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My daughter called me last night to celebrate her news. “I got the job！”she said. “I’m going to be decorating cupcakes！”
I cheered. My daughter earned an honors degree in Natural Resources from a major university this past May. But this is the happiest I’ve heard her sound in months.
I bet you think you know where this blog post is going： oh， no， another parent 1）bemoaning the fact that our nation’s newly minted college graduates can’t find decent jobs！
But you would be wrong. This is a very different rant.
My daughter is the poster child for why college matters. She went to a decent suburban high school， finished in the top quarter of her class and played 2）varsity sports. Attending a state university allowed her to continue expanding her intellectual and social horizons. She worked closely with researchers in Natural Resources， learned Spanish， studied and worked abroad， and explored electives that enriched her perspective. She continually added to her resume， too， always building toward her post-graduation dream of working as a scientist.
She did everything right， and 3）lo and behold， the system worked. She landed a job with a West Coast environmental engineering company that paid her more money than she had ever dreamed of making right out of college. 4）Hurray！
Slowly， though， things 5）unraveled. My daughter loved living near San Francisco， but even on her hefty salary， she could only afford an apartment in a dire section of Oakland， which led to her being caught in the middle of a mini gang shootout. Meanwhile， her spiffy new job bored her， and her bosses were often negative， even 6）mean-spirited.
For months， she stuck it out. Her student loans were about to kick in and this job paid double what any of her friends were making， plus benefits. As time passed， though， my sunny girl grew more 7）despondent. Every day， she dragged herself into work. And， every day， things didn’t get better.
She started looking for work. In California， the unemployment rate is dire—11.3 percent. One of her job interviews for a coffee company required four different interviews， plus test taking. My daughter got the job and was thrilled， especially because the position includes health benefits. But the pay was 8）abysmal： minimum wage.
Did she really want to leave her posh job for minimum wage？ How could she—a driven student， a hard worker， a young woman who had always set goals and reached them—possibly justify making that leap？ There wasn’t any rational reason for her to quit. But there was every emotional reason to do so.
“Life is too short to be miserable for money，” I told her finally. “Just quit. Take the 9）barista job and figure out something else while you’re making lattes.”
I can hear the gasps of horror from most parents out there. How could I advise my daughter to join the ranks of the marginally employed， after our family invested so much into her college degree？
Easily. College， you see， is not really about preparing you for the job market. It’s about gaining the knowledge and skills you need to seize opportunities—and that includes knowing when to walk away from something that makes you unhappy.
There’s a lot of talk these days—well， all days， I suppose—about what good it is to get a liberal arts degree， what majors are most likely to lead to the best-paid and most stable careers， and the importance of building your resume while you’re in school so that you have an edge when it’s time to enter the almighty job race.
That’s all true， mostly. Obviously， you have to eat. But maybe the goal of college shouldn’t be so closely linked to employment. Actual life isn’t that different from 10）the game of Life， in the sense that there’s a point where at the start we all have to choose the college path or the career path. You can earn the same money either way， and the same good （or bad） spins on the dial can send you into a 11）tailspin of debt or misery： illness， accidents， divorce， tornadoes taking your house. College is no guarantee that you’ll be rich， or even middle class. In fact， there are some arguments that suggest technical training is a better bang for the buck.
（A handy example： my younger brother never finished his four-year college degree， yet he makes ten times more money than my other brother and I do， and we both have master’s degrees.）
College， if you’re lucky enough to get there， is really about figuring out your friends and your values as well as your dreams for the future. Nobody—well， almost nobody—finds a top-paying position right out of college. Most of us have to pay our dues and climb a dozen different career ladders before we find one that has rungs we can reach—and a place at the top with a view that suits us. If you land that seemingly “perfect”job with a salary worth boasting about， but then you hate it and are afraid to quit， your wings are clipped. That “safe” job will kill your creativity， drown your enthusiasm， and 12）smother your ability to get up in the morning with a bounce in your step. Why stay？ The answer most people give is “fear.”We’ve all heard the unemployment statistics.
