#23. Is it advisable for a teenage student to have a part-time job?
People who oppose the idea of students taking part time jobs say that students should use their time to focus on exclusively on studying. I would argue instead that part-time jobs helps students focus on their studies, provides valuable practical experience, and allows them a feeling of success and independence that is a perfect complement to their academic pursuits.
A popular criticism of schools is that they are"ivory towers," or places where study and research are divorced from the "real world". A part-time job related to their major gives students an exciting chance to apply the theories they have learned in school. Chemistry is a notoriously abstract, boring, difficult subject. When a student takes a part-time job in a medical research lab, however, he/she might discover how important studying Chemistry is for saving people's lives. This student might then return to his/her Chemistry studies with renewed vigor. What was an abstract academic pursuit becomes a concrete and interesting goal with a real relationship to the student's life.
Part-time jobs also help students strengthen their resumes, build important contacts with companies, and familiarize them with the contemporary state of their respective fields. No matter how hard they try, Computer Science textbook publishers cannot keep up with the rapid development of new computer hardware, software, and programming languages. C. S. students who wish to maintain a competitive edge in the job market should find part-time positions where they can learn state-of-the-art techniques. After they graduate from college, they might then return to their part-time employer to look for a full-time position, or approach other employers with good references and cutting-edge work experience.
Finally, the feeling of success that comes from holding a part-time job can build students' confidence. Knowing that they can do a job well and be paid for it is an important character-building experience that many students put off for too long. Learning to manage the money that they make will be a critical part of their future lives. If they make mistakes handling their money in college, the results will probably not be disastrous, but will teach them valuable lessons that they will be sure to remember in the future, when they will be truly independent.
23. 学生兼职可取吗？
那些反对学生做兼职工作的人认为学生应该集中所有的时间专心学习。我却认为兼职工作帮助学生集中注意力进行学习，提供宝贵的实践经验，并给他们一种成功和独立的感觉，这对他们的学业是一种完美的补充。
关于学校的流行看法是它们是“象牙塔”，或是学习与研究同“真实世界”相分离的地方。一份与学生的专业相关的兼职工作给他们一个令人激动的机会去实践他们在学校中学到的理论。化学是一门众人皆知的抽象、烦人且难学的课程，可当一个学生做医学研究实验室的兼职工作时，他/她就会了解学习化学对挽救人的生命有多重要。这个学生可能会以更大的活力投入到化学学习中去。它从一项抽象的学术研究变成了一个与该学生切实相关的具体且有趣的目标。
兼职工作也可以帮助学生们充实他们的履历，与公司建立重要的联系，并使他们熟悉各自领域的最新动态。计算机教材出版商无论怎么努力都无法跟上计算机新的硬件、软件和编程语言的发展。想在人才市场上取得竞争优势的计算机专业的学生应该找那些可以学到最新技术的兼职工作。他们大学毕业后可以回到兼职雇主那里找一份全职工作，也可以带着评价良好的推荐信及前沿的工作经验去找新的雇主。
最后，从事兼职工作所获得的成就感能树立学生的信心。知道自己能做好一份工作并因此获得报酬是一种重要的性格塑造经历，而很多学生的这种经历都来得太晚。学会管理挣来的钱将会是学生未来生活的重要部分。上大学时如果他们在管理钱财上犯了错误，结果不会很严重，却会让他们吸取宝贵的教训，当他们在未来真正独立的时候，肯定记住这些。
- focus ［ˈfəukəs］ vt. 使集中在焦点上，集中
- complement ［ˈka:mpləmənt］ n. 补足物
- pursuit ［pəˈsu:t］ n. 追求
- notoriously ［nəuˈtɔ:riəsli］ adv. 众所周知地
- reference ［ˈrefərəns］ n. 介绍信(人)
- cutting-edge ［ˌkʌtiŋˈedʒ］ adj. 先锋的，前沿的