Philosophy degree...?

Post Reply New Topic

Hey, would anyone think a degree in such a subject would be at all appropriate for a socially inhibited aspie?

I haven't decided yet... that's something I'm interested in, but career-wise I suspect a deadend. I'm just so lost...

I have a postgraduate degree in philosophy. It was one of my special interests, ever since the age of 12 or 13.

That said, I don't work as a philosopher, I work in IT. But my philosophical and analytical skills come in handy there as a systems analyst.

Also, I worked for a time as a social science research officer, and a combination of analytical and writing skills was very helpful there as well. Aspies are often noted for having strong research, analytical and creative thinking skills (Vernon L Smith, Aspie Nobel Laureate in Economics, is an outstanding example of that, as is Temple Grandin).

In terms of career, philosophy gives you general skills that can be used in a wide variety of jobs, especially so-called "knowledge workers". On the other hand, its specific skills have very limited job opportunities: pretty much academic jobs and maybe a few positions in ethics-oriented think tanks. I once read that the US congress employs a few philosophers, although I have no idea whether that is still the case.

I could imagine a philosopher working as a research assistant at a congressional or parliamentary library, researching a wide range of policy-related issues for their politician clients of all parties. There are many more or less similar jobs where a good analytical brain is useful, rather than the specific subject matter that you studied at university; and philosophy is a good background for these positions - especially if it is your special interest.

In fact, I was thinking a career in IT would be more viable, but going through college in that area is painful... were you required to also get specific qualifications in systems analysis, or did they accept you with just philosophy?

I would suggest you look into anthropology or archaeology. For me it was the best of both worlds: Its scientific but without the insane math requirements (its a 'social science' ), it does not require much socialization but plenty of observation and analytical skills... and its a job that tends to have little change to keep up with (as compared to IT where everything changes every 2 years or so).

I slowly moved from social science research (I had social science majors as well as philosophy), to statistical programming and research, to general/web programming - that progression spanned 10-15 years. I was virtually self-taught in all the programming areas. I have never done a formal IT course, other than a few 3 or 4 day short courses. When you are on the job, many employers - at least back then - care more about what you can do than what degree you have. Mind you, when you are getting started, the degree is just about the only thing you have done, so it counts a lot.

I thought the same for several years. Doing 1st year of uni now, civics/social studies teacher. Pretty much applied philosophy + faking emotional resilience to a bunch of kids.

I found that being able to apply knowledge was more important then the amount of knowledge. Though the stereotype of remembering pretty much every fact out of the history book from the first semester applies to me, so depending on the "plus" aspects of your non-NT mind, you might want to pick whatever might benefit INDIRECTLY from it.