But let’s turn those around. The unemployment rate is high—even upwards of 12 percent in certain U.S. cities. But that means that 88 percent of people have jobs. Can they make a living on their wages？ That depends on how you define a “living.” Maybe you don’t need a new car， or a car at all. Maybe you can find a seasonal rental or roommates.
Jobs are like college courses. Each one you take teaches you a set of new skills and offers a fresh perspective on life. They aren’t meant to be permanent， most of them. They are only stepping stones.
In my daughter’s case， the barista job led her to have enough free hours to do what she really loves： draw comics. She’s thinking about publishing her comics online. In her free time， she also happened to stop by a new gourmet cupcake store， where she chatted with the enthusiastic owner and was hired to decorate cupcakes and work the counter. Again， it’s not much money， but combined with the coffee place， it’s enough for her to 13）scrape by. Meanwhile， she has moved out of Oakland and into an affordable room in a house near the beach in Santa Cruz. She’s happily experimenting with cupcake flavors and thinking about helping this new business owner with social media and marketing. She is learning something new every day. Life is good.
When you quit a job， any job， it can be terrifying. But it’s also exhilarating， as you open yourself up to new possibilities. So go ahead. Take the risk. Quit that job， if you hate it. You might surprise yourself.
昨晚，我女儿给我打来电话以庆祝她所带来的消息。“我得到那份工作了！”她说道，“我就要去装饰纸杯蛋糕了！”
我欢呼起来。今年五月，女儿从一所重点大学获得了一个自然资源荣誉学士学位。但这是多月来我听到她说过的最开心的话。
我敢打赌，你以为你知道这篇博客文章的走向会是：哦，不，又一位家长为我们国家的大学新毕业生无法找到体面工作而扼腕叹息了！
但是你想错了。这是一场迥然不同的碎碎念。
我女儿是体现“念大学很重要”这个问题的典型代表。她在郊区一所不错的高中就读，以班上排名前四分之一的成绩毕业，是学校体育代表队成员。升入州立大学使她在知识面和社交面上得到扩展。她与自然资源方面的研究员工作紧密，学了西班牙语，出国留学和工作过，探究过能拓宽她视野的选修课。她还不断地丰富她的个人简历，总是朝着毕业后成为一名科学家的梦想努力。
她的每一步都走得很对，你瞧，这计划行之有效。她在美国西岸一家环境工程公司找到了一份工作，所得的收入比她设想过的刚毕业的大学生薪酬都高。万岁！
然而，渐渐地，各种问题开始接踵而来。我女儿爱住在旧金山附近，但即使她收入不薄，却也只能够租得起奥克兰市劣区里的一套公寓，甚至还遇到过小型黑帮枪战。与此同时，她风光的新工作很快让她感到厌倦，而且她的上司们总是情绪负面，甚至态度刻薄。
