How To Get A Job Outside Academia With a Ph.D. in Philosophy

We train professional philosophers. Sadly, there aren’t enough philosophy jobs to go around, and it’s hard to pursue a career in philosophy if you can’t move to wherever you find a job.  Fortunately, philosophers have transferable skills that are in high demand. Prospective employers just don’t associate these skills with “Ph.D. in philosophy”.  The challenge is to overcome this.

Mike Steiner wrote a fine dissertation on an anti-realist theory of natural kinds under Marc Ereshefsky’s supervision. He won national scholarships. He had good chances at finding an academic job. But he couldn’t leave Calgary for family reasons. Now he’s working in Oil and Gas (!) and is very happy.  He has some advice for you if you’re in a similar position.

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