Thousands of new college grads will enter the workforce this year, but with unemployment at 8.2% and underemployment near 18%， many will put off the taxing job search process and opt out of the weak job market to pursue graduate degrees。
美國今年將有成千上萬的高校畢業生加入勞動力大軍，但在美國失業率高達8.2%而未充分就業率接近18%的情況下，許多學生將推遲找工作，退出疲軟的勞動力市場，繼續攻讀研究生學歷。
With this in mind, Forbes set out to determine which master’s degrees would provide the best long-term opportunities, based on salary and employment outlook. To find the mid-career median pay for 35 popular degrees, we turned to Payscale.com, which lets users compare their salaries with those of other people in similar jobs by culling real-time salary data from its 35 million profiles. We then looked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment projection data to see how fast employment was expected to increase between 2010 and 2020 in popular jobs held by people with each degree. Finally we averaged each degree’s pay rank and estimated growth rank to find the best and worst master’s degrees for jobs。
出于這種考慮，福布斯著手從基于薪水和就業展望，判斷哪些碩士學位會提供最好的長期機會。我們借助Payscale.com網站(用戶可使用該網站3,500萬份檔案中的實時薪酬數據將自己的薪水與其他從事類似工作的人相比較)，找到35個熱門碩士學位的職業中期平均薪酬數據。然后我們關注美國勞工統計局(Bureau of Labor Statistics)的就業預測數據，看看2010年-2020年期間持各種熱門學位的人所從事的熱門工作，它們的就業增長有多快。最后，我們算出各個學位的薪資水平和預計就業增長水平的平均值，然后比較出對就業而言最好和最差的碩士學位。
As it turns out, although there are too few doctors in the U.S. and too few seats in medical schools, those shortages are good for one segment of the population: people who get degrees as physician assistants。
結果發現，盡管美國的醫生數量太少，醫學院的席位太少，而這些稀缺對有一部分人卻非常有利，那就是取得醫師助理碩士學位的人。
Physician assistants are medical professionals who provide diagnostic and preventative health care services under the supervision of doctors—and they’re in high demand。
醫師助理是在醫生監督下提供疾病診斷和預防性醫療保健服務的醫療專業人員。目前對醫師助理的需求量非常大。
“Both an aging population and health care reform are contributing to a higher demand for health care services,” says Katie Bardaro, Payscale’s lead economist. “As fully capable medical professionals, physician assistants are able to alleviate the pressure on doctors by performing important and necessary health care tasks to this increasing pool of patients。”
“人口老齡化和醫療改革都對衛生保健服務有更大的需求，”Payscale網站的首席經濟學家凱蒂·巴爾達羅(Katie Bardaro)說，“因為合格的醫療專業人員、醫師助理可對數目逐漸增多的病人群體進行一些重要且必需的醫療處理，從而能夠減輕醫生的壓力。”
They don’t earn as much as doctors, but their mid-career median pay is a whopping $97,000. Another advantage of a physician assistant degree: Employment opportunities are expected to grow 30% by 2020 (from the 2010 employment numbers)， according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics。
他們賺的不像醫生那樣多，但他們職業生涯中期的平均工資達到驚人的97,000美元。醫師助理學位的另一項優勢是：據勞動統計局的數據稱，到2020年為止，其就業機會有望增加30%(從2010年的就業數字來看)。
Would-be physician assistants need to take certain science classes to prep for a master’s program, but they can earn undergraduate degrees in almost any field. The growing demand for them and the promise of fat paychecks put physician assistant degrees at the top of the heap in Forbes’ third-annual look at the best master’s degrees for jobs。
準醫師助理需要讀一些科學課程為研究生計劃做準備，但他們可以獲得幾乎任何醫療領域的本科學位。持續增長的就業需求和豐厚的薪酬許諾使醫師助理學位高居福布斯第三屆最佳就業碩士學位榜榜首。
By our count, computer science follows close behind as the No. 2 best advanced degree for jobs。
計算機科學緊隨其后，成為第二個就業最好的高等教育學位。
Mid-career median pay for these grads is $109,000, sixth best out of the 35 degrees in our survey. Employment opportunities for computer science degree-holders are expected to expand about 22% between 2010 and 2020.
