Can Plato pay the bills?
According to an article earlier this week in NYT, philosophy has become a hot major on college campuses:
Once scoffed at as a luxury major, philosophy is being embraced at Rutgers and other universities by a new generation of college students who are drawing modern-day lessons from the age-old discipline as they try to make sense of their world, from the morality of the war in Iraq to the latest political scandal. The economic downturn has done little, if anything, to dampen this enthusiasm among students, who say that what they learn in class can translate into practical skills and careers. On many campuses, debate over modern issues like war and technology is emphasized over the study of classic ancient texts.
Unfortunately for these students, employers don't seem to share the enthusiasm. A WSJ article a few days later included this chart:
But, with more jobs than candidates, maybe students of bioethics will fare a little better.
-Greg Dahlmann
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The statistics about starting salaries of philosophy majors out of college are very misleading. One needs to look at what philosophy majors earn after 10, 15, or more years out of college. Many philosophy majors go on to graduate school in law, medicine, or other sciences of professions. They may have an additional 3-7 years of schooling before they have a real job. Some philosophy majors start their own companies or work their ways up existing companies, which takes time too.
- by David Resnik on Apr 11, 2008 at 6:42 PM | link
...or end up working for a univeristy, which never pays well.
- by emily on Apr 16, 2008 at 10:37 AM | link