3 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Opportunities in philosophy
I have 3 things to say, and i will be perfectly and brutally honest.
First, I doubt that you seriously know what being an academic is really like, especially if you haven't even gotten an undergraduate degree yet (and I'm assuming you haven't applied via UCAS nor written your personal statement yet).
For this reason, I'd really encourage you to keep an open mind and have the humility to know that you are probably wrong: your idea of what academics do is probably way off.
Secondly, even if you know you would like to be an academic, I'd encourage you to keep an open mind and perhaps act like you are *not* going into philosophy academia as a profession.
Academia is notoriously competitive and unstable (at least until you overcome numerous challenges, which most people don't). Especially in the UK, funding is short, especially for hiring in these kinds of jobs.
I have no beef with you wanting to become an academic - and who knows, you might become one! Just keep an open mind and try to be realistic. To draw a somewhat bad analogy, this is like seriously planning on becoming an astronaut when older - great aspiration, but the odds are stacked against you.
Finally, I'd encourage you at this stage to just focus on your A-levels (if you're doing them). I'm not aware of any experience you can get directly related to philosophy at this stage (unless you have incredible connections (i.e., nepotism)).
I'd say just read around, do some supercurricular stuff, im assuming you do something like A-level English lit so maybe ask your teacher for recommendations.
Comment by [deleted] at 29/06/2024 at 21:11 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I have had numerous people warn me about becoming an academic, but I do have other ideas so that isn't a worry (there's always college teacher, boring office work, journalism or something) but thanks for the advice!!!