Students wishing to safeguard(保护) their careers against changes in the job market should choose science rather than arts degrees, according to a survey of undergraduates(大学生).
Engineering and chemistry were considered to be the most “future proof”, as they are the courses most likely to lead to an enduring(持久的) and adaptable career.
Students polled by Pearson College were broadly optimistic(乐观的) that their chosen courses would prepare them for a world in which the job market could change dramatically (显著的，戏剧性的) during their working lives.
But opinions were sharply divided over which degrees were best for future-proof careers.
82 per cent of respondents believed engineering would lead to a future-proof skills, with 74 per cent believing the same of chemistry and 73 percent of computer science.
But just 33 per cent of undergraduates believed history would lead to a future-proof career, and 40 per cent English.
However more than two thirds (67 percent) of students thought the world of work would be significantly different or completely unrecognizable in 20 years.
The findings, published today, come after Education Secretary Nicky Morgan sparked controversy with claims that teenagers should steer clear of the arts and humanities and choose science or math subjects if they want to access the widest range of jobs.
She said that in previous decades students would only take math or science if they wanted to pursue a specific career such as medicine or pharmacy, but nowadays that “couldn’t be further from the truth”.
“If you want to do something different, or even if you didn’t know what you wanted to do...then the arts and humanities were what you chose, because they are useful-we were told-for all kinds of jobs. Of course now we know that that couldn’t be further from the truth, and that the subjects that keep people’s options open and unlock doors to all sorts of career are the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects.”
She also described math as “the subject that employers value most” and said that pupils who study A-level math will earn 10 per cent more over their lifetime.
“These figures show us that too many young people aged 15 are making choices which will hold them back for the rest of their lives,” she said.
【小题1】In order to guarantee your future job, which will you choose according to the survey?| A．Engineering or English. | B．History or math. |
| C．Math or art. | D．Engineering and chemistry. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Worried. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Objective. |
| A．It is far away from the truth. | B．It’s close to the truth. |
| C．It couldn’t be close to the death. | D．It reflects the truth. |
| A．If you want to do something different, the arts and science are what you choose now. |
| B．STEM subjects can make young people choose their future job freely. |
| C．At College, young people should make choices for their lives. |
| D．Math and science are considered to be the subjects that employers value most. |
