Careers for philosophy graduates
The employment figures for philosophy graduates are high and rising.
Philosophy students develop skills in problem-solving, such as the abilities to:
- analyse and disambiguate concepts, definitions and arguments;
- organise and extract relevant information from various sources;
- distinguish superficial from fundamental similarities; and
- appreciate alternative positions and arguments.
Because philosophy modules focus upon the clear and systematic expression of ideas, the logical development of arguments, and the careful use of relevant examples and analogies, philosophical education develops communication skills, persuasive powers and writing abilities.
Philosophy graduates are able to address unfamiliar, novel problems. These skills are directly applicable to other intellectual disciplines, professions, and non-academic careers. For this reason philosophy is highly valued by a great many employers outside academia. Philosophers have been known to find work in such careers as: law, publishing, journalism, the broadcast media, social services, espionage, teaching, computing and systems analysis.
But don't take our word for it!
These recruitment professionals agree:
"Philosophy lies at the heart of our approach to recruiting and developing our leadership, and our leaders. We need people who have the ability to look for different approaches and take an open mind to issues. These skills are promoted by philosophical approaches."
Lucy Adams, human resources director of Serco, a services business and consultancy firm
"A philosophy degree has trained the individual's brain and given them the ability to provide management-consulting firms with the sort of skills that they require and clients demand. These skills can include the ability to be very analytical, provide clear and innovative thinking, and question assumptions."
Fiona Czerniawska, director of the Management Consultancies Association's think tank.
See what the former CEO of Barclays has to say about education.
Teach kids the humanities, and give them a broad liberal education, and I'll teach them business skills. I'd rather you taught people to think, because the limiting factor in executive development these days is people who can't do lateral thinking. Instead, they have a vocational skill or a technical skill, and it runs out of gas very, very early. The ones who will end up in the top 20 jobs in the organization worldwide are people who can stand back and examine the context in which business operates and can connect the dots in creative ways and transform the business congruent with some of those directions.
Matthew W. BarrettChief Executive Officer, Barclays
