How popular is philosophy as a major?

College Majors
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<p>I would take philosophy over political science any day… How many politicians have majored in Polit science??</p>

<p>Heres some people with Philosophy degrees…
Government, Politics, and Law: Thomas Jefferson (U.S. President), David Souter (Supreme Court Justice), Robert MacNamara (Secretary of Defense and Head of the World Bank), William Bennett (Secretary of Education and best-selling author), Patrick Buchanan (presidential candidate and political columnist), Jerry Brown (former governor of California and presidential candidate), Raisa Gorbachev (former first lady of the Soviet Union).</p>

<p>Business: J. Paul Getty, Carl Icahn (CEO, TWA Airlines), Gerald Levin (CEO, Time Warner, Inc.), George Soros (financier), Lachlan Murdoch (son of Rupert Murdoch, media magnate), Carleton Fiorina (CEO Hewlett-Packard).</p>

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<p>I second (or third) the suggestion of Pitt. Your stats are suitable and the philosophy and related departments are excellent. NYU also has a fine philosophy program but is, I believe, considerably more expensive.</p>

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<p>No matter your undergraduate major, real “expertise” will come through either advanced study or practical usage. Philosophy is extremely useful in nearly every context, as it utilizes an individual’s analytic skills (something greatly sought after in the work force). Having philosophy as a foundation to advanced study or practical experience is an excellent skill set.</p>

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<p>What do you get from a political science degree that you couldn’t get from a philosophy degree?</p>

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<p>Well, I took classes on state and local government budgeting, world banking, strategic communication, non-profit leadership, ect.</p>

<p>One poster mentioned that philosophy provides “analytical” skills, which is true…but misleading. Analytical skills can be acquired through just about any major, not just philosophy. </p>

<p>Poli Sci offers courses on just that - analysis, research methods, quantitative methods, polling, ect.</p>

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<p>Silence Kit,</p>

<p>I majored in Poli Sci because I wanted a career dealing with the government, either public or private aspects.</p>

<p>A philosophy degree, for me, would have been useless and provided zero marketable skills when joining the work force.</p>

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<p>cconroy,</p>

<p>What is it you want to do with your philosophy degree?</p>

<p>Also, alot of those examples (Thomas Jefferson) are pretty dated. Besides, back then they only offered a couple majors (Philosophy, Math, Science, Law).</p>

<p>I think you are misinformed about what Poli Sci is designed to do. It is NOT designed to prepare you to be an elected official (I would guess most politicians majored in Business or have their JD), although you always have the option - just as anyone else.</p>

<p>It IS suppose to prepare you to work in government, or the internal business of politics. It’s a focused career path, but our government is so large it provides lots of different opportunities.</p>

<p>Philosophy is so broad and non-descript that it provides no transferable skills, no “hard skills.” Sure it requires “analytics”, but it doesn’t provide analytic training (data research, quantitative methods, statistics) - which is want employers want, trained applicants.</p>

<p>I could take a dump in a box and call it philosophy. “What’s that s*** doing in that box?”, 'Oh, that’s just my philosophy."</p>

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<p>I don’t see why you’re so adamant on shooting down philosophy. I can see if somebody is pursuing a BA in Philosophy and doing NOTHING ELSE to market themselves after graduation. I’m going to major in it, but I’m going to supplement it with various six month co-ops. The co-ops can be pretty much anything I want and find interest in, that way I have some practical experience on my resume (one of them will likely be law related as I’m probably applying to law school). </p>

<p>Some people just find political science boring. I’d major in economics before political science.</p>

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<p>BIGeastBEAST, You obviously have no idea what you’re talking about, regarding philosophy or Pitt.</p>

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<p>I’m not trying to “shoot down” philosophy. I briefly majored in it before changing to Poli Sci, which at the time provided better skills to pursue a career in government (contractor).</p>

<p>However, speaking as a person who’s been on the other side of the hiring desk, I feel obligated to present the facts. Employers will not be impressed with a philosophy degree, period. That is unless you want to teach philosophy or some other language.</p>

<p>Employers want to fill their positions with skilled employees, not people who’ve read alot about philosophy. It just doesn’t have an application in the business world. That may be unfair, but that’s life. When I sit down with a prospective employee, I want them to show me how they can contribute to the company, what skills they have, how they could be used, and do they have qualities that are in demand for the service we provide. Philosophy can’t do that. </p>

<p>Databases aren’t maintained with philosophy, payroll isn’t sent out with philosophy, blue prints aren’t designed with philosophy, sales aren’t made with philosophy, tech support isn’t provided by philosophy, bridges aren’t engineered with philosophy, ect.</p>

