第1543期:Unrealistic career aspirations

What did you want to be when you were growing up? A doctor, an engineer - or maybe a footballer or actor? We all had big plans for our futures and believed there was a dream job waiting for us – one that would pay well and give great job satisfaction. But how realistic was that?

你长大后想成为什么样的人？医生、工程师——或者可能是足球运动员或演员？我们都为自己的未来制定了宏伟的计划，并相信有一份梦想的工作在等着我们——一份薪水高、工作满意度高的工作。但这有多现实？

Today, in the UK at least, young people are being warned that some of their career hopes and dreams don’t match the types of jobs available. Research by the charity Education and Employers suggests five times as many 17 and 18 year-olds in the UK want to work in art, culture, entertainment and sport than there are jobs.

今天，至少在英国，年轻人被警告说，他们的一些职业希望和梦想与现有的工作类型不匹配。慈善机构 Education and Employers 的研究表明，英国 17 岁和 18 岁的年轻人希望从事艺术、文化、娱乐和体育工作的人数是实际工作人数的五倍。

The glamour and excitement of working in these employment sectors is obviously a draw. But those looking for these types of job will be ‘destined for disappointment’. That’s what the report, Disconnected: Career aspirations and jobs in the UK, says. Writing about this for the BBC, Katherine Sellgren points out that while young people are keen to work in art, entertainment, culture and sport, the economy is unlikely to need them all. In the meantime, there is a shortfall of young people wanting to work in careers such as catering and retail.

在这些就业领域工作的魅力和兴奋显然是一种吸引力。但那些寻找这类工作的人将“注定要失望”。这就是报告，断开连接：英国的职业抱负和工作，说。Katherine Sellgren 为 BBC 撰文指出，虽然年轻人热衷于在艺术、娱乐、文化和体育领域工作，但经济不太可能需要他们所有人。与此同时，想要从事餐饮和零售等职业的年轻人数量不足。

Previous research about the career aspirations of young people by the Office for National Statistics also found a ‘reality gap’ between their dreams and the sometimes disappointing truth by the time they reached their early to late-20s. Apart from those who aimed to go into teaching, fewer than one in 50 were in the jobs they had wanted – such as a doctor, vet, firefighter or actor. Most were working as sales assistants, carers or in sales and marketing.

国家统计局先前对年轻人职业抱负的研究也发现，他们的梦想与在他们 20 多岁出头至 20 多岁时有时令人失望的事实之间存在“现实差距”。除了那些打算从事教学工作的人之外，只有不到五分之一的人从事他们想要的工作——比如医生、兽医、消防员或演员。大多数人担任销售助理、看护人或从事销售和营销工作。

While it’s good to have aspirations, the aims of young people need to be realistic. This latest report suggests that children need to be made more aware of a wider variety of occupations at a younger age.  It also calls for improved careers advice in secondary schools. A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions told the BBC that “early careers advice can help young people set out on the right path to the job that channels their interests and unlocks their potential.”

有抱负固然好，但年轻人的目标需要切合实际。这份最新报告表明，需要让孩子们在更年轻的时候更多地了解更广泛的职业。它还呼吁改善中学的职业建议。工作和养老金部的一位女发言人告诉 BBC，“早期的职业建议可以帮助年轻人走上正确的工作道路，引导他们的兴趣并释放他们的潜力。”

词汇表

dream job 理想的工作
job satisfaction 工作满意度
art 艺术
culture 文化
entertainment 娱乐
glamour 诱惑力
employment sector 就业行业
draw 有吸引力的事物
shortfall 短缺
catering 餐饮业
retail 零售
aspiration 理想，志向
reality gap 与现实的差距
sales assistant 销售员
carer 照顾者，护工
sales and marketing 销售和市场
occupation 职业，工作
careers advice 职业规划
channel 把……导入
unlocks one’s potential 释放……潜力