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From a PhD in Philosophy to a non-academic career?

Brian Leiter

A philosophy graduate student writes:

As I progress through my PhD program, it's becoming clearer and clearer to me that a lifelong career in academia is probably not for me (for a multitude of reasons that aren't germane). Having said that, I am getting a lot out of my program and enjoy it plenty, and so don't exactly have a desire to drop out–it's just that I want to take a different career path afterward than we are typically groomed for. Given that my PhD would be from a widely respected, extremely well known university, do you think my professional (i.e., non-academic) prospects are good? Or would I be better off to drop out with my MA and seek other professional qualifications/training?

I would appreciate your input on this question, and the input of your readers if you see fit to share the question with them.

Relevant advice and/or experiences from readers?

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9 responses to “From a PhD in Philosophy to a non-academic career?”

  1. Derek Bowman

    The student should begin by looking at these interviews Helen de Cruz did with philosophers working outside academia. Notice both the diversity of their stories and what they have in common: they all had some other established skills and/or connections that prepared them for the transition to this new work.

    I recommend that you stay in the PhD program for the moment,at least assuming that you're getting a stable, livable stipend out of it. But use that stability as the base from which to start investigating other careers. Only once you have a more specific path in mind will you be in a position to figure out whether, at that point, it's worth finishing your degree or simply moving on to your new 'Plan A'

    http://www.newappsblog.com/2014/06/philosophers-who-work-outside-of-academia-part-1-how-and-why-do-they-end-up-there.html
    http://www.newappsblog.com/2014/06/philosophers-who-work-outside-of-academia-part-2-whats-it-like-to-have-a-nonacademic-job.html
    http://www.newappsblog.com/2014/06/philosophers-who-work-outside-of-academia-part-3-transferrable-skills-and-concrete-advice.html

    You might also find it helpful to connect with some of the philosophers who have posted here:
    http://dailynous.com/non-academic-hires-2013-14/

    Reply
  2. Thomas Mulligan

    This student has an admirable perspective. I took the opposite course, working in government before pursuing the PhD, but I have had the experience of applying for jobs with a philosophy MA. A few thoughts:

    So long as you're financially stable and think you would enjoy a year or two of research, I'd recommend finishing the program and getting the PhD. There are a few reasons. First, it's probably a good financial investment. Whatever you end up doing, chances are you'll begin with a higher salary if you have a PhD rather than an MA. All subsequent raises are tied to that initial number and over time this can be significant: one study found that a $5k difference in initial salary works out to $600k+ over the course of a 40-year career. Second, the PhD will open up several classes of jobs to you that are usually unavailable to MAs; these include scholarly jobs at think tanks and other non-profits. Third, while I certainly don't think that education is just a matter of economic signaling, it is true that employers will regard the PhD as evidence that you are capable of independent and conscientious work on big projects. Fourth, you say that when it comes to philosophy you're "enjoy[ing] it plenty". And that's a excellent reason to keep on doing it a little while longer, even if not permanently.

    One more thing: My impression is that graduate students in philosophy are unduly pessimistic about their non-academic job prospects (the student here, correctly, does not seem to share this pessimism). In fact, I found my philosophy MA to be a real boon when looking for jobs. I ended up taking a job with the Central Intelligence Agency, and I know philosophers working at the State Department, NASA, and other interesting places in government. I'm not familiar with the business world, but in the public and non-profit sectors there are opportunities for philosophers.

    Reply
  3. Ed Abrams

    I was in your position a while back. What I found was that when transitioning from academic to professional, nothing about the university name mattered. What mattered was that I had developed skills and gotten experience in a new field — in this case, computer networking and programming. I had been an enthusiast for a long time and had started to take university positions that were tech related while on work/study. From there, I got involved with a little start-up and did a lot of self-teaching, which these days is extraordinarily accessible to anyone. From there, it was just like any other career path — a series of small steps as my experience and qualifications grew. Now I work at the Principal or Director level and am having a good time at it. In the meanwhile, I stuck with my PhD program and received the degree a full 14 years after I had begun. That was purely out of my own interest in the subject — it's very, very difficult to hang on to an academic research topic for that long while pursuing other things in career and life, but it is possible. Anyway, that's my story more so than it is advice. From it, I generalize the following advice: if you're not as interested in the academics anymore, pursue other interests, and as they expand, see to what extent they work out for you as careers. It will be much like pursuing any career (any non-specialized career, I should say, at least at first) from the start: you'll have to start small and gain experience; the university name on the top of your degree will not matter as much in many fields.

    Reply
  4. Peter

    I took a similar decision years ago (albeit in Germany). I found the Ph.D. time extremely inspiring and enjoyable, so I kept going (and eventually finished it), although I knew pretty early on that I would not want to pursue an academic career. At least in Germany, there are a couple of jobs beyond the obvious ones (like teacher, book editor) where a Ph.D. in philosophy is really appreciated, among them strategy consulting. Clearly not everyone's cup of tea, but myself and a couple of Philosophy Ph.D. friends ended up at Boston Consulting, McKinsey and the like. And all of us found that the analytic skills and acumen aquired during the Ph.D. were a pretty good preparation for the job.

