Philosophy graduates are well prepared to pursue every academic, professsional, and vocational training since the intellectual skills acquired during their study prove to be highly valued by academic departments, employers, and state agencies. Here is a brief list of actual positions held by philosophy graduates (some prominent philosophy alumni listed in parenthesis):

• Staff member of the House of Representatives
• Computer Science professor
• Poet (T.S. Eliot)
• U.S. Secretary of Education (William Bennet)
• comoputer programming
• North Dakota Supreme  Court
• Ethicist for a hospital ethics review board
• stock broker, financial analyst
• judge, lawyer
• playwright
• executive for National Endowment of Humanities
• actor (Harrison Ford, Woody Allen, Monty Phython members)
• researchers for Library of Congress
• project director for educational programs in U.S. and abroad
• psychiatrist, psychologist, physician
• President of State (Richard Weizaecker, Germany; Francisco Flores, El Salvador)
• Professor of Philosophy
• mayor (Nezdet Mustafa, Mayor of Shutka, Macedonia, and the only Gypsy major in the world)

In addition, students of philosophy learn a wide variety of skills which are easily transferable into other fields of academic study, professional training, and personal development. Here are some of the most valuable traits you will learn in a philosophy course:

Analytical and Abstract Reasoning Skills:

• to analyze definitions, arguments, and concepts
• to discern hidden assumptions, preconceptions, and manipulation strategies, and
• to consider an issue from various perspectives

Communication and Writing Skills:

• to break down and organize complex ideas into simple and intelligible structure
• to formulate your argument in clear persuasive and considerate language, and 
• to examine challenging texts and interpret them in adequate and creative modes

Research and Problem-Solving Skills:

• to anaylze and categorize research material
• to formulate your own interests, methods, and goals in a research project
• to view concepts from various perspectives, and
• to evaluate problems and provide constructive and creative solutions