<p>I love majoring in philosophy. Although I'm a sophomore, I've had basic philosophy courses and it really peaks my interest. But I'm at a crossroads that every philosophy major goes through and that is what am I going to do when I graduate.</p>
<p>I go to the University of Central Florida and it's not generally regarded as having a good philosophy program. So besides worrying about a career, I have to worry about how graduating from UCF will affect me if I go on to grad school (which I want to do).</p>
<p>And if I go to grad school, what can I do there. </p>
<p>I don't really have goals in life. Having a career is pretty much the only one at the moment. But I don't know what to go in to and it varies from day to day. From journalism to working around lawyers. I don't have any aspirations to making a lot of money, but working in something I won't get bored with. </p>
<p>Paying for grad school is another aspect I need to consider. </p>
<p>I'm just looking for advice as to what to do. Is the time and money worth it? Nobody in my family has gone to college except my aunt, but she majored in accounting. So she went to grad school, but at the same time already had a well paying job.</p>
<p>Philosophy is a hard business to be in. Even if you get a PhD, it is hard to get a teaching job. Grad school takes 7-10 years to get a PhD. That is a long road, and the reward, unless if you are an absolutely outstanding student, isn't going to be too great at the end. So you should keep all of that in mind.</p>
<p>To market yourself as a philosophy graduate, I'd stress that you have training that allows you to learn complicated things quickly. That means that you can be flexible as whatever organization you work for adapts to changing conditions.</p>
<p>I know it's hard to be successful in the field, but I'm using philosophy as a jump off into another field in grad school. I plan on getting my bachelors in philosophy but going to grad school for different concentration.</p>
<p>You should study as an undergrad what you want to study in grad school, as closely as possible, except for a few small exceptions. (I am speaking of grad school, not professional school, which is often a different matter.)</p>
<p>Well, I'm undecided and I've heard/read that philosophy is a good major for going on to grad because you can apply what you've learned to almost any field. </p>
<p>Just looking on some advice from people who've been in a similar situation.</p>
<p>People say philosophy is good if you want to go on to law school, maybe that is what you are refering to? </p>
<p>As a general rule, philosophy has no application whatsoever. It might help you learn to think critically and write well, those are nice skills to have, I guess.</p>
<p>Philosophy is a glorious subject, and the most important to the human race. But for job applications besides teaching, it offers nothing. </p>
<p>I personally might plan on studying philosophy in college because I love it, but it also helps develop thinking skills strongly for the LSAT and Law School. Same w/ math - both stress logic and thinking critically and both are equally good for preparing for prof. school and real world situations.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you want intellectual preparation for real-world situations, economics is a much better bet than philosophy. Economics is the theoretical study of how people interact with each other. Philosophy is the theoretical study of how people "should" interact with each others (ethics), plus a lot of other stuff completely disconnected from everyday life.</p>
<p>"Philosophy is the theoretical study of how people "should" interact with each others (ethics), plus a lot of other stuff completely disconnected from everyday life."</p>
<p>Grumpster, what you said of philosophy is a subfield within a branch of philosophy. Specifically, normative ethics, within ethics. It's like saying science is the study of how plants grow. Sure, science studies how plants grow, but only in a subfield within a branch (i.e., biology) of science.</p>
<p>I don't mind when people diss philosophy, so long as they have reasonable arguments to back them up.</p>
<p>What I said is that ethics is the only part of philosophy that is even sort of applicable to everyday life. Every other branch of philosophy is essentially "useless". I guess you could say political philosophy has some application, but it's a bit of a stretch. As far as the subfields of ethics goes, you are right i was being imprecise. Learning to have discussions like this is the only real thing you learn in philosophy, please note. ;-)</p>
<p>"Economics is the theoretical study of how people interact with each other. Philosophy is the theoretical study of how people "should" interact with each others (ethics), plus a lot of other stuff completely disconnected from everyday life."</p>
<p>Actually, there are two types of economics. Descriptive studies how the economy is like theoretically and normative studies how the economy should be like.</p>
<p>Applied philosophy is often neglected/criticized (or not recognized for what it really is), but it exists! I strongly disagree with any "general rule" that says philosophy has no application (applied ethics, contemporary moral issues, political philosophy, philosophy of science, philosophy of feminism, logic, theories of punishment, philosophy of law, bioethics, philosophy of religion, etc. ...I know that there's a lot of theory even in these subfields, and the level of application might be debatable, but it definitely exists). </p>
<p>Now, I'm not trying to say that philosophy is the most practical major for everyone, or that it's "applied" in the same sense as accounting, psychology, criminology, kinesiology, etc. more clearly are. I wouldn't recommend philosophy to anyone who didn't have a true interest in studying it for its own sake, nor would I recommend it to someone who was interested, but whose post-college goal was "get rich quick" (although hey, I know philosophy majors who've gone straight on to top consulting firms). I'm not arguing any of that. Just weighing in as a lover of applied philosophy!</p>
