What are the possible career paths for a college graduate with a degree in philosophy?
I am currently a sophomore in high school. I will soon be looking at potential colleges that I would like to go to and potential careers I would like to pursue. I have taken an interest in philosophy and questioning the institutions and beliefs around me. I would like to major in philosophy in college; however, I do not know what careers I could pursue once I graduated from college. #career-path #philosophy #philosophy-practice
2 answers
David’s Answer
My perspective may not be the most common on this question. My undergraduate degree is in philosophy and I have a life-long passion for philosophy. My career has been as a military officer, national security and policy professional, and intelligence officer. I believe the study of philosophy has been essential and very beneficial in all those endeavors. The intellectual rigor a good philosophy education develops builds a superior foundation for political and security analysis and decision-making. I wouldn't say it is particularly better than other liberal arts or social sciences though, but for me it has been.
I have many friends who pursue more traditional philosophy careers - especially teaching and writing. Teaching philosophy can be a very rewarding career, but don't discount government or business work built on a foundation of philosophy and liberal arts. Whatever you do, I do recommend you sample a fair amount of hard sciences and economics and history to complement philosophy as a major.
Thank you Mr.Jewell. As I start my looking at colleges in the future and definitively will take your advise and sample different classes when I am in college. Thank you for the thoughtful answer and taking the time out of your day to respond to my question.
Trevor Warren
Matthew’s Answer
With a degree in philosophy, you can pursue pretty much any career you want, though you'll have to double major if you want to graduate with a license to teach or enough science classes to qualify you for medical school. As a philosophy major, you'll learn to think clearly, research deeply, and write cogently. These skills can serve you well in fields as diverse as computer programming, law, educational entrepreneurship, and geographic information systems. You'll even equip yourself to earn more, by mid-career, than the average business or accounting major.
Not a week goes by, in my work as a Feldenkrais Practitioner and learning center director, that I'm not thankful for the philosophy education I received as an undergrad. It gave me the foundation I needed to keep engaging, deeply, with the Western philosophical canon after graduation—and to appreciate somatics when I finally encountered the work of F. M. Alexander and Moshé Feldenkrais. My undergraduate philosophy education has informed the curricula I've designed over the years, and it informs the children's books I'm now writing.
If you're already reading philosophy as a high school sophomore, yes: definitely consider philosophy as a major in college!