<p>I used Poli Sci to get an entry-level job as an analyst, now I’m working on my MBA, but I was at least able to get into the field I wanted, which is important. I’d love to be a “Political Scientist”, but that isn’t realistic.</p>

<p>The only benefit from a philosophy major would be law school preparation, and if that’s your plan - you better actually go to law school, if not…you’re gonna be left with little marketable skills.</p>

<p>If I could redo it all, I probably wouldn’t even have majored in Poli Sci. I would have either done Economics or pursue a degree that provides a hard skill such as engineering, IT, or a science. </p>

<p>You may think philosophy provides all these great things, but that is irrelevant. What matters is what employers want, and in this tough economy, they don’t have the budget to hire aspiring philosophers who don’t have a skill set. Not when you’re competing against people who’ve gained practical experience in Business, Finance, Economics, IT, Engineering, ect.</p>

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<p>So what practical skill did you learn in Poli Sci? I’m sure you did a lot of bridge building and computer database management, like all Poli Sci majors, but what practical skill were you able to apply to being an analyst?</p>

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<p>Poli Sci provided a very strong base in quantitative methods and research, and of course a foundation to understand how government works, budgeting, current affairs, ect.</p>

<p>Poli Sci is one of the best majors if you are interested in being a 0132 Analyst, or a 1801 - 1802 with the fed (feel free to look up those job codes). </p>

<p>Being an analyst isn’t some flashy job, it’s basically compiling research data into report form, but that’s what Poli Sci prepared me to do.</p>

<p>However, an analyst was just one course I could have taken. I have classmates who went on to become program managers at various federal agencies, 1811 LEO’s, community affairs specialists, and working in government affairs deparments in industries like energy, defense contracting, and non-profits. Others work with their state government in aspects like compliance, oversight, and investigations. Some don’t use their degree at all, which is common. </p>

<p>Lots of people doing Poli Sci get their MPA and move into government management positions or go into the military. A Poli Sci grad is very attractive as an officer. My initial plan was to do just that (go into Marine OCS as a 2nd LT.) but I was DQ’d due to a medical condition I was born with. However, for anyone interested in IR/Policy/Defense - that is the best route. I have a few friends who joined the Army as officers and have lived all over the world (nice perk) and have a TSC. If they choose to leave the military they willl be very strong candidates for any department under the Homeland Security Department, CIA, FBI, DEA, ect. </p>

<p>If you have good grades and and strong internships Poli Sci majors can get walk-in positions with the State Department, DIA or any other agency. </p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Poli Sci is some GREAT major. It’s a narrow focus that is really only for people who wish to work FOR the government or WITH the government, which is what I wanted to do…so for me it worked well. </p>

<p>If I could do it all over again, I’d probably do Economics, but that’s all hindsight.</p>

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<p>Just so everyone knows, I’m not anti-philosophy.</p>

<p>I understand the rigors of the major and appreciate the importance of the subject. It just stuggles to find it’s place in the work force, which is unfortunate…because the world could use more people focuses on morals, laws, society, justice, ect.</p>

<p>It just doesn’t have an application in modern society.</p>

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<p>But it’s still enriching and fulfilling to take. I’d say that the best way to take philosophy as a major (if you’re sticking with your bachelors and not going into advanced graduate or law study) is to double major with a practical discipline. I was considering economics and philosophy for a while, before I seriously started considering law school.</p>

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<p>No doubt is it enriching and fulfilling…but that and 99 cents will get you a cup of coffee.</p>

<p>In my spare time I coach T-Ball, which is also enriching and fulfill, but enrichment don’t pay the bills, ya know?</p>

<p>If it was up to me I’d spend my whole life doing enriching things…climb to the top of Mt. Everest and read Psalm 23 while drinking a 73 Chateau Montelena Chardonney, watch the sunset in the Grand Canyon while stoned on peyote, play one on one with Michael Jordan in Madison Square Garden, have a jam-session with Eric Clapton, see the sunrise at the Eiffel Tower with my arm wrapped around some beautiful french chick as we eat beignets and drink coffee from some cozzy cafe near the arche de triomphe, sit alone - inside the Sistine Chapel and get 15 minutes of solitude to privately cry from its beauty, get drunk at a VFW and listen to war stories from some WWII Vet who did more at the age of 19 than I will my whole life, share a joint with Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd while we watch the 1st season of SNL, sit inside the Jefferson Memorial and listen to James Earl Jones read the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, see the Beach of Normandy - with my grandfather, ask my dad questions I never had the courage to ask him, take my nephew fishing and watch him catch his first trout, ect.</p>

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<p>What do you mean by quantitative methods?</p>

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<p>Could those things be picked up by following the news?</p>

