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Philosophy grads I've been told are looked on very favorably by law schools, all else being equal. The ability to wrestle with complex ideas combined with (hopefully) clear and strong writing ability are attributes all good lawyers have.
You can develop the same skills with a degree in English, History and just about anything else. Law schools don't care about your undergrad degree; they care about your GPA, LSAT and ability to pay your tuition.
I have a cardiologist friend that got a BA in English...many lawyers have English degrees. We have family friends in the publishing industry that were English majors, just to name a few.
OP: It sounds as if you want to major in something and somehow want a job out of it, but you haven't specified exactly what you want to do to earn a living.
Think of it this way: If I asked which is better, a Ferrari hardtop or a Lamborghini convertible, you'd get different answers, unless you specify that you live in the Colorado mountains, in which case, you may get more votes for the hardtop, or maybe you may even be swayed away from either choice.
You can develop the same skills with a degree in English, History and just about anything else. Law schools don't care about your undergrad degree; they care about your GPA, LSAT and ability to pay your tuition.
You can develop the same skills in most other programs, however Philosophy does it best with a strict focus on Logic, Argumentation and Reasoning.
In addition, a lot of undergrad philosophy programs now have emphasis in pre-law, which both helps in admissions, but also more importantly helps the student to figure out if law is really for them.
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Also Philosophy majors tend to be "low unit" majors, meaning that you can easily minor, or even double major with a Philosophy degree and something else.
I personally have a Philosophy major and English minor, however I think that regardless of major, "hustle" and drive, really determine success; especially in these sorts of majors.
But like other posters have said, what is it (OP) that you want to do? You can do quite a bit more (perception-wise) with an English major, but really it comes down to your goals.
I strongly suggest internships (in whatever you major in) and volunteer work as well.
As it's been stated with an English degree you can be a Writer, Copywriter, Technical Writer, Editor, Freelance Writer, Teacher, Professor, work in PR, social media, Marketing, Advertising, Editorial Researcher, Analyst and Grant Writing.
And if you're a good salesman/woman, you can sell the Philosophy degree to do the same things.
Unlike the STEM majors (even with an internship), you might not start out in a decent paying job, or even in the class of job you'd like. So it's imperative that you hustle and don't pay too much for school.
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In the end, if you're good at one of the STEMS, go ahead and major in one of those. If you want a "challenge" and really have a passion for English or Philosophy, then go for it. Just realize that you will be doing a lot more hustling, just to get your foot in the door.
Then once you have your foot in the door, and get on your way (after a few years) your education won't even matter. From there it will all be about networking and connections.
Last edited by harhar; 10-23-2013 at 11:32 AM..
Reason: forgot some words :X
I wouldn't necessarily do it unless I wasn't willing to be creative about what I want to do with my life. I have an english major friend who is a social media director for a fancy weekly national magazine and another one who is driving the Goodwill donations truck. My philosophy major friends worked in a call center or managed a dining hall. You can get jobs with these degrees, but it isn't like "I'll get a degree in English, let me be a writer" (even english teacher requires an education certification) like someone with a degree in mechanical engineering can say "I'll get a degree in mechanical engineering and become a mechanical engineer!" You have to be creative about forcing your own path.
I'd strongly recommend that if you like these fields, study them but also take on internships, leadership positions, and realize that you will be fighting an uphill battle compared to business, engineering, etc. Doesn't mean it can't be done.... you just have to be tenacious.
^^ definitely majors/fields for creative types who like to forge their own way, and aren't necessarily interested in more "cookie cutter," for lack of a better term, jobs. I know when I was a newspaper writer, my favorite thing about the job was that every day was totally different, every assignment had the potential to be something radically different, I had tons of creative freedom as a features writer, spent very limited time in an office. It never bothered me when I was a student that I didn't have a cubicle in an office park waiting for me upon graduation. Some people, it would bother.