    Reply
  5. Dean C. Rowan

    It isn't clear whether the student has a particular different path in mind or is seeking advice about alternative paths. I'll assume the latter, that the student is looking for advice about non-academic paths best suited for a Philosophy PhD. But I also wonder whether the student's disposition against academia isn't more narrowly a disinclination to pursue research and teaching, i.e., to become a professor of Philosophy. This might be the case, inasmuch as the student clearly has some affection for the academic milieu, but is perhaps not attracted to job or income prospects within the professoriate specifically. If so, then there is work in academia that could engage this student's interests without entailing the particular career path of a professor. I'm thinking of libraries and archives. Professional librarianship is generally not a lucrative enterprise, although there are good positions of leadership. I would advise the student to explore ACRL and ALA's job listings to get an idea. As for the degrees required, while the doctorate is by no means essential, it can help both in securing a position and in performing one's job. Increasingly, employers are not requiring a library or information science degree. Still, there are worthy programs available that permit online and distance learning approaches to the degree, which typically requires a year. To cut losses, the student might consider wrapping up the Philosophy work with the MA and pursuing an MLIS, which will open up avenues to employment. Of course, there are non-academic libraries of many sorts, too.

    Reply
  6. Michael B

    I went on the job market, as it were, with an honours and master's degree in philosophy. My experience – gained pretty soon after the financial crash – is that employers either don't care that you did philosophy, or may hold it against you because of ignorance/prejudice. But then I was not exactly applying to jobs for which the connection was immediately relevant and not everyone will read your cover letter to find out.

    I didn't study these degrees for work in the slightest, so it wasn't a surprise or disappointment, but it did get tiresome after a while.

    (I do not have the link but a recent report out of academia with the British Confederation of Industry found that (British) industry widely hold PhDs in a dim light, not least because industry have wildly inaccurate ideas of what PhDs command in academia for salary, and believe that the industry job will be dropped as soon as an academic post opens up. However, the perceptions were not evidence based and, on those occasions where PhDs were hired, everyone was impressed and wish they'd done it years ago.)

    I think if you have evidence of skills and or experience in things that the role is paying one to do, and a compelling narrative of both push reasons (why you are leaving academia – and not just because it is hard to get a job etc.) – and pull reasons (your chosen industry is the Elysian Fields), then most employers won't care whether you got these skills from a philosophy PhD, an underwater basket-weaving high school diploma, or taught yourself at night – so long as you can evidence it.

    Myself, I took on a third degree part time (mathematics and statistics) and got a job in the data department of a medical research facility, spinning the yarn that everything in a statistical analysis before and after clicking 'run' on your computer just is philosophy. It helped that I half believe this yarn.

    Reply
  7. Michael B

    As a p.s. to my post at #6: if the OP (or anyone reading) is considering this area, personally I have not found my philosophical education of much direct use in my job or in studying mathematics and statistics (which is fine by me). However, I have found it of direct use in the related area of clinical trials methodology, for which one can do dedicated master's or PhD programs.

    This area might be of interest if you really enjoy the idea of designing experiments in a very broad sense (think: ethics and public understanding of science, as well as clinical stuff) and would like to be paid to be very suspicious about articles in medical journals. Then you can get away with knowing less statistics than a medical statistician (though what you need to know, you *need* to know) in case you don't have Pythagorean feelings toward numbers.

    Reply
  8. Carl

    While a PhD may be an advantage in government work or management consulting, in most of the business world it is a disadvantage. I did an MBA and was advised to leave my PhD off my resume, even though this left an 8-year gap in my experience. Unless you've got a marketable skill such as programming or statistics or languages, you may have a hard time getting started on a new career. Likely you'll have to start all over with an entry level position — there's a concern that PhDs won't be willing to do this, and that they aren't "practical" enough. A terminal MA is much less of a worry, it's more like someone who took a couple of years off to play in a band or travel, getting that wonderlust out before you start a career, and could be viewed as providing breadth that BAs in accounting may not have. If you go this route, the earlier you start your new career the earlier you'll start rising up the ladder.

    So my advice is, do the PhD if there are questions you want to answer, or if you love being a grad student, and accept that when you're done you might be competing for entry level positions with people 10 years your junior, and finding that you've got a harder time than they to get established. That's a tradeoff that was worth it for me, but its not for the faint of heart. And if you start the PhD and then find you don't have the energy to finish, my view is that that's fine. There might be ethical concerns with going beyond the MA if you know you won't finish, taking a slot from someone who's serious. Maybe a better choice then would be to undertake a terminal MA in another field, or else a professional degree like an MBA or MLS. I know Brian's understandably keen on JDs, and while that's not my field, Tamahana's Failing Law Schools might be worth reading. I imagine he's discussed this topic on his other blog, but my view is that a good MBA is the best avenue if you aren't sure what field you'll end up in. Just make sure it's AACSB accredited, and ranks well in Businessweek or the Financial Times if you're going to pay for it yourself.

    BL COMMENT: Although I had originally endorsed Tamanaha's book, I came to be persuaded it was based on careless scholarship (not unlike a lot of his work); there's a discussion here: http://leiterlawschool.typepad.com/leiter/2013/07/the-economic-value-of-a-law-degree-redux-1-1.html

    Reply
  9. Matt

    Some resources for those looking beyond academia at The Versatile PhD: http://versatilephd.com/

    Your institution may have access to it but I think you can subscribe as an individual as well.

    Reply

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