophising in the evening. Go into something (the military?) and stick with it: you will rise rapidly, and in the inevitable times of adversity in your life you will have internal resources which those who studied marketing will not only lack but be quite unaware of. Anon, male

Stop whining

I suspect you come across as an overprivileged whiner, in which case the military might be perfect for you. Trust me, as a liberal arts major myself (classics) and former military officer, you can’t beat the military for your first job after university.  Vice-president, male, 40

Become a barista

You seem to be labouring under the delusion that a degree in European history is worth anything in today’s job market – or ever. Let me disabuse you of that notion. What you have is a would-you-like-a-flavour-shot-in-your-latte degree. Since you’re fluent in Russian, I would recommend sending your resume to Starbucks. You could be slinging lattes and macchiatos in Moscow.  Ex-barista, female, 40

Get on with it

In a recession with a degree that is not immediately usable you’ve had an unlucky start. But it’s not as bad as being born with a cleft palate in Rwanda. Go to a career consultant to clarify the job you’ll be good at. Then get it.  Retired FD, male

Wise up

I quite sympathise. I was controller of a San Francisco company and now I’m told to take a hike for book-keeper jobs because I don’t have a business degree (I also speak Russian, coincidentally). Instead of the military, do what I’m doing and get your MBA. Anon, male

Sue for stupidity

Brush up on law and sue your careers adviser and history teacher for not talking you out of a silly expensive degree in a worthless subject. Anon

所有跟帖： 

• 如果他現在美國，去當兵或許是最好的選擇。 -Irene8899- ♀ (0 bytes) () 03/30/2011 postreply 19:29:16