<p>Lots of things can be studied both "in theory" and "in practice." IMO, no reason for philosophy to be an exception. I just glanced at the first few google hits for "applied philosophy" to find a description, so I haven't read this too thoroughly, but it seems like it'll give you a clearer idea of what I mean: <a href="http://www.radicalacademy.com/philapplied1.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.radicalacademy.com/philapplied1.htm</a> (you can also see sites for the Society of Applied Philosophy, the International Journal of Applied Philosophy, etc. ...I'm not makin' this stuff up ;)).</p>
<p>I have known a few philosophy majors over my short years, and these are their results.</p>
<p>Went to Ursinus University (majoring in philosphy), spent one year in law school, is now a history and psychology teacher at my high school. (My UN/Quiz Bowl coach/teacher).</p>
<p>Went to University of Kentucky, went into a sociology major in grad school, and is now working for the state department. (My father).</p>
<p>Went to PSU, became an ADCOM (???!!!), now teaches at PSU. (Friend's father).</p>
<p>Hope some of this helps, but law school seems to be a very viable option, and I certainly agree that it can be applied to what you want to do after graduation. Whatever it is though...good luck!</p>
<p>As far as most philosophers concern, philosophy practically invented modern academia. Economic, the field that Grumpster so proudly praises, was invented by a philosopher, Adam Smith--a professor of rhetoric and philosophy. Smith's work before Wealth of Nations is the Theory of Moral Sentiment, which is, gasp, ethic! The language of Economic is mathematics and the founders of this field, surprise surprise, were philosophers. In fact, to gain entry to Plato's Academy a student had to be fluent in mathematics. The foundation for logic was established by Aristotle. Has anyone ever try to learn advance math without logic. And the first person who thought the earth was round? A philosopher. The first to to think about the atom? A philosopher. Even modern physics was at one point called "natural philosophy." Sir Isaac Newton's most famous work is named, " The Principia : Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy." Even great arts adopted philosophical teachings. Could anyone imagine Shakespeare writing the "To be or not to be," monologue without a heavy dose of stoic philosophy? And let not even consider where the New Testament would be if Paul didn't study Plato. </p>
<p>Whether directly or indirectly, philosophy has shaped modern Western civilization as we know. It has begun both political revolutions and scientific ones. It's not some dead art that some white dude labor with in some library. When a field hits a what we would call, "writer-block," they turn to philosophy for inspiration. If philosophy were impractical, our civilization would be a lot quieter than it is now.</p>
<p>We've gotten a bit off track. I suggest that you make an appointment at your school's career office. They may be able to let you know what philosophy major alums are doing, what your grad school options will be (you don't always have to go to grad school in the field of your undergrad major, but you won't be able to switch into just anything without specific training...make sure to know your limits), let you know how UF students fare in the grad/law school process, etc.</p>
<p>They may also let you access their library, which might contain some relevant books (stuff along the lines of "What Can I Do With a Major In..."). </p>
<p>If nothing else, a career counselor will be able to let you vent some of your fears, and hopefully help you figure out what you can do to settle your mind.</p>
<p>I was a phil major, and I didn't make up my mind re: post-grad plans until halfway through my junior year. Ambiguity isn't for everyone, but it can work out, especially if this is already on your mind. Worry not :)</p>
<p>I would like to counter that this discussion has not gotten off-track. In our world, everybody tries to reduce things down to how to get there the fastest, what's most practicial. Would any guidance counsellor have directed those people who redefined our economic, political, and social paradigms to study philosophy in anticipation that they'd do so? Of course not. You have to sense in your heart for yourself whether it's worth it - to know that there might be something groundbreaking within you to share with the world.</p>
<p>I think Reddune's comments are critically important to the topic at hand. As has been demonstrated on this board, people think philosophy is some distant, irrelevant discipline good for dropping names at cocktail parties. To add to Reddune's examples, people forget that the Neoconservative movement emerged in large part from a philosopher (Leo Strauss) at the University of Chicago. </p>
<p>However one judges this movement, looked at objectively from its rise and influence on every aspect of our global civilization over the past 30 years - in particular the past 8 - can it possibly be argued that philosophy is inherently irrelevant? It would be akin to arguing electricity is irrelevant - it pervades our lives so much we forget how much we depend upon it.</p>
<p>I guess if your goal is to meld comfortably into society, then perhaps a field like economics is a better fit. If your goal is to look at where society is and try to figure out ways it could go in a potentially better direction, then you may be better suited to at least have a foundation in philosophy. In fact, it could be argued that the less one is indoctrinated into any particular expectations of one field, the more likely he or she is to see it from a completely different perspective.</p>
<p>Man, I don't think philosophy can change the world really. It really depends on the person and on a given day. I've sat through verbal torture in philosophy class, it's a nightmare to go back to philosophy classes. I don't think ethics can be enforced. I would do philosophy, but I'd feel comfortable in a class where I don't get criticized.</p>