Two generations ago in London, so it was said, banks in the City preferred to hire graduates in philosophy to those in economics. The way philosophers did their thinking was apparently considered particularly conducive to the requirements of High Finance.
This may – or may not – still be the case.
In any case, Roone Arledge, the man who transformed television sports coverage in the United States, was a student of Hegel. He also heard the lectures of Lionel Trilling and Mark Van Doren at Columbia. His Times obituary reported:
“Mr. Arledge brought to the programs he later produced what he learned in these courses: the importance of narrative and the role of the hero. Years later the announcers of ABC Sports were taught to emphasize what Mr. Arledge called the story line of whatever game they were covering and to focus on a star whose personal story could transcend the outcome of the events itself.”
According to a recent survey in The Wall Street Journal, the job market in the U.S. for graduates in the humanities (let us broaden the field) holds up well in comparison with graduates in marketing, economics, environmental engineering and – especially – psychology.
Let us assume that “Other Majors” includes majors in philosophy. MIS means Management Information Services. Please note that English, Political Science and History rank higher than Marketing.
Conclusion: According to this survey, no case can be made for cutting university courses in the liberal arts from the undergraduate point of view. Academic decision-making is obviously influenced by other considerations.
Source: Atlantic Monthly online
How can I not comment?
It is clear that philosophy (to this n of one at least) is still an excellent and useful training. Why, some with that training even rise to be President (no need to get bogged down in the specificities of President of what).
Yes, but you missed becoming a sports reporter.
I may yet become one.
I know that certain highly successful U.K. multinational companies liked to hire history majors for their fast track. The rational being that history provides a long term view of the human condition and its foibles. Speaking personally, I favour a combination of history for understanding and engineering for disciplined creativity.
My perception is that it is not so much that learning history produces a long term view of the human condition, but rather that individuals with a complex consciousness of society’s dynamics tend to be attracted to the study of history. I seem to notice two different types in relation to their discipline, whatever it is: one, those whose career is contained within the discipline and lived by its rules; the other, those who eventually rise above their discipline so that it becomes a tool (often among others) for comprehending the mysteries of Life with a capital L — and for mastering at least some of them.
Not only “from the undergraduate poin of view”. It would not surprize me, however, to find that there are some post-graduate philosophers driving taxicabs in North America.
Horace – I agree with you again!
As a graduate of undergraduate philosophy at U of T (I had a sojourn in general science, so I may not be an Ur-example of the training), I drove a cab in Toronto for a summer. I was no match for the zip and cunning of seasoned cabbies. But then, I hardly noticed that, so I wasn’t discontent. Curious, is more what I was. The people I got to drive around were sometimes fascinating.
Can’t make too many assumptions about philosophy grads. Their professional deformation is severe for normal satisfaction-with-my-life surveys. I expect Sartre was happy as a clam to be a miserable existentialist, and it probably had nothing to do with his job.
How many philosophy grads were hired to run Lehman Brothers, Great White Rock or whatever that British bank was called, AIG, the financial institutions in Iceland, etc. Or perhaps the question should be — if philosophy grads were running those companies, would (wouldn’t?) we be better off now?
Who is asking the questions – you or I?
Sorry, I forgot my place.