The Value Of Philosophy Degrees From Traditional Institutions And Internet Institutions
Philosophy degrees have been the butt of jokes in various circles for a long time. There is a common perception that philosophy degrees are worthless, and that anyone spending money on attending a college or university in pursuit of a philosophy degree is essentially throwing their money away; this has a lot to do with the career opportunities available to a person who holds a philosophy degree, and the common jokes are that a person with a philosophy degree will end up working at a fast food restaurant for minimum wage, or that if they do manage to get a job in the field of philosophy, the only career available to them is to teach philosophy to other students in pursuit of a philosophy degree. There is also a widely held stereotype about the type of people who pursue philosophy degrees, in that they are pseudo intellectuals who will analyze and pick apart anything and everything to find the greater philosophical meaning. These stereotypes are, of course, untrue, but there is some basis for these beliefs. It is true that a person who holds only a degree in philosophy is going to have a very difficult time finding a job in a related field; philosophy degrees are most valuable when paired with another degree in a different field, and someone who holds two degrees, one of which is a degree in philosophy, will likely be looked at more favorably than a person who holds only one degree. A person who holds a philosophy degree in addition to a law degree, or a medical degree, or an education degree, is in a much better position when it comes to career prospects than is a person who holds only one degree, because a people with philosophy degrees tend to have a different outlook on life and the world, and bring a different set of views, beliefs and experiences to their work and their life.
Many people these days choose to pursue their degrees on the internet, and there are a lot of mixed opinions about the value and worth of online degrees. Philosophy degrees are one of the degrees that is best suited for online work, because of the nature of philosophy course work. Earning a degree in anthropology or chemistry or biology for example, or any of the sciences, can be a very difficult thing to do on the internet, for the simple fact that a lot of the work involved in earning such an education depends on field work and lab experience, which is impossible to have when you are taking classes from home on the computer. Philosophy degrees, however, tends to revolve around reading philosophical works, and discussing the ideas presented in such works, so the internet is the perfect medium for such an education, because it is so suited for discussion. The internet allows access to most of the philosophical works that a student pursuing a philosophy degree would need to study, because a majority of such works are so old that copyright laws do not apply, and they have moved into the public domain, where you can get access to them for free on the internet rather than purchasing actual physical copies of the books. Philosophy degrees earned online tend to make heavy use of internet forums and email discussion, because of the nature of philosophy degrees as debate, discussion and argument. While you need to be careful when spending money on any online degree, so that you do not fall prey to a scam, philosophy degrees are one of the best degrees to earn on the internet.