Philosophy and the Real Life
Right, so I wasted way too much time on the whole obesity/discrimination debate (see my previous post, as well as my addendum in the comments), so here is something completely different: what is philosophy good for? There was a link to an article in Newsweek from a couple of years ago circulating on Facebook recently, and I thought it would be worth sharing: ‘I Think, Therefore I Am Misunderstood’ — a philosopher discusses the dreaded question that all of us philosophers have to face from time to time: what is it that you do, exactly?
I’ve got a few other links that I’ve collected about philosophy in media, here’s one in The Guardian which is related to the previous one (and also uses cogito as a basis for the title, what originality!): ‘I think, therefore I earn’. This one is about a sudden increase in demand for philosophy graduates.
But wait, there’s more! CareerCast reports that philosophy is the 12th best job in the US in ‘A Comprehensive Ranking of 200 Different Jobs’. Not too bad given that lawyers and medical experts are way below that.
Finally, if it’s money you’re after, the Payscale College Salary Report tells us that the mid-career median salary of a philosopher is a fairly respectable $76,700. Engineering and computers will earn you more than that, but might not be as good in other respects. Both mathematics and physics seem to be good choices though, as mathematicians top the CareerCast survey, while physicists are at number 13; they both also pay better. Of course, first you have to actually land on a job…
Well, I better go and do some actual philosophy for a change!
Some more interesting data on the salary of philosophers over at Leiter Reports. It appears that the superstars who get a lot of outside offers are in a good position, but I find it a bit strange that seniority doesn’t count for more.