Why would employers want a Philosopher?

Career prospects

In the School of the Arts we take your future seriously. It is our responsibility to equip students with the skills they need to be a success in the workplace. Employability is not an afterthought, but a central theme of our teaching, embedded in the curriculum.

Philosophy is all about being able to weigh up arguments for views, to communicate one's own opinion persuasively and to respond thoughtfully to objections. Employers value philosophy because any graduate-level job will require the employee to be able to sift through a large mass of information to find the relevant parts, weigh up the arguments for and the arguments against, a particular view or course of action and present advice in a clear and compelling manner.

Transferable skills fostered through the study of Philosophy include:

  • Creative, critical and independent thinking
  • Flexibility and adaptability
  • Efficient time and information management
  • The ability to organise and present a persuasive case
  • The ability to recognise relevant information

Employers want creative problem-solvers who can ‘think outside the box’, and this is exactly what philosophy graduates excel at.

Our graduates work in a variety of professional roles after graduation including marketing, accountancy, recruitment, education and administration.

We work closely with the university’s award winning Careers & Employability Service to offer a 30 credit, year-long module (SOTA300) which incorporates placement with a local company, group or institution related to your subject, providing practical/vocational experience.

Graduates from Philosophy achieve outcomes that exceed the HE Sector and Russell Group averages when looking at the Times Employability Metric (2024 Graduate Outcomes Report) 

Popular employment sectors for our Philosophy graduates include Finance, Law, Business, Media, HR, Teaching, Sales and Marketing. 

Studying Philosophy at the University of Liverpool taught me so much but perhaps the most valuable skill was how to construct arguments and explain my point of view clearly, even when there may not be a "right" or "wrong" answer to an issue. This is a key ability in business in general, but particularly in Human Resources, where persuading people to listen to your advice is critical to being a valued member of the management team.

Tim Scott, Liverpool Enterprise Partnership
Philosophy makes a great major

Philosophy makes a great major

Still not sure about Philosophy as a degree?

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