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Career Opportunities for Majors in Philosophy

Introduction

Philosophy seeks answers to such fundamental questions as: What is ultimately real? What is the nature and extent of our knowledge? What is the source and nature of our moral obligations? Students majoring in Philosophy explore these types of questions and develop answers that can be defended in the arena of reasoned controversy. Philosophy covers many areas of the human experience, including the study of reality, existence, logic, and moral and social issues.

Philosophy graduates pursue careers in business, education, government, and the non-profit sector. Future career options may be determined not so much by the choice of the philosophy major, but by your interests, skills, values, and types of work experiences acquired during college. Regardless of your career aspirations, increase your marketability to employers through internships, related work experience, good grades, advanced coursework, and involvement in campus activities. Many careers do not require a specific major, but rather a wide range of demonstrated skills, accomplishments, and work experience while in school.

A Sample of Related Occupations

Admissions Counselor	Employee Relations Specialist	Paralegal
Advertising Account Executive	FBI/CIA Agent	Personnel Recruiter
Attorney	Financial Planner	Professor/Educator
Business Manager	Foreign Service Officer	Psychologist
Child Welfare Worker	Fundraiser	Public Information Officer
Claims Examiner	Government Agency Administrator	Public Policy Specialist
Conflict Resolution Specialist	Hospital Administrator	Public Relations Specialist
Consultant	Human Resources Specialist	Public Service Official
Consumer Advocate	Insurance Agent/Broker	Publications Specialist
Copy Writer	Investment Counselor	Realtor
Corporate Trainer	Journalist	Religious Leader
Corrections Officer	Lawyer	Sales/Marketing Representative
Counselor	Lobbyist	Social Worker
Customer Relations Representative	Market Researcher	Travel Consultant
Editor/Writer	Non-profit Administrator	Youth Counselor

Types of Employers

Private & Non-profit Organizations
Advertising Agencies	Law Firms	Personnel Agencies
Consumer Organizations	Libraries	Professional Associations
Cultural Organizations	Magazines/Newspapers	Public Relations Firms
Entertainment Firms	Management/Consulting Firms	Publishing Firms
Foundations	Manufacturing Firms	Retail Stores
Hotels/Restaurants/Resorts	Media Organizations	Universities
Insurance Companies	Museum, Historical Societies

Government Agencies
Central Intelligence Agency	Drug Enforcement Agency	Peace Corps
Civil Rights Commission	Federal Bureau of Investigation	Smithsonian Institution
Consumer Affairs Office	Federal/State Congressional Offices	U.S. Customs Service
Criminal Courts	Foreign Service	U.S. Information Agency
Department of Labor	Legislative Affairs	Voice of America
Division of Youth and Family Services

Jobs Obtained by Rutgers Graduates

First Jobs of Recent Graduates
Account Executive, Archive Films	Sales Representative, Sprint Corp.
Economic Service Worker, State of West Virginia	State Trooper, Delaware State Police
Editiorial Asst., Rutgers University	Wilderness Therapy Counselor, Eckerd Family Youth Alternatives
Financial Advisor, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

Jobs of Experienced Alumni
Accounting Specialist, Prudential	Manager, Operations, TQM Technology Corp.
Asst. Director, Alternatives Inc. (social services)	Marketing Associate, Hill Partners Inc.
Asst. Director-Study Abroad, Rutgers	Member of Tech. Staff, Cycorp, Inc. (PhD Phil.)
Asst. Instructor, Philosophy Dept., Rutgers	Network Engineer, ABB Lummus Global
Asst. Sales Manager, Merrill Lynch	Office Manager, Office of Senator Edward Kennedy
Asst. Staff Manager, AT&T	Partner/Lawyer, Dworkin & Silpe (PhD/JD)
Associate Attorney, Buchanan Ingersoll (JD)	Philosophy Professor, Rowan State College (PhD)
Asst. Attorney General, Office of Att'y. General (JD)	Records Coord., Superior Court of NJ (MLS)
Asst. Mgr., Costar Real Estate Group (MA Comm.)	Recruiter, IRS
Claims Analyst, Christiania General Insurance	Regional Director, US Envir. Protection Agency (JD)
Clinical Research Assoc., J&J Research Inst.	Research Analyst, The Blackstone Group
Consultant, KPMG Consulting	Research Info. Services Asst., Janssen Research Foundation (MLS)
Consulting Analyst, Accenture	Senior Collection Officer, State of NJ
Desktop Analyst, ANZDL Management Services	Senior Consultant, IBM Corp.
Director of Sales & Business Development, Vonage	Senior Developer, Web Based Software, Random House
Int'l. Sales Specialist, NACCO Industries	Sr. Tech. Writer, McDonnell Douglas (MA Linguistics)
IT Consultant, Glyphic Technologies	Sr. Trust Administrator, Merrill Lynch Trust Co.
Librarian, Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc. (MLS)	Teacher/Tutor, Behshad Sheldon (M.Ed Special Ed.)
Manager of Provider Relations, Liberty Health Plan	VP HR, Community Medical Center (MA Educational Administration)

Graduate Schools Attended

American Univ., Washington College of Law, JD	Rutgers University, Grad. School of Education, M.Ed
Boston College, School of Law, JD	Rutgers University, MLS, Library Science
Emory University, School of Law, JD	Rutgers University, PhD, Philosophy
Monmouth University, M.Ed., Educational Admin.	The College of New Jersey, M.Ed, Special Ed.
Montclair State University, MA, Communication	UMDNJ RWJ Medical School, MD, Medicine
Northern Illinois University, PhD, Philosophy	University of Tennessee, College of Law, JD
Rutgers University - Camden Law School, JD	Villanova University, School of Law, JD

Additionally, you may:

Explore the career paths of RU Alumni Career Network mentors.
Go to the Rutgers Online Career Planning Site to explore your interests, skills and values. Use the program for either: High School Students | College Students
Explore Rutgers University academic department information related to this major.
See the Occupational Outlook Handbook for additional career information.
Pick up your "Career Opportunities" handouts at any New Brunswick Career Services office.


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