...As it's been stated with an English degree you can be a Writer, Copywriter, Technical Writer, Editor, Freelance Writer, Teacher, Professor, work in PR, social media, Marketing, Advertising, Editorial Researcher, Analyst and Grant Writing.
The thing is, however, that writing for a living in the real world is 180 degrees from the writing one does on jobs like those listed above. Academic writing, as in the type you do for English, Philosophy, and Social Science papers won't fly in the real world unless you're actually in Academia--and even then it can be problematic.
Think of all the newspapers, magazines, web sites, written speeches, or new releases you've come by. None of them sound anything like a 5 page paper on Chaucer. They're structured differently, use different language, they don't have footnotes, and if they're well-written, they're easy to read despite the complexity of the subject matter. None of how to do that is taught in college, or at least it wasn't when I attended. Students learn either through internships or, if they're lucky, at some entry-level job where an experienced hand will teach them.
Second thing is that nobody ever gets paid just "to write." The get hired to write ABOUT soumething. Which means that it's easier to get work if one's writing skills can be leveraged with hard and deep knowledge about something--cooking, finance, sports, computers, engineering, whatever. It's a lot easier to write if you can write about something you're interested in AND something other people are interested in too. A lot easier to get paid that way too.
Last edited by citylove101; 10-23-2013 at 12:20 PM..
I understand there are better majors (engineering, computer science) but I have no interest in those respected fields.
it doesn't sound like you enjoy math and if so i'd stay away from philosophy if i were you. a good program will have some tough logic classes in it (which will be mathematical)
otherwise for employment, between these two the degree won't matter as much as what you do with it. both are fairly generic when it comes to employment
The thing is, however, that writing for a living in the real world is 180 degrees from the writing one does on jobs like those listed above. Academic writing, as in the type you do for English, Philosophy, and Social Science papers won't fly in the real world unless you're actually in Academia--and even then it can be problematic.
Think of all the newspapers, magazines, web sites, written speeches, or new releases you've come by. None of them sound anything like a 5 page paper on Chaucer. They're structured differently, use different language, they don't have footnotes, and if they're well-written, they're easy to read despite the complexity of the subject matter. None of how to do that is taught in college, or at least it wasn't when I attended. Students learn either through internships or, if they're lucky, at some entry-level job where an experienced hand will teach them.
Second thing is that nobody ever gets paid just "to write." The get hired to write ABOUT soumething. Which means that it's easier to get work if one's writing skills can be leveraged with hard and deep knowledge about something--cooking, finance, sports, computers, engineering, whatever. It's a lot easier to write if you can write about something you're interested in AND something other people are interested in too. A lot easier to get paid that way too.
Things might have changed since you've gone to school or maybe you substituted the wrong electives. For example, I took a business writing class as an elective. It was a class to write business letters, emails and all that. It was commonsense stuff to me. And for any writer, it should be. Why?
Because one of the first things about being a (good) writer is knowing the content and writing for and to your intended audience; that's English 101. You're obviously not going to get very far quoting Keats in a sales email...(well you might, depending on context, but that's another thread). However I don't think my tone in my previous post suggested anything of the sort?
I have unfortunately met, plenty of English majors, who troll boards like these to correct every little mistake, or who refuse to compromise, because they don't understand context.
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I don't disagree, that you eventually need to know a subject in depth to be successful.
However I've written copy, done research and edited things I've known nothing about. So even as a writer, you're not just writing. You're using those creative parts of your brain to connect pieces, to find relevant information, and to well be creative.
The best writers can write about anything, but no one is going to get right out of college and be an expert (in any field). That's why I suggested internships (like you also suggest) while in college to test the waters within a field of interest.
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Again, my main point wasn't that you're going to be handed a job, it was that you have to create opportunities yourself with hard work and hustle, especially with a major like English or Philosophy. And that most likely that means starting out from the very bottom, finding out what your strengths are, make connections, and hopefully have a good career.
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