Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does one do with a degree in philosophy? Think for a living?

Law school. It's one of the best pre-law majors.

And thinking for a living is not such a bad thing. We could use more of it in our world then maybe things wouldn't be so effed up.

This is true.

A good philosophy grad would seem well suited for any number of entry level knowledge work jobs. I can't see why philosophy would be any worse than any other liberal arts major, or majors like sociology etc.

Perhaps they can find temporary work interpreting True Detective.

I majored in philosophy and I love my major. But I planned on and then attended law school, because even in the dark ages when I went to undergrad philosophy was not exactly an entry into the job market.
I decided I didn't like the actual practice of law, and now I'm a programmer. Philosophy was actually an excellent background for that.

I wouldn't dissuade someone from pursuing philosophy, but I would suggest they also work on what their eventual job will be.

Anonymous wrote:Here's a few philosophy majors who did okay:

Thomas Jefferson
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jay Leno
Ken Follett
Mary Higgins Clark
Umberto Eco
Rahm Emmanuel
William Bennett
James Michener
Phil Jackson
Woody Allen
Harrison Ford
Alec Trebeck
Carl Icahn
David Souter

Just a little exposure to statistics would help you see how stupid your argument is.

Btw, wasn't. Hitler a painter?

Anonymous wrote:Here's a few philosophy majors who did okay:

Thomas Jefferson
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jay Leno
Ken Follett
Mary Higgins Clark
Umberto Eco
Rahm Emmanuel
William Bennett
James Michener
Phil Jackson
Woody Allen
Harrison Ford
Alec Trebeck
Carl Icahn
David Souter

But how many just settled for the philosophy major and did not pursue any graduate or professional degree.

Here's a few philosophy majors who did okay:

Thomas Jefferson
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jay Leno
Ken Follett
Mary Higgins Clark
Umberto Eco
Rahm Emmanuel
William Bennett
James Michener
Phil Jackson
Woody Allen
Harrison Ford
Alec Trebeck
Carl Icahn
David Souter

Well, of the peers of mine who graduated in the mid 2000s in philosophy that I know of here is the rundown: one is on food stamps blogging and doing handcrafted leatherwork, a few are in law school (mostly those all went to top tier schools, Harvard, Chicago, NYU, etc.), a few have finished law school and are gainfully employed at firms, one is working for a nonprofit that deals with US-China relations, two got accepted to fully funded highly ranked (including living expenses) PhD programs, one is working as a paralegal, one is a daycare teacher, one is a freelance journalist with tutoring as a day job, one is interning for a US senator, and one is a construction worker.

So...it's a mixed bag. Some people completely fit the stereotype of the unemployed philosophy major, or at least underemployed. Some fit the stereotype of philosophy students becoming lawyers, although many of those did very well on the LSAT and got into top law schools and seem to be doing just fine, getting competitive jobs at national firms, etc. A few do stuff unrelated to philosophy, but they seem to be finding fulfilling professional careers, although perhaps not the world's most lucrative ones (journalism, working at a non-profit, getting into politics). Some haven't given up the pipe dream of academia yet, and go on to PhD programs, however no one has taken out debt for it.

The kids who were very academically driven and typically together who majored in philosophy are the ones going to law school, interning for senators, working at non-profits, and getting into competitive PhD programs (also often they went to competitive SLACs, ivies, and other top universities and worked their connections). The ones who were less together, less driven, and perhaps majored in philosophy out of lack of direction tend to be floundering. But I'd hazard a guess that they would be floundering even if they chose a more "practical" major anyway.

I'm not saying that there aren't other more practical majors out there, and they certainly aren't as a whole doing as well as engineers, but it's definitely a wide range of levels of success.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does one do with a degree in philosophy? Think for a living?

Law school. It's one of the best pre-law majors.

And thinking for a living is not such a bad thing. We could use more of it in our world then maybe things wouldn't be so effed up.

I'm married to a philosopher and this is true. Also the kind of serious thinking and analysis that's part of the serious study of philosophy is useful in being a productive and creative worker. But it is true you can't just expect someone to come along and hire you. You've got to hustle and figure out what you want to do with your life and go out and get experience and network.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does one do with a degree in philosophy? Think for a living?

Law school. It's one of the best pre-law majors.

And thinking for a living is not such a bad thing. We could use more of it in our world then maybe things wouldn't be so effed up.

But one needs some money to live while thinking about how the world can be less effed up.

On a serious note, this is where if one majors in Philosophy, it must be in anticipation of doing some postgraduate work - whether law school or something else - but with the expectation that it will lead to a job where one can reasonably sustain oneself.

+1

Most people cannot afford to go college just to learn the art of thinking.

Majoring in philosophy is for students with a trust fund.

Please don't post "but I majored in Philosophy! I graduated in 1994." That means your experience is irrelevant to that of today's grads.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does one do with a degree in philosophy? Think for a living?

Law school. It's one of the best pre-law majors.

And thinking for a living is not such a bad thing. We could use more of it in our world then maybe things wouldn't be so effed up.

But one needs some money to live while thinking about how the world can be less effed up.

On a serious note, this is where if one majors in Philosophy, it must be in anticipation of doing some postgraduate work - whether law school or something else - but with the expectation that it will lead to a job where one can reasonably sustain oneself.

Anonymous wrote:What does one do with a degree in philosophy? Think for a living?

Law school. It's one of the best pre-law majors.

And thinking for a living is not such a bad thing. We could use more of it in our world then maybe things wouldn't be so effed up.

In other news: "grass is green" and "OMG elephants are big animals!"

What does one do with a degree in philosophy? Think for a living?

from article:

Searching for the meaning of life as a philosophy or religious studies major is a noble endeavor, but unfortunately, it's not super exciting to employers.

"In my opinion, these degrees are not at all marketable," says Lynn. "I don't even know what people do with these degrees to be honest. Unless they're willing to go all the way to a PhD in philosophy, for instance, their career paths are zero."

And while she does respect these studies, she advises students to at least minor in something such as business or economics.

As for the verdict from the "Hard Times" report? Not too inspiring. Philosophy and religious studies recent grads had a 10.8 percent unemployment rate.

What do you think?