這個專業的碩士畢業生職業中期的平均薪酬為109,000美元，在我們調查的35個學位中排名第六。計算機科學學位持有者的就業機會預計在2010年到2020年期間將擴大22%。
“In a technology driven world, the need for those who not only understand, but can improve upon technology is high,” Bardaro says. “As businesses of all types depend upon technology to get things done, computer science degree-holders will remain in high demand。”
“在一個科技驅動的世界中，對這些不僅懂技術還能提升技術的人的需求非常大，”巴爾達羅說，“隨著各行各業都依賴科技完成工作，對計算機科學學位的需求會一直很大。”
Electrical engineering, physics and economics degrees also make the top 10, all with an average mid-career salary of more than $110,000 a year。
電氣工程、物理學和經濟學學位也在前十之列，這些專業的職業中期平均年薪都超過110,000美元。
A master’s in business administration (M.B.A) can also earn you six figures mid-career—but because of the poor growth outlook for common jobs held by these degree-holders, it doesn’t make the top 10 list。
工商管理碩士(M.B.A)也能幫你在職業中期賺到6位數，但由于這些學歷持有者通常所從事的工作就業展望不佳，工商管理碩士不在前十之列。
Not all master’s degree holders enjoy anywhere near such optimistic job prospects or extraordinary pay. Getting a master’s in library and information science, English, music, or education can be extremely gratifying but pricy. Median mid-career median pay for all those degrees is under $63,000, and employment for them isn’t expected to grow significantly over the next few years。
不是所有碩士在所有領域都有與上述差不多的樂觀工作前景或豐厚薪水。取得圖書咨詢學、英語、音樂或教育專業碩士學位的個人可能會獲得極大的愉悅感，但“學費”高昂。這些專業職業中期平均收入在63,000美元以下，這些學位的就業在未來幾年預計不會顯著增長。
Library and information science degree-holders bring in $57,600 mid-career, on average. Common jobs for them are school librarian, library director and reference librarian, and there are expected to be just 8.5% more of them by 2020. The low pay rank and estimated growth rank make library and information science the worst master’s degree for jobs right now。
圖書咨詢學專業的碩士在職業中期平均收入57,600美元。他們通常的工作是學校圖書館員，而且預計到2020年為止其就業增長只有8.5%。薪資及未來增長的都處于低水平使得圖書信息學目前來說是最不利于就業的碩士學位。
Biology, chemistry and history degrees are also toward the bottom of the list—but that doesn’t mean they’re useless. If you’re passionate about these fields, the lower pay and slimmer job prospects shouldn’t deter you from pursuing a master’s. However, it’s important that you ask yourself a few questions before you make that decision。
生物、化學和歷史碩士也是墊底的碩士學位，但這不意味著他們毫無用處。如果你對這些領域有興趣，較低的薪酬和較為狹窄的就業前景不應打消你攻讀該專業碩士學位的念頭。然而，做決定前問自己幾個問題還是非常重要的。
Ask, “Is the program required to pursue a given career?” “What do the job opportunities look like?” and “Will the cost of the education outweigh the potential income?” If the answer to the last one is yes, then a master’s program is not the way to go, Bardaro says。
問問自己，“某一特定職業是否對這個研究生項目有要求？”“就業機會怎樣？”“受教育的成本會大于過未來潛在的收入嗎？”如果最后一個問題的回答是肯定的，那就不該選擇研究生項目，巴爾達羅說。
Another thing to keep in mind: Master’s degree-holders don’t necessarily earn more than other people in similar jobs—so don’t base your decision to pursue one on the idea that you’ll bring in bigger paychecks。
另一點需要牢記的是：碩士賺得不一定比其他從事類似工作的人多——所以不要把攻讀碩士的決定建立在賺更多的錢的基礎之上。
“People may pursue a master’s degree in the hopes of a higher salary, but it doesn’t always work out,” she says. “Two absolute benefits of graduate education are increased knowledge in a field and the ability to set oneself apart from those with only a bachelor’s degree. However, these two things together might not be enough for a given person。”
“人們可以追求碩士學位以期未來拿更高的薪水，但這不一定行得通，”她說，“研究生教育對兩方面上有著絕對裨益：一是某個領域的知識增長，二是把自己和只有本科學位的人區別開來。然而，這兩點加起來對某一特定的人來說可能還不夠。”
These may be the best and worst master’s degrees in terms of pay and employment opportunities, but it’s also important to think about work-life balance and employee satisfaction for the common jobs associated with these degrees. “You need to consider overall happiness,” Bardaro says. “If obtaining a master’s degree causes an imbalance due to time devoted to education and potentially more stress at work, then one will need to decide if these costs are worth it. Evaluating the benefits of a master’s degree is not just about the potential for higher pay, but also about the opportunities it will bring, the skills and knowledge it can provide, and overall satisfaction。”
從收入和就業機會兩方面考慮，上述可能是幾個最好和最差的碩士學位，但考慮工作和生活的平衡以及員工滿意度也同樣重要。“你需要考慮到全部幸福因素。”巴爾達羅說，“如果攻讀一個碩士學位所花的時間及將來更多的工作壓力，引起了一種失衡，那么你需要判斷一下這樣的代價是否值得。評估碩士學位帶來的好處，不能僅僅是關乎獲得更高薪水的可能性，還與它所帶來的機會、所提供的技能和知識，還有整體滿意度相關。”
