Topics Profession

Question I am a psychology undergraduate considering doing my M.A. in Philosophy. How competitive do you think the job market is for getting a job as a community college philosophy professor right now? Would I better off (as far as a getting a professorship) by going into a Ph.D. program? Thanks!

Accepted:
July 17, 2009

Comments

The academic job market in philosophy has been challenging for a long time. With the recent downturn in the economy, some people are describing it as the worst market in decades. Even before the downturn, you would have been very unlikely to land any long term job in philosophy with an M.A. In the current market, virtually no one will be getting a CC philosophy professorship without a Ph.D.

In theory, the market should almost certainly improve by the time you would finish your Ph.D. But, even the 'normal' market is quite challenging. It is not unusual for even 'less desirable' jobs to receive 100-200 applications. And many gifted graduate students with impressive credentials have a difficult time getting jobs. There is a blog entitled the 'Philosophy Smoker' run by some anonymous graduate students who are on the philosophy job market. If you read it, you will get a glimpse at the incredibly difficult time many students have on the job market. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.