Philosophy Careers

Primum vivere deinde philosophari. First live, then philosophize. Though you love truth, the truth is: you also need to eat—not to mention care for yourself and your loved ones, as well as (hopefully) enjoy some of the finer things in life. Is the philosophy major a good investment? According to PayScale’s annual survey of 1.4 million college graduates, philosophy and politics majors earn more than any other humanities degree through all stages of their careers. Moreover, philosophy majors outperform business majors in earning power later in their careers, and they outperform biology majors at all stages of their careers. So, on top of everything else, it turns out that a philosophy major is a great investment! 

What exactly can you do with a philosophy major? Or, more specifically, what exactly have UD philosophy majors done? The following are just a few of the diverse careers paths taken by our philosophy alumni.

• Medicine
• Gavin Puthoff, '05 — Obstetrician, Mercy Clinic in St. Louis
• Daniel Fiedorek, ’12 — completing M.D. in Arkansas
• Martin Sentmanat, ’17 — studying medicine at Texas A&M
• Business and Finance
• Eddie Accomando, ’92 — Principal Consultant at Anthroconsulting
• Grace Hernandez, '17 — Assistant Broker for Burns & Wilcox Brokerage
• Sam Beattie, ‘18  — Analyst, Fidelity Investments
• Law
• Robert Weisenburger, ’12 — completed J.D. as University of San Diego; working for Golub & Associates Law Firm in San Diego
• Cody Combs, ’15 — studying law at UT Austin
• Mike Woodrum, ’17 — studying law at UT Austin
• Clergy
• John Stein, ’16 — seminarian for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
• Charlie Archer, ’16 — seminarian for the Archdiocese of St. Louis
• Four former philosophy majors are currently Cistercian monks at Our Lady of Dallas Abbey across the street from UD!
• Academia
• Michael Hayes, ’12 — completing Ph.D. in philosophy at Kansas
• Juan Solares, ’12 — director of Michael Polanyi College (Guatemala)
• Camille (Pecha) Kennedy, ’14 — completing Ph.D. in French at Rutgers, named a Lilly Graduate Fellow
• Andrew Shafer, ’15 — completing Ph.D. in philosophy at Fordham
• Bridget Safranek, ’17 — completing Ph.D. in philosophy at Catholic University of America, named a Lilly Graduate Fellow
• Margaret Schuhriemen, ’18 — completing Ph.D. in philosophy at Catholic University of America
• Teaching
• Michael Reardon, ’15 — teaching for Great Hearts Irving
• Jessica Pedersen, ‘19 — teaching for Great Hearts San Antonio
• Politics
• Emily Wilson, ’16 — aide to U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (Kansas)

And so the real question really is: What can’t you do with a philosophy major?