Relatedly, Nathan Ballantyne (Fordham), in his continued look into the history of the APA, recently came across statements from the organization’s Board of Officers from 40 years ago about the job prospects for new PhDs in philosophy. The 1979 statement, below, says, “it seems very likely that of all those who recieved the PhD degree in philosophy in the United States during the last three years no more than one third have found an academic position which has substantial prospects of permanence… [T]here are some indications that the situation will get worse and practically none that it will improve.”
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has created an online version of its set of resources for those with philosophical training who are seeking employment outside of academia.
“Beyond the Academy” includes data, advice for job seekers, and recommendations for faculty about how to support non-academic career paths. The APA is also holding a webinar on non-academic careers on April 28th. (via Shane Wilkins)
The APA notes in its analysis of these figures that “there are enough tenure-track positions in philosophy for about 40% of the doctorates produced in the US and Canada each year.”
The data on the APA site includes information about the number of philosophy PhDs earned each year and the number of jobs advertised:
For departmental placement information, consult Academic Placement Data and Analysis and this post.