数月来，她都忍耐着坚持上班。她的学生贷款就要开始缴付了，而这份工作的收入是她任何一位朋友加上福利后所得的两倍。然而，随着时间的推移，我那阳光的小女孩变得日渐沮丧。每天，她都是硬拽着自己去上班的。而且，每天的情况都没有改善。
她开始找工作。在加利福尼亚州，失业率高得可怕——11.3%。一份咖啡公司的工作要求她进行四轮不同的面试，外加笔试。女儿获得了这份工作并感到激动不已，尤其是因为那个职位包括了健康福利。但薪酬却糟透了：最低工资水平。 她真的想从一份高薪工作“跳槽”到最低工资水平？她怎么可以这么做——作为一名发奋图强的学生，一名兢兢业业的员工，一名年轻女子，她总是不断追求实现各种目标——这次跨越要怎样才能解释得通呢？
找不到任何理性的理由来解释她的辞职。但却有各种情感上的理由来解释。
“人生苦短，不值得悲惨地追求金钱，”我最终跟她说，“辞了吧。接受咖啡师的工作吧，在调配拿铁咖啡的时候再想想其他出路。”
我能够听得出四周大多数家长因惊恐而发出的喘息声。在我们家为她的大学学位投入了那么多之后，我怎么能够建议自己的女儿去加入边缘的就业队伍？
显而易见。大学，你懂的，并不真的就是为了就业而准备的。它是为了让人获取知识和技能从而把握机遇的——包括让人懂得何时应该离开让自己觉得不快乐的事物。
最近有很多谈论——其实呢，应该是一直以来，我想——关于取得大学文科学位有什么好处，学什么专业才能最大机会地获得一份最高收入、最稳定的工作，还有在学校时就丰富自己个人简历的重要性，以便在那至高无上的求职竞赛中保持优势。
通常来说，这些都是对的。显然，你必须要填饱肚子。但或许大学的目标不应该和求职如此紧密地联系起来。我们所有人都要从这么一个选择点开始，选择大学之路或者职业之路，从这层意义上看，真实的生活和“生活游戏”没有太大区别。你可通过其中任一种方式赚得同样多的钱，而转盘上同样的各种或好或坏的奖励都能给你带来债务或痛苦的困境：疾病、意外、离婚、带走房子的龙卷风。大学并不能成为你富裕或者晋身中产阶层的保证。事实上，有很多论据表明，参加职技培训对赚钱而言更划算。
（举个身边的例子：我的弟弟从来就没完成他的四年大学学位，然而却赚了比我另外那个兄弟和我多十倍的钱，而我们俩都取得了硕士学位。）
大学，如果你有幸能够进入其中，关乎的其实是让你找出自己的朋友、自己的价值观，以及自己未来的梦想。没有人——嗯，几乎没人——能够一毕业就能找到一份薪资最高的工作。大多数大学毕业生要偿还贷款，并且在不同的职业阶梯上攀爬，直到我们发现其中一把梯子上有我们能够企及的梯级——以及一个位置，其高处有一片适合我们的风景。如果你着陆在一处看似“完美”的工作上，有着值得炫耀的收入，然而你却对它又恨又怕失去，那你的双翼已经被束缚住了。那种“安全的”工作会抹杀你的创造力，浇灭你的热忱，闷死你早上从床上一跃而起的冲劲。为什么还要留下来呢？
大多数人给出的回答会是“恐惧”。我们都听到了关于失业的数据。
但让我们尝试反过来看这些数据。失业率是很高——甚至在某些美国城市里一度高达12%。但那意味着有88%的人有工作。他们能够以自己的收入维持生活吗？那取决于你如何定义“生活”。或许你不需要一辆新车，或者完全不需要车。或许你可以找到季节性出租或合租的房子。
工作就像大学的课程。你选择的每一门课程都将教会你一套新的技能，并让你对生活有新的了解。它们并非是永久性的，就其中大部分来说。它们不过是进身之阶而已。
拿我女儿的情况来说，咖啡师的工作给她带来了足够的自由时间来做自己真正喜爱的事：画漫画。她正打算在网上发布她的漫画。在业余时间里，她碰巧在一家新的纸杯蛋糕美食店歇脚，在和热情满溢的店主聊天后，她还被聘请到店里做蛋糕装饰和柜台的工作。这一次，也没有很多收入，但与咖啡公司那边的工作合起来，足够她勉强维持生活。与此同时，她搬离了奥克兰，搬到圣克鲁兹海滩附近一所房子的一个她付得起房租的房间里。她开心地调校各种风味的纸杯蛋糕，并寻思着帮助这位新兴行业的店主使用社交网络和进行市场营销。她每天都在学习新事物。生活得很美好。
当你离职时，不管任何职业，这都会让人感到害怕。但这同时也是让人兴奋的，因为你让自己能拥抱各种新的机遇。所以勇敢前进吧。接受挑战。如果你厌恶那份工作，就辞了吧。你或许会为自己感到惊讶不已。
I cheered. My daughter earned an honors degree in Natural Resources from a major university this past May. But this is the happiest I’ve heard her sound in months.
