????“我剛成為合伙人”這句話(huà)聽(tīng)起來(lái)確實(shí)如同天籟之音，也是很多剛剛進(jìn)入律師事務(wù)所和投資銀行的雇員們渴望有一天能夠說(shuō)出口的一句話(huà),。

????但如今,，成為合伙人的意義已經(jīng)今非昔比。實(shí)際上,，這一點(diǎn)也已經(jīng)不是什么新鮮事了,。但是，很多剛?cè)胄械墓蛦T仍然渴望能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)這一目標(biāo),。

????為什么,？原因很多，其中大多涉及傳統(tǒng)和薪酬,。不過(guò),，盡管成為合伙人并不是毫無(wú)意義，初入職場(chǎng)的人還是應(yīng)當(dāng)考量一下,，它是否是一個(gè)可靠的終極目標(biāo),。

????大約20年前，成為合伙人的好處顯而易見(jiàn),。首先,，它意味著薪酬上調(diào)，而且,，合伙人與準(zhǔn)合伙人的職責(zé)劃分也涇渭分明,。當(dāng)時(shí)的合伙人是一家公司或事務(wù)所少數(shù)幾個(gè)股東之一。但如今,，“要成為一名股權(quán)合伙人比以往任何時(shí)候都要困難,，”《美國(guó)律師》（American Lawyer）的總編羅賓?斯巴克曼稱(chēng)?！八枰L(zhǎng)的時(shí)間,，對(duì)律師的要求也更苛刻?！?/p>

????《美國(guó)律師》搜集的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,，2000年,，（按照營(yíng)收排名的）美國(guó)200強(qiáng)律師事務(wù)所全部合伙人中約78%是股權(quán)合伙人，到了2010年,，這些事務(wù)所的股權(quán)合伙人比例下降到了62%,。

????成為合伙人就等于拿到黃金入場(chǎng)券的日子已經(jīng)一去不復(fù)返了。事實(shí)上,，有時(shí)情況可能還正好相反,。舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，本月早些時(shí)候,，由于公司事先向合伙人承諾的一些特殊待遇未能兌現(xiàn),，杜威路博國(guó)際律師事務(wù)所（Dewey & LeBoeuf）有約20名合伙人集體離職。同時(shí),，在投資銀行界,，近幾個(gè)月來(lái)高盛（Goldman Sachs）也有相當(dāng)比例的合伙人離職?；蛟S可以說(shuō),，十年前當(dāng)高盛從純粹的合伙企業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橐患疑鲜泄酒穑呤⒌奈幕鸵呀?jīng)開(kāi)始轉(zhuǎn)型了,。

????過(guò)去幾十年來(lái),，隨著金融公司和律師事務(wù)所的擴(kuò)張、兼并和全球化,，少數(shù)人持股的模式已經(jīng)土崩瓦解,。接著，經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退來(lái)襲,，這些公司可分發(fā)給員工的錢(qián)也減少了,。如今，隨著很多事務(wù)所開(kāi)始重新招聘,，每家事務(wù)所對(duì)內(nèi)部等級(jí)制度的定義也發(fā)生了變化,。

????“律師事務(wù)所不得不面對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)，它們不能讓太多人成為股權(quán)合伙人,，否則將無(wú)法生存,，”律師事務(wù)所咨詢(xún)公司Edge International的創(chuàng)始合伙人加里?瑞斯金表示。因此,，他說(shuō),，一些事務(wù)所將合伙人分成了三六九等，處在頂層的是股權(quán)合伙人,；其他等級(jí)的合伙人“可能會(huì)參照其他事務(wù)的做法,，或者只是一種更體面的薪酬支付方式,?！?/p>

????“合伙人這個(gè)字眼的含義就跟癌癥一樣寬泛,，”美國(guó)董事協(xié)會(huì)（American Board Association）法律管理業(yè)務(wù)部的肯?揚(yáng)稱(chēng)?！八谏探缬幸欢ㄒ饬x,，但人們需要挖掘這名頭下的具體內(nèi)涵?！?/p>

????"I just made partner" sure sounds like music to the ears. It's a line many early-career employees at law firms and investment banks aim to say one day.

????But making partner doesn't mean what it used to. It hasn't for a while, in fact. And still, many entering the workforce covet that milestone.

????Why? There are a couple of reasons, most of them having to do with tradition and pay. And while making partner isn't meaningless, job seekers entering the workforce should question whether it's a solid end-goal.

????About 20 years ago, the benefits of making partner at a firm were clear. It meant a pay increase, first of all, and there was a distinction of responsibilities between partners and associates. A partner was one of few shareholders in the company or firm. But these days, "it's harder than ever to become an equity partner," says Robin Sparkman, the editor in chief of the American Lawyer, "it takes longer, and the demands on that lawyer are more stringent."

????According to data collected by the American Lawyer, about 78% of all partners at the top 200 law firms (ranked by revenue) were equity partners in 2000. By 2010, 62% of partners at these firms had the same status.

????No longer is making partner a golden ticket. In fact, in some cases, it can mean the opposite. Earlier this month, for example, about 20 partners at law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf left en masse after the firm couldn't make good on some of the promised perks of partnership. And, in the world of investment banking, Goldman Sachs (GS) has seen its fair share of partner-level departures in recent months. Arguably, Goldman's culture started to change about a decade ago when it transitioned from a true partnership to a public company.

????The model of having a firm with a small group of owners who held equity stakes began to break down over the past couple of decades as financial and legal firms expanded, merged, and globalized. Then the recession hit, and firms simply had less money to give to people. Now, as many are starting to rehire, each defines its internal hierarchy differently.

????"Law firms just have to face the reality that they can't make too many people equity partners or they can't survive," says Gerry Riskin, founding partner of law firm consulting firm Edge International. As a result, he says, some offer tiered partnerships with equity partners at the top. Other levels of partnership, Riskin says, "may be based on what other firms are doing, or may be just a glorified way of paying a salary."

????"Partner is as broad of a word as cancer is," says Ken Young, who is part of the American Board Association's Law Practice Management Section. "To the business community, it means something, but people need to dig beneath the title."