根据本月发表在英国科学期刊《自然》上的一项调查，中国科学家对工作的满意度低于其他任何主要国家的研究人员，但他们对职业前景的乐观程度却高于美国和英国同行。
Chinese scientists are less satisfied with their jobs than researchers in any other major country, according to a survey that also found they are more optimistic about their careers than their counterparts in the United States and Britain.
调查显示，在157名中国受访者中，仅有51%表示对工作感到满意，较2018年下降了24个百分点。
Only 51 per cent of the 157 respondents from China said they were satisfied with their jobs, according to the survey published this month in the British scientific journal Nature, down 24 per cent from 2018.
此次调查共收到来自133个国家、涵盖多个学科、学术界和工业界的3882份问卷。由于受访者系自愿参与，结果不能被视为代表所有学科、地区和类型机构的中国科学家。
The survey drew 3,882 respondents from 133 countries, across a variety of disciplines, academia and industry. Because respondents chose to take part, the results cannot be taken as representative of all Chinese scientists working across disciplines, regions and types of institutions.
调查结果发布之际，中国正大量投入科研经费。据国家统计局数据，2025年中国全社会研发经费支出达3.93万亿元人民币（约合5845亿美元），创历史新高，同比增长8.2%。
The findings come as China pours money into research. In 2025, the country’s total spending on research and development reached a record 3.93 trillion yuan (US$584.5 billion), up 8.2 per cent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
加拿大位居榜首，76%的受访学者表示满意。美国为65%，全球平均水平为61%。
Canada topped the list, with 76 per cent of surveyed scholars saying they were satisfied. The United States stood at 65 per cent, while the global average was 61 per cent.
然而，中国受访者对未来的看法比许多同行更乐观。71%的人表示对自己的独立性感到满意，55%对自身前景持乐观态度，略高于全球平均的52%。此外，37%的人认为自己的职业前景优于上一代，高于全球平均的31%。
Yet Chinese respondents were more upbeat about the future than many of their peers. Some 71 per cent said they were satisfied with their independence, and 55 per cent were optimistic about their own prospects, slightly above the global average of 52 per cent. In addition, 37 per cent thought their career prospects were better than those of previous generations, compared with the global average of 31 per cent.
这种反差在美国和英国最为明显，这两国通常被视为科研领军国家。尽管那里的职业待遇相对较好，但仅有34%的美国受访者和33%的英国受访者对未来职业前景持乐观态度。
The contrast was sharpest with the US and Britain, usually regarded as research leaders. Despite relatively good career treatment there, only 34 per cent of US respondents and 33 per cent of British respondents were optimistic about their future career prospects.
“职业前景似乎主要与在不断扩大且质量不断提升的科学体系中工作的感知有关，”瑞士卢加诺大学研究政策专家贝内代托·莱波里在《自然》杂志的报道中说。
“Career prospects seem to be mostly related to the perception of working in science systems that are expanding and improving their quality,” Benedetto Lepori, a research policy specialist at the University of Lugano in Switzerland, said in Nature’s report.
中国学者表示满意度较低的领域包括同事关系、休假、工作与生活的平衡以及职业发展机会。
The areas where Chinese scholars reported lower satisfaction included relationships with colleagues, time off, work-life balance and professional development opportunities.
仅有34%的人对经费感到满意。随着申请激增、竞争加剧，国家自然科学基金的总体资助率从2021年的16.6%下降至2025年的约12.3%，今年回升至14.8%。
Only 34 per cent were satisfied with funding. As applications have surged and competition has intensified, the overall funding rate of the National Natural Science Foundation of China fell from 16.6 per cent in 2021 to about 12.3 per cent in 2025, before rebounding to 14.8 per cent this year.
仅有36%的人对职业发展感到满意。薪资和灵活性也很重要，但对薪酬的满意度仅为39%，对工作与生活平衡的满意度仅为45%。这些问题可能会降低整体幸福感。《南华早报》联系的多位教授均拒绝置评。
Only 36 per cent were satisfied with professional development. Salary and flexibility also matter, but satisfaction was only 39 per cent for compensation and 45 per cent for work-life balance. These issues likely lower happiness overall. Several professors contacted by the South China Morning Post declined to comment.
中国受访者也远不太可能将地缘政治视为威胁。只有6%的人认为地缘政治会影响自己，而全球平均为16%，美国为27%。
Chinese respondents were also far less likely to see geopolitics as a threat. Only six per cent thought geopolitics would affect them, compared with 16 per cent globally and 27 per cent in the US.
北京一所大学化学专业的一位青年学者（要求匿名）表示，这可能部分反映了参与者的构成。
A young scholar majoring in chemistry at a university in Beijing, who asked to remain anonymous, suggested this may partly reflect who took part.
“受影响的学者不太可能参与此类调查，而大多数基础研究未受地缘政治冲击影响，”他说。
“Scholars who are affected are likely not to have participated in such surveys, while most basic research has not been affected by geopolitical shocks,” he said.
《自然》杂志的报道还发现，23%的中国受访者将人工智能（AI）对其领域的影响列为面临的最大挑战之一，远高于全球平均的12%。
Nature’s report also found that 23 per cent of Chinese respondents named the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on their field as one of the biggest challenges they faced, far above the global average of 12 per cent.
这位北京学者说，中国较早开始将AI用于科学研究，因此更多人会感受到其影响。但他相信，信心与焦虑可以共存。
The Beijing scholar said China started using AI for science earlier, so more people would feel affected by it. But he believed confidence and anxiety can coexist.
我不担心人工智能会取代我的工作，因为人类在研究深度上仍然占优势；相反，它让我摆脱繁重的日常教学和文书工作，我用它来帮助准备课程材料。
“I’m not worried that AI will take my job, since humans still have the edge in research depth; instead, it frees me from burdensome daily teaching and paperwork, and I use it to help prepare course materials,” he explained.