Quote:
Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost
Philosophy is mostly useful as a major if one is preparing for grad school or double majoring. The skills are useful, but I don't think there are many employers looking to hire people with a BA in philosophy. It is possibly the single best degree to have for law school, however. I think it could also be useful that it is useful for business school or a variety of professional schools, including medical school.
There is also the route of getting a PhD in philosophy and teaching or doing research.
|
This covers most what I was going to say.
When I got my Philosophy degree over 13 years ago (ugh!) I also paired it with and English minor. The Philosophy program I was in was "low-unit" meaning you could more easily double major with it.
The program also had multiple "tracks" for business, medical and law.
Personally if I had to do it over again, I would have tried to get more into Computer Science and pair the Philosophy degree with a CS degree.
Ironically I'm in IT now.
Unfortunately even though there has been talk in the media lately about the resurgence of Philosophy, namely in Ethics in relation to business and law, most people don't know what it's good for.
Conversely we have had in the recent past prominent scientific TV personalities bash Philosophy as a study, which hasn't helped the already diminished value of the major.
Philosophy is the rigorous study of human thought, which can be both abstract and analytical. If you can properly dissect a philosophical argument and come up with your own, namely in writing, those are skills that are valuable in virtually any field.
In the real world, you should pair it with another more established major, if only to get the networking and job placement from the established major. Internships mean a LOT more than the major does. And in 3-5 years after job experience the major, regardless of which one, doesn't mean a whole lot.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
