????要開學了，還不確定該選什么專業嗎？可以去看看最新出版的紙皮版大手冊，《大學專業指南：職業道路和回報》（College Majors Handbook with Real Career Paths and Payoffs）。這本長達546頁的手冊詳細記錄了58個專業的職業信息，其中包括：可能得到的工作類型、工作和專業的相關度、對工作的滿意度以及薪水。

????四個作者以德雷塞爾大學（Drexel University）教授尼塔?P.福格和該校勞動力市場和政策中心（Center for Labor Markets and Policy）的主管保羅?哈林頓為首，合作研究了堆積如山的數據，其中包括：美國人口普查局（Census Bureau）的統計數據、美國勞工部（Department of Labor）的研究以及美國國家科學基金會（National Science Foundation）在2011年對17萬名大學畢業生的調查。

????研究發現：擁有全職工作的應屆畢業生在2010年的中位工資為53,976美元。但下列15個專業畢業生的收入明顯高出一截：

????1. 醫學預科 100,000美元

????2. 計算機系統工程 85,000美元

????3. 藥劑學 84,000美元

????4. 化學工程 80,000美元

????5. 電氣及電子工程 75,000美元

????6. 機械工程 75,000美元

????7. 航天及航空工程 74,000美元

????8. 計算機科學 73,000美元

????9. 工業工程 73,000美元

????10. 物理及天文學 72,200美元

????11. 土木工程 70,000美元

????12. 電氣及電子工程技術 65,000美元

????13. 經濟學 63,300美元

????14. 財務管理 63,000美元

????15. 機械工程技術 63,000美元

????工程師顯然炙手可熱，但即使5個上榜的非工程專業也要求具有深厚的數學功底。那些不喜歡數學和科學的人就只能干瞪眼了嗎？對文科生來說，幸運的是，這本大學專業指南同時也告訴我們：“薪酬并不是大學教育的唯一回報。”

????看看這個：英語專業的畢業生中位工資僅有4.4萬美元，遠遠低于約5.4萬美元的平均值，但他們的工作滿意度卻和那些掙錢多得多的家伙不相上下。與此類似，歷史專業的畢業生平均工資也只有4.8萬美元，而且常常在銷售和營銷這些和本專業八竿子打不著的行業工作，但他們對職業道路的滿意度卻高于平均水平。

????此外，作者們還指出，即使對那些掙錢較少的專業，大學教育還是給他們帶來了更高的收入：“擁有學士學位的年青雇員的平均工資比只有高中文憑的同齡人要高出81%。而且這一趨勢隨著年齡增長并無太多改變。”想想現在令人咋舌的皮草價格，大學畢業生多少應該能夠感覺到一點欣慰吧。

????Headed back to school, and uncertain what to major in? It might help to check out a hefty new paperback tome,College Majors Handbook with Real Career Paths and Payoffs. The 546-page book is packed with detailed career information on 58 majors, including the kinds of jobs each major is likely to lead to; how closely related grads' work usually is to the subjects they studied; how much (or little) degree holders in each field report enjoying what they do; and how much they earn.

????The four co-authors — led by Drexel University research professor Neeta P. Fogg and by Paul Harrington, director of Drexel's Center for Labor Markets and Policy — mined the data from mountains of Census Bureau statistics, U.S. Department of Labor studies, and a 2011 National Science Foundation survey of 170,000 college grads.

????Median pay for a recent college graduate with a full-time job in 2010, the researchers found, stood at $53,976. But these 15 majors commanded substantially more:

????1. Pre-med $100,000

????2. Computer systems engineering $85,000

????3. Pharmacy $84,000

????4. Chemical engineering $80,000

????5. Electrical and electronics engineering $75,000

????6. Mechanical engineering $75,000

????7. Aerospace and aeronautical engineering $74,000

????8. Computer science $73,000

????9. Industrial engineering $73,000

????10. Physics and astronomy $72,200

????11. Civil engineering $70,000

????12. Electrical and electronics engineering technology $65,000

????13. Economics $63,300

????14. Financial management $63,000

????15. Mechanical engineering technology $63,000

????Clearly, engineers are hot properties, but even the five non-engineering majors on the list require a strong mathematical bent. What if you're not inclined toward math and science? Luckily for liberal arts mavens, College Majors Handbook notes, "Salary is not the only form of payoff from a college education."

????Consider: Despite relatively modest median pay of $44,000, well below the roughly $54,000 average for all 58 fields of study, English majors report job satisfaction that is on a par with that of people who make far more money. Likewise, recent grads who majored in history, although they earn $48,000 on average — and often end up working in unrelated fields like sales and marketing — report higher-than-average satisfaction with their chosen path.

????Moreover, even at the lower end of the salary scale, the authors point out, higher education leads to more earning power: "The average employed young person with a bachelor's degree earned 81% more in 2011 than his or counterpart with a high school diploma. The earnings premium of individuals with college degrees persists over their lifetime." Given the often jaw-dropping price tag on a sheepskin these days, that's good to know.