Which major should I go for?

Question

I am considering getting a bachelor's in either Political Science or Philosophy. Which major do you recommend? I realize everyone says a philosophy major is useless, but is political science any better? I guess, out of the two, which would you recommend?

Answer 1

With both degrees you will either have to accept a job that hires you on the basis that you have "a 4 year degree from an accredited college/university" or you're going to have to go to grad school.

There are some government agencies such as the Dept. of Homeland Security, ATF, CIA, FBI that hire poli-sci majors. Mostly areas of government study. However a common thread among poli-sci majors is to major in Public Health and Public Administration and there are a lot of jobs that require that type of education. A good place to start looking for jobs like that are with the Dept. of Public health/Safety or the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

If you've ever given thought to Law School then philosophy may suit you well since the LSAT is based on analytic thinking.

Like I said those are both degrees where you'll probalby need a higher level of education to do specialized work in those fields. But if you're not sold on a career you can get a job based on the fact that you have a bachelor's degree. With a philosophy major I would suggest a minor.

Answer 2

Which one do you like? What are you future plans? Ever think about expanding yourself by minoring?
The fact of the matter is whatever major you decide to choose, you must have a plan. You MUST gain work experience out in the real world so that an employer can "look" at your resume. You can major in something like Biochemistry and go work with children somewhere..a major does not hold you back. A college major just shows employers that you can start and finish something, that you can read, that you can think, that you accomplished a prolonged task..
Majors or I should say "pre-reqisites" or courses you take become important if you are going into law, engineering, medicine, nursing, often teaching..you get the idea.

Answer 3

This question is somewhat perfect for me - I graduated with a degree in political science and my brother in philosophy. I most certainly do not think philosophy is useless, in fact it's very important. Philosophy has encouraged major breakthroughs in science and understanding human thought and even attempting to answer some of the biggest questions we face. I think people believe it to be useless because there doesn't appear to be an immediate application to it in your day to day. For instance political science is everywhere... It's on tv, on the radio, on the internet an so on. They both work to assist you in understanding specific things and actually are very much tied together.

Political science essentially allows you to understand the political process. How the world works, how countries communicate, how towns, cities, countries function. It is a social science and investigates the principles and conduct of governments. With this degree you could go on to be a lawyer, you could go on to teach, you could work for the public sector, you could write, maybe even be president some day (not that a degree in political science is required - though most politicians have their law degrees)

Philosophy studies the rational understanding of truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. Like I said above it studies the concepts of a particular branch of knowledge - ethics, logic, metaphysics and so on. With this degree you could move on to teach, write, branch out and study psychology or things of that nature. Also philosophy requires an advanced understanding of language and writing. With this experience one could be an editor, work in journalism and so on.

Either way they're both great topics it just depends on the person. I would recommend not declaring you major the first semester or two and taking classes from both fields and see which interest you most. I was a computer science major prior to my taking a politics course, changed my life. You may find in your first year or two that you don't want to study either... Good luck!

Answer 4

Get a bachelor's in the major where you have the highest GPA and supplement your degree/education with skills, certifications, foreign language, business knowledge. I know philosophy majors who are doing quite well for themselves, but they just didn't go to college and major in philosophy without getting their foot in the door and laying a foundation for the work they are currently now. Is it possible for you to get a minor in Business and minor in philosophy? That really looks good to potiential employers, as it shows that you have business knowledge and great critical thinking skills.
I think that if you graduate from college, without any real idea of what you want to do and you have not prepared to enter any particular field, and especially if you have a liberal arts degree...you are going to have a hard time finding a job. These days, people want specialized skills, someone who can work in knowledge-based/technology driven economy.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Seriously, get a good liberal arts degree in english or history....or go towards business. Then narrow it down when you get to grad school. By the way political science major is useless too.

Answer 6

Neither are extremely useful unless you are using them as a jump off to graduate school. The only thing slightly more appealing with the Poly Sci major is that you could get some menial job helping with someone's campaign.

Answer 7

you could always major in both poli sci, and philosophy, but if you must choose one, follow your heart, find what you have a passion for, no matter how useful it is. I would suggest philosophy because it is more fun in my opinion.

Answer 8

it should be the major that u r best at not just like but u can double major.......if u cant decide u can do both majors.....i think u should major in Polictical Science n minor in Philosophy

Answer 9

PolySci would be more practical - certainly more job opportunities. I would only go for Philosophy if you plan to go to graduate school and do something more with it.

Answer 10

polisci -- it's more useful than philosophy

well, either one should get you into the peace corps