What Can I Do With a Philosophy Degree?

You can find ways to improve your body everywhere: gyms, athletic activities, beauty salons, doctors (medical and cosmetic), and stores selling everything from vitamins and muscle-building products to products for beautifying your body.

But where can you go to build-up and improve your mental muscles?

Philosophy is a kind of gymnasium for the mind. Philosophy hones your ability to reason and argue, refines your ability to analyze complex concepts and situations, and offers you skills and resources for articulating your ideas with maximal clarity and precision. In short, philosophy makes you a more critical and more powerful thinker.

Need proof? Read on!

•   "Philosophy graduates are suddenly all the rage with employers." Read "I Think, Therefore I Earn" (from The Guardian, 2007) to find out why! This article points out that the correct answer to "What can you do with a philosophy degree?" is "anything you want!"

•   Philosopher majors score among the highest of those taking the LSAT, and philosophy is an excellent preparation for Law School. Here is a comprehensive study of LSAT scores, and an article in US News and World Reports.

•   Here is what the London Times says about the value of a philosophy degree: ""In the US, where the number of philosophy graduates has increased by 5 per cent a year during the 1990's, only a very few go on to become philosophers. Their employability, at 98.9 per cent, is impressive by any standard....Philosophy is, in commercial jargon, the ultimate 'transferable work skill'."

•   A philosophy degree is great preparation for graduate school, even in non-philosophical fields! On the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Philosophy majors rank first on the verbal section, second on the analytic, and higher on the quantitative than any other humanities or social sciences majors. On the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), Philosophy majors rank second highest, ahead of all types of Business majors.

•   In terms of money-making potential, Philosophy majors actually compare quite well with many other majors! A philosophy major actually earns more mid-career than someone with a business management degree. Take a look at this report, which compares undergraduate degrees by salary.