What Can You Do with a Philosophy Degree?
Philosophy majors develop important skills desired by employers.
Studying philosophy promotes critical thinking, effective communication, and intellectual engagement with key ideas. Employers are looking to hire people who can think and communicate well.
“[I]t’s the top humanities bachelors degree in their ranking—from early career all the way to later career. We hear again and again that employers value creative problem solving and the ability to deal with ambiguity in their new hires, and I can’t think of another major that would better prepare you with those skills than the study of philosophy. It’s not terribly surprising to see those graduates doing well in the labor market. We’ve seen quite a few executives—CEOs, VPs of Strategy—who studied philosophy as their undergrad program,” says Lydia Frank, the senior editorial director at PayScale.
Philosophy majors demonstrate their strengths in analytical thinking and verbal skills on graduate school admission exams like the LSAT and the GRE.
Philosophy majors tend to achieve high scores on graduate admissions exams. In fact, philosophy majors consistently have the highest average scores of any humanities / liberal arts major. Philosophy is also the most common major for law school applicants, and philosophy majors have the highest rate of law school acceptance. See the following to understand the data:
http://cdn.ymaws.com/www.apaonline.org/resource/resmgr/Images/phil-test-scores-salaries.png
Philosophy Major Salaries
Over time, philosophy graduates do well financially because they’ve developed the skills that allow them to adapt and change as the work force does. On average, they end up making more than those with degrees in fields that are often seen as more “practical.”
http://dailynous.com/2015/09/04/salaries-of-philosophy-majors-over-time/
Philosophy Degree Careers
Instead of training for one particularly type of career, philosophy majors can branch out into a wide variety of areas. Thinking well and writing well can be transferred into many fields.
Some example careers include:
- Archivist, Lawyer
- Director of Institutional Research
- Social Worker
- Public Relations
- Business Ethics
- Marketing Research Analyst
- And many more…
To see a full list of possible philosophy careers and more information on the major, see: http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/career/.
Career Services at Georgia Southern University can help the expected graduate or the already graduate reach out to employers and opportunities. Resources available by the department include job shadowing, internships, and eager companies who want to hire Philosophy majors.
For more information on their resources, see: http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/career/students/choosing-a-major-exploring-careers/what-can-i-do-with-a-major-in/english/
Georgia Southern’s Philosophy Graduates!
This is Andres Montes, he is in his third year of medical school at Mercer University after graduating from Georgia Southern with a Philosophy degree. He hopes to pursue a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology with a chance of specializing in Maternal Fetal Medicine. Andres says that his degree in philosophy “enables me every shift to connect with my patients on a more humanistic level, bringing a deeper meaning to the work done each day in the pursuit of healing others.”
In 2009, Deborah Anice Swofford Graduated from Georgia Southern University and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, cum laude. While attending Georgia Southern University, Deborah was engaged in campus-wide leadership. As a result of her successful leadership, Deborah was recruited to participate in leadership training and consulting through the Georgia Southern INSPIRE Leadership Team. In that role, Deborah was responsible for the leadership development of college and high school students.
Following graduation from Georgia Southern, Ms. Swofford attended the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. In law school, Ms. Swofford was actively involved in the Association of Women Lawyers. Ms. Swofford was also inducted into Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society. Ms. Swofford graduated in May, 2012 and was admitted to the Georgia State Bar in November, 2012.
Deborah joined The Law Offices of Kevin J. McDonough in September, 2012. Deborah’s primary practice areas include family law, corporate law, and business litigation.
In addition to legal practice, Ms. Swofford is actively engaged in the community. Deborah is a member of the Alpharetta Rotary Club where she serves the local, national, and international communities. Deborah is also involved in the Forsyth County Junior Service League and has served on the Board for multiple years. And, Deborah is passionate about working with the Leukemia and Lymphoma society through their Team in Training program to raise funds and awareness to battle blood cancers.
Historical Philosophy Majors
- Peter Thiel: The co-founder and former CEO of PayPal, hedge fund leader, venture capitalist, philanthropist, and all-around money-haver launched his billion-dollar career with his philosophy major.
- Bill Clinton: Was the 42nd U.S. President who also served as the Governor of Arkansas all while running the well known Clinton Foundation which has helped address many global problems like HIV and AIDS. Earned his Bachelor of Philosophy in Politics from the prestigious Oxford University and then continued to go on to Yale Law School.
- Phil Jackson: Basketball fans know him as the coach of the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers. He has even published a book about how basketball and philosophy interplay in his mind.
- Steve Martin: Instead of this well-known actor pursuing a drama or theater degree, philosophy interested him most and earned a degree in the subject at California State University.
- Rashida Jones: Famous actress, comic book author, and screenwriter among other things; used her Philosophy degree from Harvard University to pursue her dreams and become a famous actress that many women can look up to.
For more well known philosophy majors, visit: http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/14-famous-people-who-were-philosophy-majors/
Last updated: 11/30/2023