I bet you think you know where this blog post is going： oh， no， another parent 1）bemoaning the fact that our nation’s newly minted college graduates can’t find decent jobs！
But you would be wrong. This is a very different rant.
My daughter is the poster child for why college matters. She went to a decent suburban high school， finished in the top quarter of her class and played 2）varsity sports. Attending a state university allowed her to continue expanding her intellectual and social horizons. She worked closely with researchers in Natural Resources， learned Spanish， studied and worked abroad， and explored electives that enriched her perspective. She continually added to her resume， too， always building toward her post-graduation dream of working as a scientist.
She did everything right， and 3）lo and behold， the system worked. She landed a job with a West Coast environmental engineering company that paid her more money than she had ever dreamed of making right out of college. 4）Hurray！
Slowly， though， things 5）unraveled. My daughter loved living near San Francisco， but even on her hefty salary， she could only afford an apartment in a dire section of Oakland， which led to her being caught in the middle of a mini gang shootout. Meanwhile， her spiffy new job bored her， and her bosses were often negative， even 6）mean-spirited.
For months， she stuck it out. Her student loans were about to kick in and this job paid double what any of her friends were making， plus benefits. As time passed， though， my sunny girl grew more 7）despondent. Every day， she dragged herself into work. And， every day， things didn’t get better.
She started looking for work. In California， the unemployment rate is dire—11.3 percent. One of her job interviews for a coffee company required four different interviews， plus test taking. My daughter got the job and was thrilled， especially because the position includes health benefits. But the pay was 8）abysmal： minimum wage.
Did she really want to leave her posh job for minimum wage？ How could she—a driven student， a hard worker， a young woman who had always set goals and reached them—possibly justify making that leap？ There wasn’t any rational reason for her to quit. But there was every emotional reason to do so.
“Life is too short to be miserable for money，” I told her finally. “Just quit. Take the 9）barista job and figure out something else while you’re making lattes.”
I can hear the gasps of horror from most parents out there. How could I advise my daughter to join the ranks of the marginally employed， after our family invested so much into her college degree？
Easily. College， you see， is not really about preparing you for the job market. It’s about gaining the knowledge and skills you need to seize opportunities—and that includes knowing when to walk away from something that makes you unhappy.
There’s a lot of talk these days—well， all days， I suppose—about what good it is to get a liberal arts degree， what majors are most likely to lead to the best-paid and most stable careers， and the importance of building your resume while you’re in school so that you have an edge when it’s time to enter the almighty job race.
That’s all true， mostly. Obviously， you have to eat. But maybe the goal of college shouldn’t be so closely linked to employment. Actual life isn’t that different from 10）the game of Life， in the sense that there’s a point where at the start we all have to choose the college path or the career path. You can earn the same money either way， and the same good （or bad） spins on the dial can send you into a 11）tailspin of debt or misery： illness， accidents， divorce， tornadoes taking your house. College is no guarantee that you’ll be rich， or even middle class. In fact， there are some arguments that suggest technical training is a better bang for the buck.
（A handy example： my younger brother never finished his four-year college degree， yet he makes ten times more money than my other brother and I do， and we both have master’s degrees.）
College， if you’re lucky enough to get there， is really about figuring out your friends and your values as well as your dreams for the future. Nobody—well， almost nobody—finds a top-paying position right out of college. Most of us have to pay our dues and climb a dozen different career ladders before we find one that has rungs we can reach—and a place at the top with a view that suits us. If you land that seemingly “perfect”job with a salary worth boasting about， but then you hate it and are afraid to quit， your wings are clipped. That “safe” job will kill your creativity， drown your enthusiasm， and 12）smother your ability to get up in the morning with a bounce in your step. Why stay？ The answer most people give is “fear.”We’ve all heard the unemployment statistics.
