上大學獲取一個學位可不是件容易的事。大多數人相信，獲得大學文憑對一名畢業生的未來職業發展必有幫助。但這一紙文憑究竟有那麼管用嗎？學生所學習的專業會影響其未來的就業和收入嗎？想留學英國的同學快來看看，在英國學歷和收入之間是什麼關係。
What's the point of studying?! It's something you might ask yourself if you're studying for a degree and you're struggling to complete an assignment or sweating it out in an exam, especially if your friends seem to be out having a good time, or are working and earning lots of money.
Many of us choose to go to university as a first step towards a good career but sometimes that career is hard to achieve and graduates end up doing something they are overqualified for. The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development says that with the spiralling costs of university, students need to ask themselves whether a degree path is the best route into a career. It says there is a need for much better career advice and guidance, alongside high-quality alternative vocational routes into employment other than university education.
But other new research commissioned for the BBC, says that a degree will,in the long run, earn you more. However there are differences in your earning potential. Dr Jack Britton from the Institute for Fiscal Studies says that "Graduates of the 24 Russell Group universities earn an average of ?33,500 after five years - about 40% more than those who studied at other universities."
However, it found it's not just the location but other factors than can play a part in what you can earn, such as the subject a student chooses to study. It discovered that five years after graduation, the income gap between students who studied the subjects that attract the highest and lowest salaries can be considerable. Graduates in subjects such as law, medicine and dentistry tend to do well. And as they progress, the pay gap between these careers and others, such as the creative arts, widens. There are other factors too that influence what you might earn: Five years after graduation, men earn on average, 14% more than women. Also, a student's social background can have an effect, with those from better-off households much more likely to go to university and particularly a good one.
But if you still feel university delivers the best opportunities then there are encouraging words from Alistair Jarvis, head of Universities UK, who told BBC News that "Employers are demanding more graduates... and graduates are half as likely to be unemployed as non-graduates. There are many many good graduate?outcomes?coming from universities." So maybe all that studying is worth it – after all 'no pain, no gain'!
詞彙表
assignment 作業
sweat it out 如坐針氈地等待（考試）結束
career 職業，事業
graduate 畢業生
overqualified 資歷過高的
spiralling costs 急劇上升的費用
vocational 職業的
in the long run 從長遠看
Russell Group 羅素大學集團
income gap 收入差
law 法律
medicine 醫學
dentistry 牙科
creative arts 創意藝術
social background 社會家庭背景
outcome 結果
no pain, no gain 一份耕耘，一份收穫
本文來源：網易教育 責任編輯： 楊卉_NQ4978