For an increasing number of students at American universities, Old is suddenly in. The reason is obvious: the graying of America means jobs, coupled with the aging of the baby-boom generation, a longer life span means that the nation’s elderly population is bound to expand significantly over the next 50 years. By 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will be older than 65, up from 14 percent in 1995. The change poses profound questions for government and society, of course. But it also creates career opportunities in medicine and health professions, and in law and business as well. “In addition to the doctors, we’re going to need more sociologists, biologists, urban planners and specialized lawyers,” says Professor Edward Schneider of the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Gerontology.
对于越来越多的美国大学学生来说，老龄化突然出现了。原因很明显：美国的老龄化意味着就业，再加上婴儿潮一代的老龄化，更长的寿命意味着美国老年人口在未来50年内必然会大幅增加。到2050年，25%的美国人将超过65岁，高于1995年的14%。当然，这一变化给政府和社会带来了深刻的问题。但它也为医学和健康专业，以及法律和商业领域创造了职业机会。南加州大学老年学学院的Edward Schneider教授表示：“除了医生，我们还需要更多的社会学家、生物学家、城市规划师和专业律师”。
Lawyers can specialize in “elder law,” which covers everything from trusts and estates to nursing-home abuse and age discrimination. Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because the baby boomers, 74 million strong, are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees in human history. “Any student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with, say, an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money,” one professor says.
律师可以专门研究“老年法”，涵盖从信托和遗产到养老院虐待和年龄歧视的所有方面。商人们看到了老年人市场的巨大机遇，因为婴儿潮一代有7400万人，很可能是人类历史上最富有的退休群体。一位教授说：“任何将老年病学专家知识与MBA或法律学位相结合的学生都将获得印钞许可”。
Margarite Santos is a 21-year-old senior at USC. She began college as a biology major but found she was “really bored with bacteria.” So she took a class in gerontology and discovered that she lied it. She says, “I did volunteer work in retirement homes and it was very satisfying.”
Margarite Santos是南加州大学21岁的大四学生。她开始上大学时时生物专业，但发现自己“真的厌倦细菌”。于是她上了一堂老年学课，发现自己喜欢老年学。她说：“我在养老院做志愿者，很令人满意。”
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