MFOrangeSlice

I double-majored in Philosophy and PoliSci for undergrad, at a pretty prestigious school. My current plan is to continue on to get a Master's in Philosophy, but I'm unsure how this'll affect my chances at employment. Is there a better master's degree that would leave me in better shape for the job market? And would I be able to get into a program with the undergrad experience I possess? I've been looking into computer science, as I have a marginal interest in the area and I can see a few similarities (logic, for one). But I'm unsure how easy it is to break into a master's program with such little experience. Thanks for the help, all.

NYU2013

A philosophy master's won't help you for employment. If you want to pursue philosophy further, I would suggest going for a PhD program -- however, this leaves the only really feasible line of employment as that of becoming a professor.

You might want to post this in the graduate school section.

beyphy

^ NYU summed things up pretty well.

Master's programs are generally recommended to students who went to programs whose quality is in question; or those who didn't do their undergraduate work in philosophy; or those whose writing ability wasn't cultivated well in their undergraduate institution but want to further continue their philosophical studies in a masters program to eventually move onto a PHD.

Generally though, if you majored in philosophy, come from a well-respected philosophy department (not to be confused with a well-respected university), and can very write well, you should have no trouble getting accepted into a top PHD program. The job market for philosophy (the humanities, and academia in general) is very poor. Leiter wrote an excellent article on graduate studies in philosophy. Although it's dated, (1998,) I still find it relevant and useful. You can read it here:

Landing a Faculty Job in Philosophy - Advice - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Hanna

What kind of work do you want to do?

juillet

What do you want to do? Don't go to graduate school just to go - you have to have a direction in mind. Why would you go get an MA in philosophy? I would only do that if you have some money to burn and want to study philosophy more deeply. It's not going to help you get a job at all. On the other hand, don't get a degree in CS just because it sounds like it might lead to some job prospects and/or money. The fact that there are (may be) jobs in the field means nothing if they aren't the kinds of jobs you want.

So what do you want to do? Work for a few years and discover your passion. Volunteer. Teach abroad. Take some time to figure out where you want to go next. There are many many many people who are doing things far removed from their undergrad majors.

Unless you are very, very, very, VERY passionate about philosophy, can't imagine yourself doing anything else besides studying and thinking about philosophy, and are willing to study something very narrow for 8-10 years knowing that there is a small chance you may get a faculty position later (that will probably pay you at best around $55K to begin with), then I wouldn't go the PhD in philosophy route.

MFOrangeSlice

Well, I know for a fact that what I want to do is study philosophy for the rest of my life. It just seems pretty clear that the chances of getting a secure professorship where I COULD do that are pretty non-existent. I know brilliant, brilliant professors, with PhDs from great schools, who still can't find permanent positions teaching. So that being said, I'm just trying to find something that'll satisfy my philosophical mind that'll still give me a roof over my head. I've been working for the last year in marketing and advertising, which has been...not bad. Some good experiences, some bad. I do like writing copy, and I could see myself doing it for a while. All I want is something where I can use my mind and write, those are my principal skills. I'm hoping to get some more experience, since it's possible I'll have to wait until Fall 2013 to go to grad school, but finding a job's been tough, and I've had little luck in the past 4-5 months.

Consolation

Look into technical writing, especially with interesting software companies.

MFOrangeSlice

I've considered technical writing, but it seems like I'd need some sort of education in a technical area to do that, unless I'm mistaken. It also doesn't seem terribly creative...am I wrong in thinking that?

tk21769

There are MA/MS programs in computer science that require little or no background in the field. To get your feet wet, you could first take courses at a local community college, school of continuing ed, or summer school before committing to a graduate degree program. A degree in CS (bachelors or masters) is a fairly marketable credential.

Consolation

OP, you can get into technical writing with some good CC coursework in technical areas, coupled with excellent writing and communication skills developed as an undergraduate in other fields. (Having that degree from a prestigious school helps.) Search online for technical writing opportunities in your area and see what kinds of technical qualifications they want. Typically, there will be a list of software tools for web site development, page makeup, content management, etc. I won't give any specifics, because what counts is what is in use now. Mastery of such tools will open up many possibilities for writing jobs, not only with technical companies. If you ARE interested in more technical areas, you can take a few courses in programming or the like while you look for jobs.

One of the great things about technical writing--in the proper environment--is that it supports the desire to continue learning. Technical writing jobs can vary widely. There are jobs that back in the day I simply would not consider taking, even though they paid well: notably, the myriad jobs documenting internal banking systems. Those jobs existed solely to conform with regulations. The writers were sheer overhead, and the work as boring as hell from what I could tell. On the other hand, working for a software development company was a lot of fun: lots of smart and interesting people, the work was actually part of the product, lots of opportunity to help solve problems, and learn new things (not only about software/computing in general, but about the industries they served).

Creative? Well, that depends what you mean by creative. When I started as a technical writer in the 1980s, I was producing user manuals for the company's newest product. (This was mainframe system software.) After I had worked with the developers for a while, I started having contact with some of the users. I quickly realized that the vision of the developers did not mesh with the needs of the users: the developers viewed their product as the Mercedes of its class, and were proud of its flexibility and speed. They thought that people would enjoy tinkering with it. The users appreciated that it was fast, but just wanted to set the thing up to work automatically and reliably. Our company wan't providing the users with a clear overview of how to do that, or even the knowledge that it could be done. I proposed that we create a new user guide: something like 20 pages instead of the big manual documenting every feature. I spent time on the phone, surveying the user base about their systems and their needs. (Our clients, BTW, included Intel, so I interviewed their internal systems guy.) I designed and wrote a user guide that showed how to manage three different system setups. I worked with an artist to create illustrations. (Our manuals had never had any illustrations at all.) This piece was a big success, and a marketing tool in addition. (And I won an award and got a bonus. ) IMHO, that's creative. That's just one example.

Clearly, what one can do will depend a lot on where one chooses to work.

MFOrangeSlice

I think you're right in saying that it really depends on the job you take and your attitude towards it. I suppose all (well, most) jobs have some room for creativity if you look for it. Honestly, as much as I love philosophy, it's getting to the point where I just want to work somewhere where I can be respected. Looks like I'll have to give up my dream to do that, but...so it goes. Thanks for the help.