大學新生手冊：選專業別著急

導讀：嶄新的大學第一學期即將開始，大一新生們既興奮又驚慌，許多人為選專業而發愁。別著急，放輕松！一起來看看老師和前輩學長們是怎么說的。

Many freshmen feel anxious about their majors. Most believe that their major will determine their future： What they do and how much they get paid. So what happens if you don’t like your major， or know nothing about its career prospects？ What are your options？

許多大一新生患上“專業焦慮癥”，他們大都認為，專業決定未來：做什么？賺多少？那么，如果你不喜歡自己的專業，或是對其職業前景一無所知，該如何是好？你能夠做些什么呢？

Experts advise students not to panic. Worrying about their choice of major causes most first-year students stress， according to Bai Jing， an instructor at Shantou University.

“There are always a few students who arrive on campus knowing exactly what they want from their major and what their career ambitions are， but the majority just don’t know or only have a vague idea，” he said.

“There is no need to rush to a conclusion on whether you like your major or not or if it suits you.”

專家建議學生，不必驚慌。來自汕頭大學的教師白京說，許多大一新生都因為擔心自己所選的專業而倍感壓力。

“盡管少數新生一入校就很清楚自己想從所選專業中學到什么、知道自己的職業理想；但是大多數人都對此一無所知，或只有一個模糊的想法。”他說。

“沒必要急著去斷定你是否喜歡自己的專業，或者該專業是否適合自己。”

Instead， students should devote their time and energy to fully exploring their academic and career interests. This should take priority over decisions such as changing your major.

In practical terms this means that if students have no idea what they want to do， they should first narrow the focus from all possible majors down to a few selected areas.

相反，學生應該多花點時間和精力來全面發掘自己的學術和職業興趣。這才是當下的重點，而不是去做出轉專業之類的決定。

實際上，這意味著如果學生不清楚自己想要什么，那么他們首先應該縮小范圍，將所有可能的專業濃縮成少數幾個精選領域。

Luo Jialiang， 21， a junior who changed his major from electronic engineer to law in his first year at Fudan University， shared his experience.

“Ask yourself these questions： What things excite you most？ What jobs or careers appeal to you？” He recommends that if students are indecisive they take a career assessment. Career centers on campus usually offer this service in addition to a variety of personality tests.

Once a student has figured out his or her interests， they need to examine their abilities and make sure they can handle the study and work assignments in this field.

“Think about what your weaknesses and strengths are， such as logical reasoning，” he said.

21歲的羅嘉亮就讀于復旦大學三年級，大一時從電子工程轉到了法律專業，他分享了自己的經驗。

“問問你自己以下幾個問題：什么事情最讓你振奮？什么工作或職業最吸引你？” 他建議，如果學生還在猶豫不決，可以選擇去參加一次職業評估。校園就業指導中心通常都會提供職業評估、性格測試等服務。

一旦學生找到了興趣所在，他們就需要考量個人能力，以確保可以應付該專業領域的學習任務。

“想想自己的弱點和優點分別是什么，比如邏輯推理能力如何。”他說道。

Cai Xiaoming， a biology professor at Peking University， reminds students that many choose certain majors just to follow the crowd. But without talking to teachers or practitioners in the field， they seldom get the right picture.

“Some consider the biology major to be of little use as you can hardly earn big money； others think they can go abroad with this major，” he said. “Both are unrealistic.” Students should be patient and not make any hasty decisions. Some universities offer double majors， or even triple majors， if you really can’t decide.

A college major is important for a person’s first job after graduation. Studies show most people change careers four or five times in their lives.

No existing major can prepare people for that. And one should believe that all things he or she learns on campus will be of help at some point in life.

北京大學生物學教授蔡曉明提醒學生，許多人選專業只是隨大流。在未與該專業領域的老師或從業者交流溝通的情況下，他們對于如何選擇專業并沒有正確認識。

“一些學生認為生物專業幾乎沒什么用，很難賺大錢；另一些學生則認為選擇該專業將來可以出國。”他說，“這兩種想法都有些不切實際。”學生們應該耐下心來，切忌草率決定。如果你真的難以抉擇，一些大學還開設了雙學位甚至三學位課程。

大學專業對學生畢業后的第一份工作至關重要。相關研究表明，大多數人在一生中要換四至五次工作。

沒有任何現有專業可以為此做準備。但應相信，在學校所學的一切都會在生命中的某些時刻助你一臂之力。