echoes

I'm majoring in philosophy, and I know I'll have plenty of job opportunities once I get my bachelor's degree.



Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm also majoring in mechanical engineering?

I expect my philosophy major to get me nowhere professionally; I'm just doing it because I have the time and interest for it.

But who knows, I suppose that some day I might go for a PhD in philosophy and teach.

Cretinist

As a philosophy major myself, I get asked what I plan to do after college all the time (I guess the perception of this as a useless field of study is quite common). I personally plan to get a PhD in philosophy and to teach it, but I'm also seriously considering double majoring in philosophy and mathematics. This is mostly because I believe this will greatly improve my understanding of technical philosophical issues (as well as scientific ones), but also because I recognize that a degree in mathematics will be much more practical.

I suppose I could attempt to write 'popular' philosophy books (think Paul Strathern's In 90 Minutes books) as a source of income, since philosophy books written for other philosophers don't sell that well.

mac_philo

flatland,

I notice you did not mention your writing sample. If you want to apply in the fall, you should start on your writing sample now! Do not just send a paper that scored an A. The writing sample is the most crucial part of your application. A great one can make up for a low gpa/gre, a mediocre one will ruin an application with perfect numbers. Study your ass off for the gre and take tons of practice tests, but make the sample your top priority.

Or, as you said, you can do something else.

Thomas Ash

Hi everyone!

I'm doing philosophy at university too (as a single subject at Cambridge University in the UK), so I thought I'd add my case. (PS: It's actually my 19th birthday today [ ], and I've just come home from a volunteer teaching placement in Ghana for 3 months [ ] to a wadge of philosophy reading [ + ], so I've had to start telling people what I want to do with my life!)

I really enjoy philosophy, and find it fascinating, so at the moment I think it's what I'd like to do with my life. I'd prefer a job which is really enjoyable and gives me a chance to write about the things I find interesting to one which earns more money but then means you spend most of your day just working to make money but not actually enjoying your time. (Please note that I'm not trying to be rude to anyone who chooses to do a slightly more practical job!)

Like people have said, the only real avenue for doing that is through an academic position, so at the moment that's what I think I'll do, though of course I'm only 19 so my plans may all change. Actually my dad is a research fellow (in history - current world affairs, really - at Oxford University), so I get an insight into academic life, and it seems pretty good!

Best wishes,

Thomas

flatland

Mac:
Yes, that is also a point of concern for me. I'm trying to figure out what exactly I want to write on and how to tackle it. I seem to be interested in action theory and supervenience/explanatory metaphysics, but that may just be because that's what I'm doing in my classes. My favorite subject to date has been a class on Leibniz, Descartes, and Spinoza. However, I don't think writing samples are supposed to be analysis of previous philosophers, but rather original work, so that's out. I plan to spend a large portion of this summer working that out, and hopefully getting help from some teachers, if any stay around here in the summer. If anybody knows any good articles or general resources on supervenience/emergence as a method of maintaining non-reductive materialism, I'd love to hear about them.

Also, does anybody know offhand whether philosophy grad departments generally view a year off before applying as a neutral, a plus, or a minus?

Ernest Sparks

A beer buddy of mine was actually hired by Berkeley Lawrence lab as a philosophy consultant while still working on his Ph.D. This was decades ago, so I presume they had plenty of bucks for this sort of thing at that time. I don't remember what kind of help he delivered to them.

pug846

I graduated last May with my degree in Philosophy, and I'm not in law school. I couldn't be happier. So, that's always an option.

mac_philo

flatland,

Did one of your professors tell you that the writing sample should primarily be original? I am pretty skeptical of that claim. I did a Masters at a school that generates a lot of PhD applicants. The faculty said that the writing sample needs to showcase your philosophical skills, not your ability to generate something new. You are showing them that when you arrive you won't need to be taught how to do philosophy. You're ready to dive in. So I would suggest you write on what you're really interested in, and don't worry about novelty.

If you want articles on supervenience, etc., you should check out David Chalmer's website, which has a massive bibliography. He's at the University of Arizona, and should pop right up on a Google search.

The year off is entirely neutral. Or maybe for a few, an irrelevant little plus.

flatland

First mac, thanks for all your help.

I'm not really sure where I got the idea that a writing sample should be original, now that I think on it. I have a few more related questions, if you don't mind. First, if you've heard of it, what do you think of The Philosophical Gourmet as a resource for researching grad schools?

Also I also have an interest in bioethics as a possible alternative to academia. I was wondering if you or anyone else knew of any rankings, or other collected info on bioethics grad programs? Possibly even a joint M.A. prgram for the two, similar to joint J.D.-Ph.D. programs? I am doing some research on my own, but any other information would be greatly appreciated.

mac_philo

Hey, ask away. Having gone through this process I'm happy to help.

The Leiter report is the only ranking that matters, for what it is worth. It is a ranking of faculty reputation. The quality of graduate education and the placement record (hiring record) do not factor into the Leiter report. It is indeed a good resource. It is not such a good way to choose which school to attend. So if you've found his Gourmet Report, you've found the best source. Another helpful source of application related information is Matthew Lu's homepage. He's a grad student in philosophy at Cornell. You'll have to find him via google, as it's inconvenient for me to post links. (I'm using lynx...)

I actually did not know that bioethics was a seperate discipline or program. I don't know anything about joint programs. If you want to focus on bioethics in a philosophy department, that specialty should be listed in the Gourmet report.