"The student develops an analytical as well as finely blended character. He is able to choose from a wide variety of job fields from which to embrace a career, without having to be a specialist in one particular discipline"
About this Quote
The intent is pragmatic reassurance. Perrin is speaking to students (and, implicitly, anxious parents and policymakers) who worry that a non-specialist education is a luxury. He argues the opposite: that a generalist can move across "a wide variety of job fields" because modern work rewards people who translate between domains, not just those who burrow deep into one. The subtext flatters adaptability as a marketable virtue, turning intellectual range into employability.
But there's also a cultural context humming underneath: the late-20th-century shift from stable career ladders to patchwork professional lives. Perrin's diction - "job fields", "embrace a career" - borrows the language of workforce planning, suggesting education as preparation for volatility. His quiet provocation is that specialization can be a trap when industries change faster than credentials. In space terms: you don't bring one tool; you bring a toolkit.
Quote Details
| Topic | Student |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Perrin, Philippe. (2026, January 17). The student develops an analytical as well as finely blended character. He is able to choose from a wide variety of job fields from which to embrace a career, without having to be a specialist in one particular discipline. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-student-develops-an-analytical-as-well-as-64203/
Chicago Style
Perrin, Philippe. "The student develops an analytical as well as finely blended character. He is able to choose from a wide variety of job fields from which to embrace a career, without having to be a specialist in one particular discipline." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-student-develops-an-analytical-as-well-as-64203/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The student develops an analytical as well as finely blended character. He is able to choose from a wide variety of job fields from which to embrace a career, without having to be a specialist in one particular discipline." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-student-develops-an-analytical-as-well-as-64203/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.





