University of Colorado Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Twelve careers and jobs that philosophy majors can do!

Here is a list of 12 careers and jobs that philosophy majors can do

1. Teaching. Majoring in philosophy gives you communication skills as well as a solid understanding of learning itself, which also can make you a highly effective teacher.
2. Creative writing. Philosophy and logic/argumentation can prepare you for a career as a novelist nonfiction writer or a poet.
3. Technical writing. This is one of the biggest growth areas for majors in philosophy, philosophy of science and ethics. Technical writers can demand starting salaries averaging $37,000 in today's market.
4. Executive-level administration and management. Many Fortune 500 CEOs have degrees in liberal arts majors like philosophy because these majors develop your interpersonal communication and organization.
5. Editing and publishing. These fields require a strong facility with language, combined with the communication skills philosophy majors develop.
6. Law. Many lawyers got their undergraduate training in philosophy because the skills involved in reading and thinking clearly and arguing effectively apply to brief-writing as well as litigation techniques. Courses such as Language and Logic, Introduction to Ethics, Business Ethics and Biomedical Ethics will be especially helpful for you.
7. Mediation. Philosophy majors' skills at communicating and analyzing all sides of issues make them ideal mediators (for example, mediators are used in divorce cases, or to settle disputes between unions and corporations).
8. Public relations and journalism. PR and journalism both require a careful use of language, something philosophy majors learn quickly.
9. Philosophical counseling/philosophical practice. Did you know that not all counselors and therapists study psychology? The American Philosophical Practitioners Association (APPA) trains and certifies philosophy majors to do work similar to psychiatry and psychoanalysis, and is now beginning to build and accredit graduate programs in philosophical practice. The City College of New York has approved the establishment of an MA Program in Applied Philosophy, whose graduates will also be APPA-Certified. Similar initiatives are underway internationally. The APPA's Web site is http://www.appa.edu/.
10. Computer programming. Software creation, ontological engineering, axiomatizing, language development and systems engineering are among the computer-related careers enjoyed by philosophy majors. Cycorp is one of many software companies that routinely hires philosophy majors! Cycorp does programming in a way that uses common-sense logic. Their system is called Cyc® technology, and it is rooted in the logical thinking that philosophy classes in logic and argumentation study: semantic information retrieval, consistency-checking of structured information, deductive integration of databases, and natural language interfaces that relate to how people express themselves in an everyday sense.
11. Ethics and social and political philosophy. Nonprofit organizations and governmental organizations hire philosophy majors for their experience setting policies on the environment, the arts, education, health, the sciences and culture. The Red Cross, the World Health Organization, Greenpeace, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation are just a few examples.
12. Aesthetics. Philosophy prepares you to be an archivist, curator, or museum manager. The philosophy major's appreciation for aesthetic taste, as well as organizational skills, means you have the right balance for a career in these art management fields!