But let’s turn those around. The unemployment rate is high—even upwards of 12 percent in certain U.S. cities. But that means that 88 percent of people have jobs. Can they make a living on their wages？ That depends on how you define a “living.” Maybe you don’t need a new car， or a car at all. Maybe you can find a seasonal rental or roommates.
Jobs are like college courses. Each one you take teaches you a set of new skills and offers a fresh perspective on life. They aren’t meant to be permanent， most of them. They are only stepping stones.
In my daughter’s case， the barista job led her to have enough free hours to do what she really loves： draw comics. She’s thinking about publishing her comics online. In her free time， she also happened to stop by a new gourmet cupcake store， where she chatted with the enthusiastic owner and was hired to decorate cupcakes and work the counter. Again， it’s not much money， but combined with the coffee place， it’s enough for her to 13）scrape by. Meanwhile， she has moved out of Oakland and into an affordable room in a house near the beach in Santa Cruz. She’s happily experimenting with cupcake flavors and thinking about helping this new business owner with social media and marketing. She is learning something new every day. Life is good.
When you quit a job， any job， it can be terrifying. But it’s also exhilarating， as you open yourself up to new possibilities. So go ahead. Take the risk. Quit that job， if you hate it. You might surprise yourself.
昨晚，我女儿给我打来电话以庆祝她所带来的消息。“我得到那份工作了！”她说道，“我就要去装饰纸杯蛋糕了！”
我欢呼起来。今年五月，女儿从一所重点大学获得了一个自然资源荣誉学士学位。但这是多月来我听到她说过的最开心的话。
我敢打赌，你以为你知道这篇博客文章的走向会是：哦，不，又一位家长为我们国家的大学新毕业生无法找到体面工作而扼腕叹息了！
但是你想错了。这是一场迥然不同的碎碎念。
我女儿是体现“念大学很重要”这个问题的典型代表。她在郊区一所不错的高中就读，以班上排名前四分之一的成绩毕业，是学校体育代表队成员。升入州立大学使她在知识面和社交面上得到扩展。她与自然资源方面的研究员工作紧密，学了西班牙语，出国留学和工作过，探究过能拓宽她视野的选修课。她还不断地丰富她的个人简历，总是朝着毕业后成为一名科学家的梦想努力。
她的每一步都走得很对，你瞧，这计划行之有效。她在美国西岸一家环境工程公司找到了一份工作，所得的收入比她设想过的刚毕业的大学生薪酬都高。万岁！
