Philosophy

Philosophy encourages you to explore life’s fundamental questions while developing your ability to think critically and communicate ideas logically - skills that are highly valued by many employers

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Further education teacher
• Higher education lecturer
• Secondary school teacher

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Business analyst
• Chaplain
• Civil Service Fast Streamer
• Health service manager
• Human resources officer
• Local government officer
• Marketing executive
• Newspaper journalist
• Policy officer
• Psychotherapist
• Recruitment consultant
• Social researcher
• Solicitor

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

Getting short-term paid or voluntary experience can enhance your employability and help you explore different careers. It also provides valuable insight into how organisations operate and helps you decide whether you'd prefer to work in the public, private or voluntary sector.

The type of work experience you need will depend on the profession you want to enter. For example, if you want to become a teacher, you'll need some classroom experience so contact local schools for opportunities.

For other areas, such as marketing, PR or HR, look for summer internships or entry-level part-time work. This type of experience can give you a feel for the industry you want to work in and help you build useful contacts.

Your university careers service can advise on placements and voluntary work opportunities across a range of sectors.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

Philosophy graduates are found working for almost every type of employer in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Opportunities exist in fields such as publishing, media, journalism, advertising, education, computing and IT.

Typical employers include:

• local government and the Civil Service
• advertising, marketing and public relations agencies
• management consultancies
• primary and secondary schools, further education colleges and higher education institutions
• law firms
• publishing companies
• charities
• banking and insurance companies
• accountancy firms
• recruitment agencies.

Find information on employers in business, consulting and management, law, marketing, advertising and PR, and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

Studying philosophy helps you:

• analyse and construct logical, well-structured arguments
• identify subtle distinctions between views and find common ground
• present ideas convincingly through clear reasoning
• write clearly and persuasively
• generate ideas and problem-solve creatively
• engage with new ideas and perspectives

You also gain general transferable skills including:

• self-motivation and independent thinking
• time management and the ability to meet deadlines
• flexibility and creativity
• critical thinking
• the ability to identify, absorb and sift complex information
• the capacity to collaborate and work well as part of a team.

Further study

Some philosophy graduates go on to study philosophy at Masters or PhD level, either to pursue an academic career or to explore an area of interest further. Related areas of postgraduate study include ethics, politics, international development and sociology.

Careers in law, lecturing and teaching usually require additional qualifications. For fields like journalism or advertising, a postgraduate course may be helpful, but relevant experience is often more important. Research the careers that interest you to find out if you'll need to take further study.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses in philosophy.

What do philosophy graduates do?

The top five jobs held by philosophy graduates include secondary education teaching professionals (4%), advertising and marketing associate professionals (3%), business sales executives (3%) and HR officers (3%).

Find out what other graduates are doing after finishing their degrees in What do graduates do?

Graduate Outcomes survey data from HESA.