Options with philosophy
Philosophy primarily teaches you how to think for yourself and how to analyse and communicate ideas in an understandable, balanced and well thought-out manner. This ability to think critically and logically is a valued skill as it does not lessen over time and can be applied to a myriad of situations and opportunities.
Studying philosophy also helps you to develop the ability to:
You also gain many other general skills sought after by a range of employers. These include:
The Where Next? Unlocking the Potential of Your Philosophy Degree Employability Guide, available on the Higher Education Academy - Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies website, has more information on the skills gained through the study of philosophy.
Consider the skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile. Take a look at job application advice for some useful tips.
You may want to consider enhancing your long-term employment prospects by gaining short-term work experience or doing voluntary work. Entry-level work, perhaps in an office, can provide an insight into the way a company or institution operates, the long-term employment options available and the general work environment. It can also help you decide on whether you want to work in the public, private or voluntary sector. Entry-level work in very competitive areas such as media, PR and publishing is also a very good way of ‘getting a foot in the door’ and may lead to rewarding long-term work.
Jobs can be found through personal contacts, advertisements in the local press, registering with a recruitment agency, your university careers service and jobcentres.
Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it’s not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. Look at your degree... what next? for informed advice on career planning and graduate employment, or login/register with My Prospects to find out what jobs would suit you, a helpful starting point for self-analysis.
Explore types of jobs to find out more about the above options and related jobs.
In 2010, six months after graduation, nearly half of philosophy graduates were in paid employment in the UK or overseas. Areas of work employing large numbers were business and finance (10%), commercial, industrial and public sector management (10%) and marketing, sales and advertising (8%).
At this stage, almost 30% of those in employment were found in either clerical and secretarial or retail, catering and bar jobs. However, it is unlikely that this pattern will be representative of the long-term destinations of philosophy graduates as, like many arts and humanities graduates, they will often take longer to make career decisions and enter a graduate profession.
Philosophy graduates are found working with almost every type of employer in the public, private and not-for-profit sector. Typical employers include:
For more information on some of the career areas entered by philosophy graduates, see these areas:
See industry insights for further information on possibilities in other employment areas.
Statistics are collected every year to show what HE students do immediately after graduation. These can be a useful guide but, in reality, because the data is collected within six months of graduation, many graduates are travelling, waiting to start a course, paying off debts, getting work experience or still deciding what they want to do. For further information about some of the areas of employment commonly entered by graduates of any degree discipline, check out What Do Graduates Do? and your degree...what next?
In 2010, six months after graduation, almost a quarter of philosophy graduates had gone on to full-time further study and a further 6% were combining study with work, either to pursue an interest or to gain an essential qualification for a specific career area.
For some career areas, such as law, lecturing and teaching, a further qualification is essential. For other careers a postgraduate qualification may be useful but it is relevant work experience that is essential, for example in journalism and advertising. To decide if further study is necessary you should research the career areas that interest you.
Many philosophy graduates continue with further study of their discipline, possibly with the intention of pursuing a career as a lecturer but often due purely to their interest in philosophy. Other graduates have chosen to study something vocational at postgraduate level - common areas for philosophy graduates have included law, publishing and journalism.
These trends show only what previous graduates in your subject did immediately upon graduating. Over the course of their career - the first few years in particular - many others will opt for some form of further study, either part time or full time. If further study interests you, start by thinking about postgrad study and search courses and research to identify your options.
Look at funding my further study for details relating to finance and the application process.
Tweet