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Careers in Philosophy (related occupations)

Thanatos

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
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I am having quite a difficult time deciding what direction in life, my career choice to be specific.
I seem to have an intense interest in philosophy, meta-physics, eastern spirituality, and the science of chemical induced consciousness as well as entheogen consciousness. Pharmacology and transpersonal psychology are also of interest to me.
Does anyone have any tentative suggestions as to what type of careers/degree i should be looking at?
 
Double major in neuroscience and philosophy (maybe some theological aspect of it) then do research from there? Its really hard to combine those into a "dream job" without making SOME sacrifices but I think that would be a good place to start. How old are you, where are you in life etc.? You sound like a Sufi Shulgin to me.
 
If i were to double major in neuroscience and philosophy programs, what type of degree would i be able to earn? Im not necessarily looking for a dream job that would incorporate all of those interest, as much as i am looking for a general field that might be inter-related between the previously mentioned disciplines.
I am 17, looking to get my g.e.d after my probation is over, i've only earned credit for half of my graduation requirements (intelligence and intellectual prowess aren't issues) and plan on moving to post secondary education asap. I am in a transitional period in my life (hence the thread) where i feel like an unbiased outside opinion would be very helpful and encouraging.

What exactly does sufi shulgin refer to besides the great husband and wife team?
 
I too am 17, and sort of on probation, though I am graduating high-school and have been accepted to college. Look up sufi, its a mystic form of islam that is reminiscent of buddhism. And with those undergrad majors you would just get bachelor's degrees but then you could go on to grad school if you wanted. If you want to be really serious about this and get into grad schools etc. Then I would say you show that intelligence and prowess at a community college for a while so you can get accepted into a good university then move on from there. No shame in that dude.
 
I plan on making 100% sure that i will get my ged, as well as enroll in community college as soon as i leave public school. Would i get a degree in one or the other, or is it possible to have a "double degree" so to speak?
If i were to venture into one of the above fields, my ultimate goal would be to go onto grad school and get a PhD or a PsyD. The plan is to stay at c.c for 2 years while i work on my general credits and available courses before moving onto a more prestigious, and challenging academic environment.
Yes i know what sufism is, it is similar only in that it promotes the attainment of universal consciousness (krsna/buddah consciousness, moksha, dissolution of maya, and advaita experience) I would certainly love to deserve being compared to shulgin.
 
My advice to you would be to spend your first year at university doing a wide range of courses so that you will know what you like. I don't want to sound patronising but you are very young and will almost certainly find new things which interest you. In fact you should be open to being exposed to new things, since limiting yourself to what sounds good now will mean you don't expand your horizons as much as you might.

I'm not sure how the university system works over there, but here you can change your degree pretty much whenever you like. So take a few different things and see where you go with them.

Basically, based on what you've said, you are interested in how it is that we as human beings come to understand the world, right?

My advice would be to take philosophy for the metaphysics, psychology for the individual perspective, sociology or anthropology for a broader social perspective, and then something different, maybe history, maybe neuroscience, maybe a language, maybe art history or something like that.

I don't think you should be considering careers right now. There are no careers in philosophy unless you want to be an academic. If you are interested in drugs (which is fine, although you will almost certainly get 'over the drug thing', most people do) then you might find you have to do some difficult and highly abstract chemistry and biology before you can do research into things that interest you (a journey of years). There are no courses which are about drugs and how they influence your spirituality. That doesn't get taught at university. Probably the most common question on this board is 'how can I do research about drugs' from people who don't realise that studying organic chemistry, biology, neuroscience, and all that doesn't constitute a spiritual psychoactive journey, it constitutes years of very difficult science being taught by people who don't give a shit about getting high and expanding your mind.

So do some general stuff and see where life takes you.
 
About the double major thing, some schools let you double major and you get two degrees, some schools let you double major and you get a combined degree, some schools make you pick one and make one a minor. It all depends on the school. Some schools even let you triple major (A bit much IMO).
 
^ I am very aware of the likelihood that i my interests will change over time.

But i am just trying to get a general idea of what kind of courses i should think about taking. I do not plan to make a career solely out of studying drugs. Getting high is actually something i plan to stop, other than the occasional psychedelic voyage. I am more interested in changes in consciousness, the human condition, and how altered states (natural or drug induced) affect our experience of the world, life, and spirituality. I am also very interested in pharmacology and chemical structure, but unfortunately math, and memorization are not strong skills of mine. Could i possibly incorporate the sciences into a more philosophy driven field? I understand there aren't courses available on the relationship between entheogens and spirituality, but finding a career where i might explore these topics is of great interest to me. I would also love to do something involving the dharma, i just dont see how i could make any sort of living if i werent a scholar.

