張瑋欣
Traditionally, our parents encourage us to enter the university in order
to attain academic achievements. They believe once we are qualified as
professionals, we would get high salaries and live in abundance. It
may have been a brilliant road in the past but not in the present-day
world any more.
Most of the changes resulted from other changes in the social structure
and the welfare system, and the professionals are the ones who feel the
blunt of the blow most acutely. These days, a hard-working surgeon
might find himself paid less than the doctors in the old days because of
the newly-established national health insurance system. Accountants
today find that the government』s tax base may include as high as
one-third of the total of their private properties. Even the lawyers
have to struggle hard to establish fame and visibility in the
over-crowded legal world, for only fame would guarantee fortune these
days. In other words, traditional training through the school system
can no longer prepare us well for success in the future.
In contrast, young Turks who dare to break through the traditional rules
and create new areas of expertise are fast becoming new examples of
success. Sabeer Bhatia, 32, has invented Hotmail, the world』s first
Web-based free-email system. If he had done the traditional things and
stayed in his native land of India instead of heading for California at
age 19, he might never have made it. If Jeffery Koo Jr., 37, whose
family owns one of Taiwan』s largest conglomerates, had stuck to banking
as his parents had hoped, instead of starting up broadband Internet
service provider GigaMedia, many Taiwanese might still be surfing along
at a laggardly 56 Kbps, according to 「Studio Classroom, Advanced. April,
2002」.
When you are young, intelligent and ambitious, you don』t have to follow
the script. Bhatia and Koo are the vanguard of a generation who are
refusing to plod the rutted path set out for them already. They have
become very wealthy but they did not come into the fortune through their
family. Parents encouraged us to attain the higher academic
achievements because they loved us, and they hoped that we could live in
abundance. However, the world has been changing. Diplomas cannot
guarantee us richness or success. If we cease to educate ourselves and
look for creative openings, we could still live in poverty despite our
fantastic record of formal schooling.
「Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time
to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught,」 said Oscar
Wilde. It is our fortune to be attending the university; nevertheless,
we have to continue educating ourselves in all aspects and create our
own future.