Is there a point to doing a PhD in Philosophy later in life?
I’m an undergraduate studying philosophy and it really hit me how much I enjoy it as I reach the latter part of my degree. I’m double majoring in something I hate, and most of my effort in my studies have focused on that because I suck at it/ because it’s employable. However, I’ve had more time to solely focus on just my philosophy classes as of late and it’s been wonderful. I’m getting 5 hours of sleep at this point because all I want to do is read philosophy (corny I’m sorry).
My grades in philosophy are good. If it helps I go to a fairly prestigious institution and I have a decent bit of experience with tutoring. I love teaching and speaking, less so maybe the publication part. I do still like writing and am fairly good at it, but I think the teaching aspect is more appealing. However, I’m trying to be realistic and I know I’m no Nussbaum or Singer… I also realize how abysmal the job market is for PhDs in philosophy and the current issues with teaching philosophy (as I’ve heard from my profs). I’m planning on working in a lucrative field for maybe 10 years and then perhaps pursuing an MA or PhD in philosophy when I’m more financially secure. A lot of my phil/nonphil professors did some related/unrelated industry work for a while before pursuing academia. Should I just stick to reading books? What pushed you all to get that PhD even with all of the cautionary tales you’ve heard?