Thursday’s cartoon “Spin to Win” might be amusing, but it leans on a myth about philosophy majors the data simply do not support.
A 2008 study by PayScale Inc. of college majors and salaries actually shows philosophy majors do well in monetary terms. The study examined the careers of students over the long term and compiled information on the median salaries of 50 different majors, both at the start of their careers and at the midpoint.
It might surprise many of your readers to see philosophy majors rank 16th out of those 50 majors; they do better than every other humanities and social-science major on this score.
Those median mid-career salaries are higher even than those for accounting, architecture, psychology, marketing and business management majors. If we look at median starting salaries, philosophy majors still do reasonably well, ranking 28th out of 50, which is just slightly under the halfway point.
As these data make clear, the common view that philosophy majors face a financially impoverished future is simply false.
For more on the major, including more information on how students do in their future careers, take a look at the philosophy department’s Web page www.phil.ufl.edu.
Editor's note: This letter refers to this cartoon.
