Graduate school is not for everyone, but the economy has forced many previously employed people to earn further degrees after being laid off.  While the point of graduate school is to gain a few more years of experience in your undergraduate degree that makes your resume more appealing, some degrees have become difficult to find any careers in.  Philosophy is one degree program that attracts many students to undergraduate and graduate programs every year, but many do not realize the potential or broad outlook of the degree, and see it as confined to “Confucius” free-minds. 

Like every other graduate degree, the most obvious choice for a career after graduate school is to become a university professor.  This has some very obvious advantages (summer and winter break anyone?) and allows you to continue on the same path toward a research-intensive future, with the possibility of publishing many journal articles or books.  It further allows you to learn even more about the field of philosophy, as you are at your freedom to develop your own curriculum and class name, especially for senior seminar classes or graduate school classes.  The possibilities are nearly endless for philosophy teachers to gain a stronger footing in the field.  However, teaching is not the future every philosophy graduate student looks forward to; it requires a great deal of patience and the ability to stand in front of a classroom (or lecture hall) of students every day. 

Philosophy, as a liberal arts degree, is very versatile and helps prove to employers that you have excellent research and writing skills.  It is no easy task to read a philosophy book, and most employers are aware of this fact.  Earning a graduate degree in philosophy further enhances your potential as an employee due to the countless numbers of research papers you have had to write and your experience with a particular field.  Employers enjoy a potential employee who has had years of experience in one field, as it demonstrates their determination and ability to stay with a degree program.  As a result, an MA in philosophy can be applicable in nearly any type of setting that calls for extensive research and writing, or simply just diligence.  Most liberal arts degrees are attractive to employers in general because they know that liberal arts students have been introduced to a variety of subjects and have been trained to efficiently research.

What’s really in store for you after earning an MA in philosophy is up to you.  Most students have an idea what path they want to take after leaving graduate school, but for those who don’t, there are always possibilities in a wide variety of fields.