Philosophy

[whatissthis]

From a top uni, is this respected by employers as much as history, geography, English etc?
What do the people you know with philosophy degrees do?

I have a degree in philosophy and an MFL. Never been an issue that it's phi not history as far as I know (tho I wouldn't, tbf).

I have worked in comms, media and as a teacher. If I had taken two MFL at uni then teaching would have been better and easier to get a job without a doubt.

I wouldn't personally advise a phi degree but the one I did (Bristol uni, 1980s) was very poorly structured and taught me nothing. I am sure it is better now.

Dd has a MA Philosophy and Film joint honours
Then continued with MSc TESOL and is now deputy head of English language school in China...has found Philosophy very useful in many aspects of her career!

How could you learn nothing in 3 years? Didn’t you have to read anything or produce any work? If you don’t learn much from a degree then it’s not a great subject, surely?

I have to say I know very few who have done this degree. Mostly thinkers but not bothered about careers. They just love the subject. And that’s fine.

I think if you look at the research done by the Institute of Fiscal studies on graduate incomes you will see that university matters and subject does too. History, Philosophy, English and Psychology are all firmly in the lower half when considering earnings potential. Sciences, (and that includes Geography BScs) are far better.

The other thing that you should consider is that students from poorer families earn less than those from better off families. Subject selection and university attended play into this but so does ambition. So you need to look at a subject from a number of angles and also remember that work experience and/or volunteering add to a cv. As does ability to pass job selection sets! Employment is not just about what you study!

Selection tests not sets!

How could you learn nothing in 3 years? Didn’t you have to read anything or produce any work? If you don’t learn much from a degree then it’s not a great subject, surely?

Kind of my point. I actually said I wouldn't advise it as a degree (based on my experience) but I would hope it is better now.

I read some books and wrote some essays, but there wasn't anything taught to me about critical thinking really. There was no structure and you could do what you wanted (or nothing). I didn't enjoy trying to read Hume and Kant.

Luckily I did joint honours and loved my other subject.

I rather agree with you but I’m sure any degree from Bristol now is fairly structured. All three years of study listed in precise detail. Students want to know what their fees buy!

There's another thread similar to this. Check it out for info.lots of input from posters.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4357698-Help-me-to-help-DD-choose-a-degree-Most-likely-Philosophy?msgid=111071163

I did my undergrad in philosophy. Got 2:1 honours, did a postgraduate in speech and l anguage therapy and am now a paediatric speech and language therapist.

I loved my degree in philosophy. Lots of overlap with theology, history and aspects of science/ maths. I feel it helped me to be more analytical and to read and research more deeply. I also enjoyed a good debate/ argument at that age so enjoyed modules in ethics and moral philosophy! Friends went on to a variety of careers - lots into teaching, but I think it could lead to something in the civil service, law post-grad perhaps, or general graduate schemes as much as any other arts/ humanities degree.