传统意义上的“万金油”，是指某人在职业技能上，样样通，但样样松，是个贬义词。然而，现在情况有了变化，在西方，该词正在转向褒义。

Traditionally， the derogatory saying “Jack of all trades and master of none” refers to someone who is seemingly capable of doing a lot of things but not specialized in anything. However， its connotations have now started shifting more positively in the West.

人们历来认为，术业有专攻，要学有所长。但随着科技的发展、信息和技能更新的加速，当达到某一预期的专业水准时，发现相当一部分已被替代或过时。据本·哈默博士的《如何在未来工作中取得成功》一书研究，在过去数年间，职场上平均37%的内容发生了这种变化。

It’s always believed that one in pursuit of a career should acquire specialized skills in a particular field. With the rapid development of technologies， information and know-how， however， when reaching the expected professional level， one may find that it has been partially outdated and replaced. According to a book entitled How to Succeed in the Future of Work by Dr. Ben Hammer， an average of 37% of workplace content underwent this kind of change over the previous years.

自本世纪以来，各领域的重大突破，取决于高度专业的同时，亦仰仗高度的综合化。在美国，跨学科的研究进展突出，鼓励文理交叉1，特别重视许多领域间出现的“软技能”。

Since the beginning of this century， significant breakthroughs in various fields have come out of both highly specialized and generalized skills. In the United States， for example， interdisciplinary research promoted at the intersection of arts and sciences has made prominent progress， with a special emphasis on “soft skills” emerging in many aspects.

就发展趋势而言，越是专业的知识与技能，越容易被科技所取代。固然，会计、工程师、医生、护士等职业还会存在，但他们的工作内容和性质会有很大变化。在其任务不断被自动化替代的同时，跨部门的合作、团队精神、技术间的调整、转化、人际沟通与人文关怀，即“人类技能”将更为重要2。

As a general trend， the more specialized knowledge and skills become， the more easily they can be replaced by technology. Surely， there will still be professionals such as accountants， engineers， doctors and nurses， but the nature of their jobs and responsibilities will undergo significant transformation. While their technical tasks will constantly be replaced by automation， “human skills”—collaboration across sections， teamwork spirit， competence in synchronizing and transforming technical issues， interpersonal communicative skills and humanistic care—will be valued more.

美国法学院的毕业生，平均年薪为9.4万美元，但如果其同时具有语言、宗教或其他领域的学位，平均年薪约为13万美元。