然而，渐渐地，各种问题开始接踵而来。我女儿爱住在旧金山附近，但即使她收入不薄，却也只能够租得起奥克兰市劣区里的一套公寓，甚至还遇到过小型黑帮枪战。与此同时，她风光的新工作很快让她感到厌倦，而且她的上司们总是情绪负面，甚至态度刻薄。
数月来，她都忍耐着坚持上班。她的学生贷款就要开始缴付了，而这份工作的收入是她任何一位朋友加上福利后所得的两倍。然而，随着时间的推移，我那阳光的小女孩变得日渐沮丧。每天，她都是硬拽着自己去上班的。而且，每天的情况都没有改善。
她开始找工作。在加利福尼亚州，失业率高得可怕——11.3%。一份咖啡公司的工作要求她进行四轮不同的面试，外加笔试。女儿获得了这份工作并感到激动不已，尤其是因为那个职位包括了健康福利。但薪酬却糟透了：最低工资水平。 她真的想从一份高薪工作“跳槽”到最低工资水平？她怎么可以这么做——作为一名发奋图强的学生，一名兢兢业业的员工，一名年轻女子，她总是不断追求实现各种目标——这次跨越要怎样才能解释得通呢？
找不到任何理性的理由来解释她的辞职。但却有各种情感上的理由来解释。
“人生苦短，不值得悲惨地追求金钱，”我最终跟她说，“辞了吧。接受咖啡师的工作吧，在调配拿铁咖啡的时候再想想其他出路。”
我能够听得出四周大多数家长因惊恐而发出的喘息声。在我们家为她的大学学位投入了那么多之后，我怎么能够建议自己的女儿去加入边缘的就业队伍？
显而易见。大学，你懂的，并不真的就是为了就业而准备的。它是为了让人获取知识和技能从而把握机遇的——包括让人懂得何时应该离开让自己觉得不快乐的事物。
最近有很多谈论——其实呢，应该是一直以来，我想——关于取得大学文科学位有什么好处，学什么专业才能最大机会地获得一份最高收入、最稳定的工作，还有在学校时就丰富自己个人简历的重要性，以便在那至高无上的求职竞赛中保持优势。
通常来说，这些都是对的。显然，你必须要填饱肚子。但或许大学的目标不应该和求职如此紧密地联系起来。我们所有人都要从这么一个选择点开始，选择大学之路或者职业之路，从这层意义上看，真实的生活和“生活游戏”没有太大区别。你可通过其中任一种方式赚得同样多的钱，而转盘上同样的各种或好或坏的奖励都能给你带来债务或痛苦的困境：疾病、意外、离婚、带走房子的龙卷风。大学并不能成为你富裕或者晋身中产阶层的保证。事实上，有很多论据表明，参加职技培训对赚钱而言更划算。
（举个身边的例子：我的弟弟从来就没完成他的四年大学学位，然而却赚了比我另外那个兄弟和我多十倍的钱，而我们俩都取得了硕士学位。）
大学，如果你有幸能够进入其中，关乎的其实是让你找出自己的朋友、自己的价值观，以及自己未来的梦想。没有人——嗯，几乎没人——能够一毕业就能找到一份薪资最高的工作。大多数大学毕业生要偿还贷款，并且在不同的职业阶梯上攀爬，直到我们发现其中一把梯子上有我们能够企及的梯级——以及一个位置，其高处有一片适合我们的风景。如果你着陆在一处看似“完美”的工作上，有着值得炫耀的收入，然而你却对它又恨又怕失去，那你的双翼已经被束缚住了。那种“安全的”工作会抹杀你的创造力，浇灭你的热忱，闷死你早上从床上一跃而起的冲劲。为什么还要留下来呢？
大多数人给出的回答会是“恐惧”。我们都听到了关于失业的数据。
但让我们尝试反过来看这些数据。失业率是很高——甚至在某些美国城市里一度高达12%。但那意味着有88%的人有工作。他们能够以自己的收入维持生活吗？那取决于你如何定义“生活”。或许你不需要一辆新车，或者完全不需要车。或许你可以找到季节性出租或合租的房子。
工作就像大学的课程。你选择的每一门课程都将教会你一套新的技能，并让你对生活有新的了解。它们并非是永久性的，就其中大部分来说。它们不过是进身之阶而已。
拿我女儿的情况来说，咖啡师的工作给她带来了足够的自由时间来做自己真正喜爱的事：画漫画。她正打算在网上发布她的漫画。在业余时间里，她碰巧在一家新的纸杯蛋糕美食店歇脚，在和热情满溢的店主聊天后，她还被聘请到店里做蛋糕装饰和柜台的工作。这一次，也没有很多收入，但与咖啡公司那边的工作合起来，足够她勉强维持生活。与此同时，她搬离了奥克兰，搬到圣克鲁兹海滩附近一所房子的一个她付得起房租的房间里。她开心地调校各种风味的纸杯蛋糕，并寻思着帮助这位新兴行业的店主使用社交网络和进行市场营销。她每天都在学习新事物。生活得很美好。
当你离职时，不管任何职业，这都会让人感到害怕。但这同时也是让人兴奋的，因为你让自己能拥抱各种新的机遇。所以勇敢前进吧。接受挑战。如果你厌恶那份工作，就辞了吧。你或许会为自己感到惊讶不已。