Studying philosophy can enrich your personal and professional life by teaching you how to acquire, analyze and use knowledge. Additionally, most employers love job seekers whose part of their educational experience includes philosophy as this is testament to the latter’s ability to critically analyze complex questions. A philosophy educational qualification – whether major or minor – imparts skills that are vital in most sectors of the job market, which puts you in a perfect position to pursue a variety of careers.
1. Analytical thinking skills
With these skills, you could be useful in a variety of careers because you can come up with numerous ideas to solve a problem. You will also be a coveted employee due to your ability to develop and successfully tackle problems. Being an analytical thinker also means you can identify assumptions and formulate alternatives; this could be vital in establishing the viability of projects and coming up with solutions to remedy them. This skill guides you in decision making involving selecting two options; you analyze both options by considering their little differences as well as similarities.
2. Communication skills
Effective communication is important for success at a company. Employers value job hunters with good communication skills because it translates to the ability to clearly and objectively comprehend the content of message instantly as well as separate value from facts. Philosophy also makes you a better communicator such that you can express yourself without infringing on other people’s rights. It turns you into a good orator as is evidenced when you are able to clearly outline your ideas as well as principles.
3. Critical thinking skills
Studying philosophy breeds in you the skill to think critically, which comes in handy when identifying the core issues in problem solving as well as major decision-making scenarios. Your personal and professional life would also benefit from your ability to earmark general principles, which link certain data, points and problems together. You are also able to evaluate and understand the parameters of various problems. It is on this basis you can develop solutions to these challenges.
4. Argumentative skills
This skill is an important one in the workplace especially when deliberating on how to implement various projects. Even in your personal life, it can be an asset for you when trying to convince others about your point of view. Thanks to philosophy classes, you can use your argumentative skill for logical reasoning that begins with a premise and ends with a conclusion. This increases chances of getting people to buy your idea because it betters their understanding of what you are saying. It also comes with the ability to evaluate the consequences of your actions.
5. Research skills
In this fast-paced world, you need to constantly update your general knowledge via regular research on the Internet, magazine, newspapers, academic journals and broadcast media. Your course in philosophy is a blessing in this regard because it enhances or imparts research skills that allow you to scour for information in various sources and unearth problems as well as needs. Part of the package of research skills includes the ability to define problems systematically, which involves developing questions that are relevant to a particular problem.
A philosophy course reaps a lot of dividends including opening you up to a variety of career choices. The skills provided are transferable to many employment fields and allow you to adapt effectively to any changes made in your career. Examples of possible professions for you are law, professional writing, business, accounting, architecture, journalism, publishing and teaching.