双语：MBA工商管理学硕士学位缘何遇冷？

对于很多人来说，工商管理学硕士学位往往意味着成功，而近年来，MBA热潮开始降温。

Pursuing an MBA degree is the ambition of many young white-collar workers who graduated from university a few years before. They’ve accumulated some professional experience and saved a bit of money – prerequisites for most MBA programs.

对于那些已经大学毕业数年的年轻白领们来说，攻读工商管理学硕士学位（简称：MBA）是他们的理想。他们已经积累了一些专业领域的工作经验，也存下了一小笔积蓄——这两者都是攻读MBA的先决条件。

An MBA degree is a good springboard for those who want to switch to another career or climb to a higher position. The learning experience can be rewarding and practical.

对于那些想要转行或者升职的人而言，MBA是块好跳板。这段学习经历兼具可回报性和实用性。

That’s because MBA programs develop employees’ management skills, while also teaching them basic or even advanced accounting, finance and marketing.

这是因为MBA课程着重培养从业人员的管理技能，同时也向他们传授基础、甚至是高级的财会、金融以及营销方面的知识。

However, before candidates jump into such a program, they should consider a number of points.

然而，在申请MBA课程前，你应该注意以下几点：

Recently, in an article titled “If you can’t get into a top-five MBA program, don’t even bother” on QZ.com, Jay Bhatti, an investor and advisor to startups in New York City, explained his view on MBA programs.

最近，美国财经网站“Quartz”刊登了一篇题为《如果你不能申请到MBA课程排名前五的学校，就不要去了》。文中，来自纽约的投资人兼创业顾问杰•巴蒂阐述了自己对MBA课程的一些看法。

He said it’s important to first ask yourself: “Why do you want an MBA and what schools are you applying to?”

杰•巴蒂表示，一定先要问自己：“你为什么要攻读MBA？你要申请哪些学校？”

Career experts have repeatedly pointed out that MBAs are not as valued today as they were 30 years ago, both at home and abroad.

职场专家已经反复指出，不管是在国内还是国外，现在MBA的含金量都不如30年前了。

Statistics from Stanford University, US, show that from 2005 to 2008, more than 94 percent of MBA graduates had jobs lined up for after their graduation. Since then, however, this has fallen to 75 percent. Conditions are even worse at less well-known schools.

来自美国斯坦福大学的相关统计数据显示，从2005年到2008年之间，超过94%的MBA毕业生有大把工作机会可供选择。而从那以后，这一数字便降到了75%。在一些名不见经传的学校，情况更糟。

“Ten years ago, I used to tell candidates that an MBA was a great investment, regardless of which program they went into, as long as they had a general idea of where they wanted to take their career,” said Bhatti, who got his MBA from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 2002. “Today, I cannot state that belief anymore.”

巴蒂于2002年时获得了宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院的MBA学位，他说：“十年前，我常常会告诉申请MBA的人，这是项巨大的投资，不管他们攻读的是哪所学校的MBA，只要他们对于职业方向有一个总体上的定位就可以了。如今，我绝口不提这种理念。”

One reason is that emerging start-up companies don’t value MBAs as much as big firms. Bhatti also cited other factors that make an MBA degree less desirable in the West, such as that fewer companies are paying for their employees’ education and firms are “hiring less and paying less” in today’s economy.

一个原因是大批涌现的新兴企业并不像大公司那样看重MBA学位。巴蒂同时也提到了其他一些导致MBA在海外遇冷的因素，比如说越来越少的企业愿意为员工的求学进修买单，以及在当前的经济形势下，许多行业都在“裁员降薪”。

The MBA industry is booming in China. But insiders advise students to get a more realistic picture of what it is like doing an MBA course before they enroll.

在中国，MBA行业正在如日中天，但是业内人士建议学生们在攻读MBA之前，先对该课程有一个客观的了解。

Christina Liu, PR manager of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing, said: “Some believe that spending one or two years of their life studying for an MBA will result in decades of happiness, more leisure time and money. This dream may never come true.”

北京长江商学院的公关经理Christina Liu表示：“一些人认为，花费一两年时间学MBA将会带来数十载的幸福时光——大把的闲暇时间和钞票。这只是做梦罢了，永远也实现不了。”

来源：21英语学习网