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Careers in Philosophy (related occupations)

There are alot of areas where a skill-set involving your interests is applicable. What you want to do is stated broadly. Are you more interested in study or application? Based on what other people have done, a degree in communication or education can be a viable road.

http://naropa.edu/
 
^ yougene, I have actually looked into naropa before after reading some of Kalu Rinpoches work. I would love to go to a university like this.

I plan on taking a wide variety of courses at my local community college, but I feel like this would be one of the only paths that would fit me. I am not fond of public speaking so the teaching aspect seems a little daunting to me. Are there any careers involving research in related professions?
 
i work as a consultant on ethical issues for the government. lots of philosophy there.
 
entheo said:
^ yougene, I have actually looked into naropa before after reading some of Kalu Rinpoches work. I would love to go to a university like this.

I plan on taking a wide variety of courses at my local community college, but I feel like this would be one of the only paths that would fit me. I am not fond of public speaking so the teaching aspect seems a little daunting to me. Are there any careers involving research in related professions?
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It's not so much about public speaking as it is about communication. Your dealing with ideas here that are on the fringe of academic study. It's important to be able to frame those ideas in ways people can relate to them.


I think Satricion gave some pretty good advice. Just because there is a connection between Pharmacology and states of consciousness doesn't mean you'll find much time to explore this connection. The vast majority of your time will be spent learning the foundations in a setting that won't be that stimulating for your interests.
 
^ I am more interested in where entheogens get you, than the actual agent itself. Back to your original question yougene, I am more interested in the study than the actual application. For professional purposes anyways. I'd rather not have my personal beliefs obstruct my quest for knowledge and understanding of others.

I am unsure of the lecturing that a professor would have to do. I am less than perfect at oral communication. My forte really lies in writing and having casual conversations.

I really do enjoy learning about pharmacology and its relation to congition and consciousness. I am willing to go through years of rigorous training to attain a more complete knowledge of the world, myself, and my surrounds as well as the world beyond.
 
So you're prepared to do the worked needed to go into something like neuroscience? Smart people I know have a hard time taking some of the classes needed for it.

Once you get accepted, like other people have said, take lots of classes. Maybe go in undeclared. I thought i would like something like philosophy, but now that I'm in the class, i hate it. Psychology was an interesting surprise though- i really enjoyed it. Science can be hard, but the reward for succeeding in classes like chemistry, etc. is worth it.
 
You are so young, there is no reason for you to be trying to fit your degree to a specific career at this stage.

Some people don't really care what they study as long as it will land them a solid, well paying job afterwards. So they go and do accounting or some shit like that.

But you are not like that. You want to experience the world in new ways and have knowledge to become a different and better person. I wholeheartedly endorse that and I think it's great, and it's what study should be. What that means however is that you don't need to be thinking about careers right now.

You need to be in an exploratory mindset rather than a goal oriented one. Take a lot of different classes and see where your aptitudes and interests lie. Considering becoming an academic before you've even set foot on a university is not going to get you anywhere and is a waste of time. I'm doing a phd right now and on the road to be coming an academic and it's a decision I made after I had been at university for more than two years. It took three more years of undergraduate study, and a year of phd research to get where I am now, and I still have a serious way to go before I make it to academia. You have plenty of time, you are really young and you need to explore what different areas of study have to offer you.

So don't avoid taking philosophy because you don't want to be a professor. Just take it, and a bunch of other stuff, and see where you go.

ps: Seriously, shelve the entheogen idea...no university is going to teach you the ways to reach enlightenment through drug use, and if you get too far into that shit you will not succeed in your studies because you will be too wacked out. You will get over the drug thing, and there is not an academic discipline in the world that can really teach you how to better understand what you are wanting to understand. Neuroscience, psychology, pharmacology, all of these provide different perspectives on how drugs influence the brain, but as to how we can use them in a positive way for ourselves? That's outside the academic realm. Plus you'll get over the drug thing eventually and when you do you'll regret structuring a degree around an interest in drugs. Jeeze, I sound like such an old man don't I?
 
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the way I have sold my degrees to my previous non philosophy related employers has been by explaining how studying philosophy is more about learning a skill, not learning about philosophers. You learn how to read a paper and extract the crucial elements, and either point out flaws or explain the parts that are relevant to non-philosophers. this skill has so many practical applications in the workplace, and a lot of employers don't realize exactly what a valuable tool philosophical training can be in a variety of contexts. but if yo are good at it, you should be able to explain it to them easily.

I have never once looked back when it comes to having studied philosophy, other than wishing I was still doing it.
 
satricion said:
Ywhen you do you'll regret structuring a degree around an interest in drugs. Jeeze, I sound like such an old man don't I?
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unless, you end up really wanting to be a pharmacist/pharmacolgist/phamaceutical chemist or neuroscientist.

then it might not have been such a bad choice. I dont think my local pharmacist regrets his degree too much...he has a nice car, and seems generally happy and upbeat and enjoys his job.
 
rangrz said:
unless, you end up really wanting to be a pharmacist/pharmacolgist/phamaceutical chemist or neuroscientist.

then it might not have been such a bad choice. I dont think my local pharmacist regrets his degree too much...he has a nice car, and seems generally happy and upbeat and enjoys his job.
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Yeah that's completely true. But you can rest assured that studying for entrance to any of those disciplines is a var cry from taking acid, staring at your fingers, and reading philosophy. Not that any of these things is a waste of time of course...

I mean, I would say that one of the most common threads on this board basically goes like this:

"I like taking drugs and learning about drugs and the experience of being on drugs, what should I study at university so that I can do these things in a more satisfying way?"

What people don't realise (partially because they're usually about 18 years old when they make these threads) is that studying pharmacology, chemistry, neuroscience etc is completely different to getting high and reading bluelight and whatever. Neuroscience is some hard shit, much harder than tripping and reading spirituality texts. Not only that, but neuroscience and all the other disciplines we've mentioned speak very little to 'the psychadelic experience' that so many people here on BL (including myself) are such fans of.
 
^

I know, I was in a related program for two years. (Ran out of tuition money....felt bad man) But I enjoyed my classes and school in general. However one needs a strong intrest in the physical sciences for it, not an intrest in tripping out and seeing god.
 
Like I said earlier, I understand that I will most likely loose my interest in taking drugs, but I sincerely do believe that I will always have a very deep interest in exploring the inner realms of the human psyche, and drugs are a very obvious method for doing this. I am not attempting to start a psychedelic research initiative, but i would like to have the proper training to translate my work into this field, even if its only for personal reasons. I would like to study for the sake of knowledge, not for a nice car or loads of money.
I am not just stuck on philosophy, but it is a genuine interest of mine and its something that I am quite sure i could succeed in. I would really appreciate it if people could resist the urge to tell me that i will grow out of drugs. I may be young, but i certainly am not naive.
 
I haven't really got the connection between drugs and philosophy (neurophilosophy certainly we discuss pharmacological aspects). However, why conflate your two interests?

I'm a graduate student studying and teaching philosophy and loving it. I also love to zonk myself out on psychedelic drugs from time to time (work allowing!). Simple that. If you love philosophy keep taking courses!
 
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