Studying Philosophy is fun, but is it practical? Will it actually help you get a job after you graduate? If so, how?

First, the bad news: You are never going to pick up the newspaper and see an ad that says “Philosophers wanted!” Does this mean that taking Philosophy classes has no practical value for your post-graduate career? No. It turns out that for most collegiate majors there is not a direct pipeline from graduating with that major to acquiring a specific kind of job. For the overwhelming majority of college graduates, the route from degree to a good, long-term job is far less direct. In this regard, then, Philosophy is similar to other majors.

What are employers actually looking for?

The Association of American Colleges and Universities recently asked this question in a national survey of business and non-profit leaders. The key findings are that employers are looking for innovative employees who can think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems. Employers say that these skills are more important than the particular major of an undergraduate employee.

Given this, an obvious follow-up question is: 

Are Philosophers good at innovation, critical thinking, communicating effectively, and problem-solving?

Are Philosophers innovative?
Frankly, it’s difficult to quantify whether someone is “innovative” or not and, if so, how innovative he or she is. But as a discipline, Philosophy is certainly not afraid of challenging assumptions or of “outside of the box” thinking. Here’s a recent article, published at the Huffington Post in 2014, which claims that studying philosophy fosters the kind of creativity and innovation that are necessary to succeed in the business world. (Huff Post article) Here’s a similar article, published in he Guardian in 2007. (Guardian article)