Ask legendary Basketball coach Phil Jackson what you can do with a philosophy degree and “all he has to do is point to his trophy case… Nine NBA Championship Rings” (“Basketball and Philosophy”). Studying philosophy nourishes an intensive approach to learning and knowledge that applies to diverse careers. With the common perception that a philosophy major holds no value, will the degree meet demands of the job market and career choices.
Completing a philosophy degree requires imagination, rigorous analysis and an ethical attitude, which are strong traits needed in the job market. It challenges students to draw upon a diversity of disciplines in the problem solving of complex issues. Philosophy encompasses the fields of history, science, psychology, sociology, economics, law, art, mathematics and logic. Beyond the limits of any single scope of study; an educated philosophical mind can compliment virtually any career.
New York University Professor of Philosophy, Paul Boghossian asserted that philosophy students are, “capable of organizing their thoughts and expressing them in a clear and rigorous form, those are skills prized by many professions…It’s a very adaptable degree” (CNNMoney). It may be job security for Boghossian to make such a claim, but it’s a needed challenge to the misconception that philosophy majors have no job security.
The study of philosophy was once lauded for those of the highest intellect, suited only for the brightest minds. Historically, this was when the world was driven by ideas and since the Industrial Revolution the world has become primarily economically driven. It’s only recently that journalists, professors and degree holders have begun to revamp philosophy’s reputation and its possible impact on the economy. Still, websites continue to group philosophy on lists like “Top 10 Useless College Degrees and Classes,” saying, “It’s a fun-time four years, open to stoners, egocentrics and those that love the sound of their own voice, who will finish the course even more confused at what they want to do in life and probably end up working at a convenience store.”
Students, parents and even human resource managers often scoff at a philosophy major’s job prospects. A degree in engineering, teaching mathematics, pharmaceuticals, nursing or business management may seem the more secure path, but the recent economic downturn has shown otherwise. Life long careers have been crushed and recent graduates armed with specialized knowledge find themselves brewing coffee for the professionals they thought they would be. As CBS reporter Lynn O’Shaughnessy wrote, “In the latest college degree salary survey from PayScale, Business came in as the 56th best-paying college degree. It fared worse than such “impractical” college degrees as philosophy…” A philosophy degree is often thought of as only academically or personally enriching, but with statistics like this it’s fulfilling a paycheck as well.
Why do philosophy majors get ridiculed for having no tangible assets on the job market? It may be true that multinational corporations worth more than small nations don’t have job openings in the “meaning of life” department. This is where misconceptions begin about what a philosophy degree entails, with fanciful images of students pondering existence, lounging under trees reading indulgently intellectual texts. This is not the demanding reality inherent to the study of philosophy, which requires exhaustive research of broad topics, writing and reasoning. It necessitates that students embrace an open mind to the history of knowledge in order to formulate new ideas.
Aside from technical schools, undergraduate degrees in both liberal arts and sciences are not the career training grounds many take them for. With the exception of graduates who went on to teaching careers in their field of study, one statistic showed only 37 percent reported to work in a field related to their undergraduate major (NCES). Those results were found just before 2000 and the decade that followed made this all the more relevant with struggling world economies and massive unemployment.
There are overwhelming issues facing future generations in healthcare, economics, political and religious conflicts and the ethical implications of rapidly advancing science and technology. Even in undergraduate programs, philosophy students dip into centuries of knowledge from the world’s greatest thinkers. Students may find a basis for solutions in the theories of philosophers like Immanuel Kant, John Locke, René Descartes or Martin Heidegger. Each of these towering minds of philosophy explored multiple fields of study, including mathematics, economics, politics, ethics and psychology, culminating into ideas with global influence.
It is because of this cross-pollination from diverse fields of thought that philosophy can nurture the innovation needed in today’s economy. For instance, how will a bioengineering company succeed in the future? Strong leaders will be essential, and they must understand the psychology of employees, the science of their work and how ethics and laws apply to the products produced. An degree in philosophy is the ideal place for someone of this ambition to build foundations in the complex reasoning and vision needed.
The more profound impact is the ethical quality of individuals entering the job market. We’ve seen travesties like the Enron Scandal to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme or the political corruption of people like Jack Abramoff. The world’s populace is continually dismayed by the unethical practices of supposed leaders. At the foundations of philosophical study are ethics and morality, something the workforce certainly needs more of.
Evidence that the study of philosophy produces forward thinking, influential people will become apparent to a philosophy student. Throughout history, those who have been called philosophers have also greatly contributed to politics, law, economics, science and art. Though, where do we see the influence of a philosophy degree in the leaders, innovators, artists and thinkers of today?
There is of course the aforementioned philosophy degree of 9 time NBA Championship coach of the Chicago Bulls, Phil Jackson. On the financial playing field, George Soros is an influential economic thinker with a net worth of $14.5 billion with an undergraduate philosophy degree (“Forbes”). The acclaimed film producer and founder of Latina magazine, Christy Haubegger received an undergraduate in philosophy and now works at the influential talent agency, Creative Artists Agency. Authors like Mary Higgins Clark with over 40 bestsellers, and Pearl Buck, winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize, received undergraduate philosophy degrees. In music, the multi-award winning composer and film scorer Philip Glass was a philosophy major, as was the critically acclaimed songwriter Elliott Smith. Grammy Award winning actor, musician, comedian and writer Steve Allen was a philosophy major as well.
Arts and Entertainment are rich with talented philosophy majors like Emmy Award winning creator of “The Office,” Ricky Gervais. Several filmmakers with undergraduate philosophy degrees, like Ethan Coen of the Coen Brothers, Wes Anderson and Terence Malick, have won or been nominated for Academy Awards. There are also groundbreaking filmmakers like Tommy Pallota and up and comer, Duncan Jones, who took thesis ideas from his philosophy degree as the basis for “Moon” and “Source Code.”
In the world of information technology, John Wilbanks helmed the science division at innovative non-profit, Creative Commons, which is redefining the use of public domain works in information, arts and science. By nourishing an open source ethic globally, Wilbanks has been dubbed a “game changer” and “visionary” (PopSci). Adobe Systems, Inc., one of the world’s largest software firms was co-founded by John Warnock, who graduated with a Bachelors in philosophy. Larry Sanger has had a massive influence in the world of information as co-founder of Wikipedia and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.
These innovators all offer fascinating answers to the question of what to do with a philosophy major. The underlying power of philosophy is that it can enrich the lives of diverse people, who in turn enrich the world around them. It is a degree that not only embraces the wisdom of many fields, but teaches the individual how to embark on a lifetime of learning.