Jobs in Philosophy(metaphysics/existentialism)/Psycology

[Lee96]

So, first off. I'm 15. I've been having alot of trouble the past year or so deciding what career I want to take. The last few weeks i've learnt that Pstcology and Philosophy both interest me very much, now here is the question(s): 1) What kind of carears are there that have something to do with philosophy or psycology? Is it possible to make a living off of writing books on the subject? 2) What would i need to study in my last years of high school to help with this? 3) What courses would i need to take in uni in order to get the afformentioned jobs? Thanks guys.

[Seroquel]

Dude Bruce Lee was a philosopher.

[Spartiate]

Dude Bruce Lee was a philosopher. So that's why he was rich.

[Lee96]

Dude Bruce Lee was a philosopher. Cool. That is relevant how? Aha.

[Seroquel]

Anyways my point is you don't go to "philosophy" school to become a philosopher. A philosopher is naturally inquisitive. Diogenes the Cynic lived in a barrel on the street and ate onions. (He was perhaps more bad ass than even Bruce Lee).

[Darkmatters]

I don't know that there are jobs in philosophy aside from teaching it or being a successful writer on the subject. It's like the well-known (and utterly useless) college degree in Literature.. better have a second career choice lined up (Like Bruce Lee did). As for making a career of writing about philosophy, only if you're a great writer,and even then I wouldn't care to bet on it. Psychology is a much more lucrative field.

[Arra]

You don't have to know what you want to do when you're 15, don't worry about it. Take some courses in subjects you think you might be interested in when you get to college/university, then decide. A lot of introductory Philosophy courses are basically about memorizing the history and writing essays. Being a philosopher... unless you teach, you may end up unemployed, but at least you'll get to feel superior to everyone else in a way. You get into it if you're actually interested and enjoy thinking about the topic. One of my favourite philosophy professors I had used to claim that philosophy is one of the best professions for the mind. He also used to say that all philosophers drink, I don't know about that though lol.

[Wayfaerer]

Anyways my point is you don't go to "philosophy" school to become a philosopher. A philosopher is naturally inquisitive. What he said. Writing a book about your philosophy is probably your best bet, but even then only as a side project to an actual job. Of course you could always perpetuate the delusion that philosophy is just a historical account full of esoteric terms you need to be trained in and be a philosophy teacher lol The only way to actually participate in philosophy is to think, and carry your philosophical thinking into everything you do.

[Seroquel]

Being a philosopher... unless you teach, you may end up unemployed, but at least you'll get to feel superior to everyone else in a way. Is that what that is..

[Lee96]

You don't have to know what you want to do when you're 15, don't worry about it. Take some courses in subjects you think you might be interested in when you get to college/university, then decide. A lot of introductory Philosophy courses are basically about memorizing the history and writing essays. Being a philosopher... unless you teach, you may end up unemployed, but at least you'll get to feel superior to everyone else in a way. You get into it if you're actually interested and enjoy thinking about the topic. One of my favourite philosophy professors I had used to claim that philosophy is one of the best professions for the mind. He also used to say that all philosophers drink, I don't know about that though lol. I'm sure quite a lot of philosophers drink aha. How would one go about being a philosiophy lecturer in a University/college?

[Spartiate]

Most respectable universities would require a doctorate in the subject, that's a hell of a commitment... You should seriously treat philosophy as a hobby.

[Lee96]

Thanks man. What is a doctorate?

[LonelyTurtle]

More of a possibly lucrative hobby than an actual career.

[tommo]

First, take an English class, probably grade 2 or so. Since no one will read your books if they're full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Once you have that down, write a book. Philosophy courses will only help you if your philosophy is similar to some other famous philosopher's who has already written about it, so you will know not to write it again. And pretty much every philosophy is already written about. So in other words, do psychology instead. You can earn like $400 or more an hour and I think the average is $100 - 200 or so. You'll be better off, and will have heaps of time with patients to write your book.

[Darkmatters]

If you're interested in how to become a philosophy teacher, go online and look up the philosophy curriculum for a college that you might attend, see what courses they require. I'd also recommend googling some articles on philosophy and read them, see if it's he kind of stuff you want to spend the rest of your life wading through. Personally I find it irksome constantly encountering words like phenomenology, epistemology and the like. If this doesn't bother you, then you're off to a great start!

[labyrint]

He also used to say that all philosophers drink, I don't know about that though lol. I just drank coffee therefore and herebefore I am the philosopher??? Does this make sense or reason??? It do compute. PS here is a beat poem to dearest sophia I've yet to meet, that I just made for her bd and my dads too: http://www.dreamviews.com/f23/flood-...t-poem-124870/ I have a suspicion that I'm being slightly too self-centered and arrogant here, but it was a blast and a flux. At least I was being sincere. Maybe true to my heart, but around seems like I've still got something to learn about life and suspicious minds. Anyhow this is teh way I get gnosis out of wisdom: <3 I'm yet trying to learn were to draw a line between art and artificing, some like to be artificed, but I feel that it should only be temporarily. ,,some of dem wan't to ab,use u,, ,,some of dem want to b ab,used,, is eurythmics / mm