Im not necessarily considering careers; but an idea would be nice. Just something general to put me on the right path.
 
Philosophy will teach you about the different ways that people have thought about how we come to experience the world. What is it to know something, to experience something, on what basis can we separate ourselves from our contexts and our experiences. What is it reasonable to say exists, how can we know about it, is truth possible, based on our knowledge, what constitutes ethics and morality. That kind of thing.

Psychology will teach you about the way that individual people are built that creates their experience of the world. How does cognition work, how does the architecture of the brain interact with theories of how we think, what are the different psychological processes that influence how we come to experience ourselves and others.

Sociology (my discipline) is about the relationship between the individual and society. It talks about how we come to experience ourselves and the world in terms of our social context. It asks why we, in this historical moment, think of ourselves and the world in this way, and shows how these things are constructed socially. It is enormously powerful in that it demystifies the most mystifying or alternately 'natural' or taken for granted things, and shows us the social history of these things and ways of thinking. Sociology, especially social theory, is also an important part of philosophy in that it theorises about how the social world acts to make up human beings and their surroundings. I recommend this discipline although I'm biased since I'm a sociologist...

Anthropology is similar to sociology although the focus is on culture whereas sociology also includes structural issues (socioeconomic status etc).

But really any humanity or social science will interest you.

You're not going to be able to study religion or spirituality except in an 'objective' sense, ie looking at the history of religious beliefs etc. This might interest you though.

I reckon you should take philosophy, psychology, sociology and maybe a history of religion course or something like that.
 
yeh, in first year you're pretty much meant to take a wide variety...i would do more varied than all those mentioned above ^, because thats what i did, and a lot of those anthro/philo/etc. courses piled up and became useless. take more variety - 1 science/math, 1 of this, 1 of that, etc.

i wouldn't study philosophy unless you plan on being a lawyer or journalist, etc., or getting a job that has nothing to do with your degree, which you could get now. unless of course you want to study just for the knowledge - which is an odd motivation, imho, since uni is so fucking pricey...
 
^ I would actually love to get a degree for the sole purpose of gaining knowledge. Ive never been an over achiever or incredibly motivated towards my studies in school, but my personal quest for knowledge is very serious. Psychedelics have created an unquenchable thirst for the Truth, and the knowledge of cognition and experience.
I also love ancient history, and the study of all religion. So maybe a historian/theology career might be fitting?
I have no plans to be a lawyer, but i do enjoy writing.

Any more ideas or helpful suggestions?
 
i like religious studies too, you might enjoy it. they teach on everything in university, even the weirdest occult shit. the best philosophy professor i had at my old school would mention lsd, mushrooms regularly to get his point across haha. its worth it if you wouldn't mind a career in academia, for sure...
 
^ well what types of careers are available in an academic setting besides teaching?
 
none
but you do research, writing, talking, walking etc. as the bigger part of it. teaching is usually a thing they all think they have to do to make money.
 
^ So I could get my PhD in one of the previously listed disciplines, and become a researcher for a university? Would that have a reasonable pay or would it be necessary to teach to make a living for myself?
 
Once you are finally accepted and enrolled in a college, you can ask scheduling counselors there to help you choose some direction to go in. You will more than likely end up changing your major area of focus and your interests. You are very, very young.

I do not know many people who have done anything with a philosophy major apart from getting their MA or PHD in philosophy and then teaching at colleges. This would be the type of thing that you would want to speak with a college scheduling counselor about; that is what they are there for.

Someone gave a good suggestion earlier in this thread, and that is to start out your first year or two taking as many different courses as you can. You will likely have to spend a certain amount of time on basic developmental and perhaps some remedial courses that will be required before you can take other courses. All of this will make sense once you go through the enrollment process at the college of your choosing. Try to get your feet wet in as many things as you can.

From my experience, most people that I know who have taken philosophy end up finding out that it is nothing at all like they thought that it would be, and a lot harder than they thought. You will have to take a chance and take different courses to see what they are all about. So many people will change their majors because the subject that they "loved" and were "meant to do" turned out to be not quite what their imagination had it cracked up to be.

Just wait until you are accepted into college and then take advantage of the numerous resources available to you. There are professionals working at colleges who know all about the different majors and programs available, and they will be happy to guide you through the process and help you to choose courses best suited to your needs and aspirations.
 
if you aren't even in a university setting, your best bet is to get into one (community college route is good for saving money but your quality of education won't be as good...well it really boils down to how much YOU put into it especially first year or two).

After that you decide what you want to major in by what really grabs you/fascinates you. Take some upper level philosophy courses and see if its your cup of tea. Contemporary philosophy in the US is not patty-cake...there are some VERY sharp people involved and the methodologies people use are very rigorous.

good luck!
 
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