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<p>Use your Google-Fu to learn what quantitative methods are, but Poli Sci generaly uses quantitative data and statistics - at least that is what helped me get a job as an analyst.</p>

<p>You can watch the news to learn federal/state/local budgeting if you can, and if you can learn from the news current affairs such as the political dichotomy of southeast Asia and the emergence of modern highway construction and it’s impact on the national currency - more power to ya.</p>

<p>As I said, Poli Sci is a majored desinged for students wanting a career with government. If you don’t want that, don’t major in that, but at least it prepares you for THAT.</p>

<p>Philosophy appears to be a wasteland of information. </p>

<p>“Hurry, some one hire some philosophers to manage our new waste water program - only philosophers can do this job!”</p>

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<p>I ask because the term is vague. I suspect that the answer to my question is: things you learn in a 100 level course in statistics, but I might be wrong.</p>

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<p>I agree that taking classes to learn this is easier than going out on your own and reading about this stuff. </p>

<p>What I’m asking is whether the specialized political stuff that you need to know to get jobs is specialized enough to warrant getting a bachelor’s degree on it.</p>

<p>I suspect that it isn’t, and that philosophy majors who follow this stuff on their own time are just as qualified for jobs that a poli sci major gets. Am I wrong?</p>

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<p>Yes, you are wrong.</p>

<p>For one, you can’t put “I follow stuff on TV” on your resume. You can try, but good luck with it.</p>

<p>However, as I have said multiple times - Poli Sci is designed for people wanting to work in or with the government. So, if you (silence_kit) want to work in government…go get a degree in Political Science, Business, Public Policy, Economics, ect.</p>

<p>Of course, “the government” recruits all sorts of majors because they are a business just like any other organization so IT, Engineering, Linguistics, ect. are also good (better) choices.</p>

<p>If you don’t want to work in or with the government go to school for something else. I’ve never said Poli Sci was some door-kicker, it is what it is. </p>

<p>Poli Sci gave me a very solid research base to get a entry-level job as an analyst. Philosophy wouldn’t have done that for me. If I was trying to get a job as a professional thinker/reader philosophy would be great, but Monster.com hasn’t had many job postings for those positions lately.</p>

<p>“Quantitative Methods” basically refers to compiling data, which is the numero uno job analysts do. Take data from Source A and compile it into Source B to provide to X.</p>

<p>Of course, I’m talking hard data - not theories on law & justice or your opinions on the Social Contract theory.</p>

<p>While Philosophy deals with “theory”, Poli Sci (other than theory courses) deals with facts and the applications of facts.</p>

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<p>Psychologists think they’re experimental psychologists.
Experimental psychologists think they’re biologists.
Biologists think they’re biochemists.
Biochemists think they’re chemists.
Chemists think they’re physical chemists.
Physical chemists think they’re physicists.
Physicists think they’re theoretical physicists.
Theoretical physicists think they’re mathematicians.
Mathematicians think they’re metamathematicians.
Metamathematicians think they’re philosophers.
Philosophers think they’re gods. </p>

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<p>"A job hunter, a philosophy major, went here, there and everywhere in his search for employment, but in vain. Having run out of options, he swallowed his pride and took up the offer of playing a bear in a costume at a zoo. He was locked up in a cage, where he was supposed to imitate various bear-like movements to entertain visitors. </p>

<p>To his horror, another bear appeared in the cage and started approaching him. He panicked and was on the brink of collapse when the bear said: “Don’t be afraid. I’m also a philosophy major.”</p>

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<p>"One day the great philosopher Socrates came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?”</p>

<p>“Wait a moment,” Socrates replied. “Before you tell me I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”</p>

<p>“Triple filter?” asked the acquaintance.</p>

<p>“That’s right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my student let’s take a moment to filter what you’re going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”</p>

<p>“No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it.”</p>

<p>“All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?”</p>

<p>“No, on the contrary…”</p>

<p>“So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you’re not certain it’s true?”</p>

<p>The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued.“You may still pass the test though, because there is a third filter – the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?”</p>

<p>“No, not really…”</p>

<p>“Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?”</p>

<p>The man was defeated and ashamed. This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.</p>

<p>It also explains why he never found out that Plato was shagging his wife."</p>

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<p>No, but you can get involved with student political groups on campus. And there are other media much better than television for learning about politics/current events, but you knew that . . .</p>

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<p>This is still incredibly vague. This could require a lot of specialized knowledge or not, depending on what exactly you have to do.</p>

<p>I still may be wrong, but you aren’t really putting forth a persuasive argument against what I’m saying at all. What barriers are there for people who don’t study political science in getting politicky-jobs? What sorts of things do you learn that you couldn’t learn easily by following politics and current events on your own?</p>