[Xei]

I have actually been contemplating studying philosophy for a year. I really don't know what courses are out there for me though, because I have a small set of things I want to spend some time reading about, but no interest in large swathes of philosophy (largely the stuff which is rhetorical bunk). First, take an English class, probably grade 2 or so. Since no one will read your books if they're full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Once you have that down, write a book. Philosophy courses will only help you if your philosophy is similar to some other famous philosopher's who has already written about it, so you will know not to write it again. And pretty much every philosophy is already written about. So in other words, do psychology instead. You can earn like $400 or more an hour and I think the average is $100 - 200 or so. You'll be better off, and will have heaps of time with patients to write your book. That's... really not what a philosopher is. Somebody who 'writes a book about a new philosophy'... it almost sounds like you're talking about self-help books. Philosophy is an active area of research and there are plenty of philosophical jobs within academia. Lots of it involves technical research which is published in journals.

[Original Poster]

Philosophy Majors in college, according to my philosophy teacher, do awfully well on tests. Philosophy Undergrads have the highest LSAT scores and second highest MCAT scores under premeds. Philosophy teaches you how to think. It teaches you fundamental reasoning skills that can enhance your ability to succeed in whatever career you choose. If you're interested in psychology more as a subject and less as a method to help people while listening to them bitch all day long, then your best bet in any case is going into either teaching or researching. It takes a certain type of person to be a therapist and many good psychology analysts try to force themselves into therapy because they think that's what you do with psychology.

[Wayfaerer]

That's... really not what a philosopher is. Somebody who 'writes a book about a new philosophy'... it almost sounds like you're talking about self-help books. Philosophy is an active area of research and there are plenty of philosophical jobs within academia. Lots of it involves technical research which is published in journals. How do you turn philosophy into technical research without actually researching some field of science, or taking a creative leap of faith into your own personal hunches? Can you link me an example of a technical paper on philosophy?

[Stirred]

Philosophy? Jobs? Oh god, my sides!

[tommo]

First, take an English class, probably grade 2 or so. Since no one will read your books if they're full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Once you have that down, write a book. Philosophy courses will only help you if your philosophy is similar to some other famous philosopher's who has already written about it, so you will know not to write it again. And pretty much every philosophy is already written about. So in other words, do psychology instead. You can earn like $400 or more an hour and I think the average is $100 - 200 or so. You'll be better off, and will have heaps of time with patients to write your book. I've rethought a bit of my post. It's okay if you're copying someone else tbh, as long as it's unintentionally of course. Eckhart Tolle basically regurgitates Buddhism, and he's rich as fuck. Actually it is necessary for people to do this. Because after a few decades of an idea being put out there, only the people who are really interested in something like that will read a book about it. So it is necessary to repeat the same ideas, in a different way, to culminate a larger group of people who have been exposed to a certain way of thinking. That's... really not what a philosopher is. Somebody who 'writes a book about a new philosophy'... it almost sounds like you're talking about self-help books. You just love to disagree don't you.... Philosophers do not write books about their philosophy? Okay.

[Wayfaerer]

You just love to disagree don't you.... Philosophers do not write books about their philosophy? Okay. Can't you see that your instigating disagreement with a statement condemning instigating disagreement? Anyway, I do get what he's saying. There's so many books in the "philosophy" category that are really just feel-good self help books jaded with ambiguous statements meant to be seen as objective philosophy when they're not. Eckhart Tolle's books had a significant impact on me, but even that was more of a guided experience with some murky philosophical statements which definitely could have been replaced with more scientifically based ideas (that's how I read the books). The only person I've seen genuinely pull off writing thoroughly substantial philosophical reads is Emerson.

[ThePreserver]

Philosophy is thinking, before "science" existed, it was called "natural philosophy" or "thinking about nature/the universe". Everyone likes to think deeply... but only a few really want to make a career or lifestyle out of it. The best thing you can do is most likely become a professor, which would allow you the time and resources to continue your "thinking" and studies, as well as write.

[Xei]

How do you turn philosophy into technical research without actually researching some field of science, or taking a creative leap of faith into your own personal hunches? Can you link me an example of a technical paper on philosophy? Basically just check out any professional philosophical journal. Lots of modern philosophy is technical and rigorous stuff about language and logic. You just love to disagree don't you.... Philosophers do not write books about their philosophy? Okay. Yeah because that's what I said isn't it tommo, philosophers don't write books. Another good day's work; you can go home and feel really chuffed with what you achieved today. No, I said that's not what they typically do for work. And philosophical works are not about 'their philosophy', they are generally about ideas and developments in the philosophical systems of other people. It still sounds like you're talking about philosophy in the pop culture sense of 'a way of living'. That's not what it means.

[tommo]

Well I assumed you thought I meant self-help books just because I said the word books. I don't mean a way of living, I mean a way of thinking about the universe/world/life. Every thing I've read along these lines (I'll admit not much) is about the person's philosophy. As I don't see how you could write about how other people think without inherently writing about the way you think. I'm not going to argue about this though. Just clarifying that.