Advice for Philosophy Graduates

Alexander the Great: Philosophy Student

Recent UK graduates will no doubt have been disheartened to read that there are currently 70 graduates to every job that’s out there.

Anna Miller recently wrote on these pages about the challenges facing philosophy graduates and suggested a number of ways in which they might ‘de-stress’.

As a philosophy graduate, I think Anna is guilty of perpetuating a number of pernicious stereotypes about philosophy students in her article, and I mean to set the record straight.

How to Beat Stress if You’re a Philosophy Graduate

This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller, who writes for online degree. She welcomes comments at: anna.miller009@gmail.com

Image: innoxiuss (Flickr)

If you’re a student of philosophy or thinking of majoring in the subject, you probably know how it feels to be at the receiving end of pitying or scornful looks. You may not mind so much because you wanted to study this major or because it was the only choice you had that was financially and otherwise viable. But if you’re stressed over worries about your future employability, here’s how you can shrug off the tension and look forward to a bright future:

• Think ahead: Even though it’s not a major that many would choose today, philosophy is still a discipline that’s going strong in many colleges and universities. And although it may seem like it’s out of the running (what with engineering and management pushing it to the back seat), most people don’t realize that philosophy graduates are enjoying their moment in the sun with fields that require analytical reasoning snapping them up as soon as they graduate or within six months of graduation. In particular, the disciplines that prefer to employ philosophy graduates are finance, property development, business and research, health and social work, sales and retail, management and administration, manufacturing, catering, and even personal services (see below for a full list).