Grad School: Philosophy of Physics & Math, Logic & Paradoxes

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the prospects of pursuing graduate studies in the philosophy of physics and mathematics, as well as the challenges of securing teaching positions in academia. Participants explore the competitiveness of the job market and the implications of choosing a more applied field versus a theoretical one.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses interest in graduate studies in philosophy of physics and math, questioning the difficulty of obtaining a teaching position with a Master's or doctorate.
  • Another participant notes that securing a teaching position at a university is generally challenging and suggests that a PhD is a minimum requirement for reasonable hope of employment.
  • A third participant emphasizes the competitiveness of the job market, indicating that identifying only one program may reflect the difficulty in finding opportunities.
  • One participant shares a metaphor about fundraising for research to illustrate the challenges of obtaining funding and job opportunities in abstract fields, suggesting that some subjects may be easier to promote than others.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that securing a teaching position in academia is difficult and that a PhD is often necessary. However, there is no consensus on the viability of pursuing a career in philosophy of physics and math versus more applied fields.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the lack of specific data on job market statistics for philosophy graduates and the dependence on individual definitions of "applied" versus "theoretical" fields.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals considering graduate studies in philosophy, particularly in relation to physics and mathematics, as well as those interested in academic career paths in the humanities and social sciences.

cragar
Messages
2,546
Reaction score
3
I was thinking about going to grad school to study philosophy of physics and math, and logic and paradoxes.
I was googling around to try and find a school, Columbia has something like it,
If I get a Masters or doctorate in this field, would it be hard to get a teaching position at a university? Or should I do something more applied.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The field would be work in philosophy.
Note: it is hard to get a teaching position at a University - period.
A minimum standard to have a reasonable hope would be a PhD.
 
cragar said:
I was thinking about going to grad school to study philosophy of physics and math, and logic and paradoxes.
I was googling around to try and find a school, Columbia has something like it,
If I get a Masters or doctorate in this field, would it be hard to get a teaching position at a university? Or should I do something more applied.

https://www.physicsforums.com/blog.php?b=4536

... and people thought getting a job in physics is difficult!

Zz.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The fact that you have identified exactly one program will give you some ideas of how competitive the job market will be.
 
Something that's really helped me in my academic career has been to imagine the following scenario...

You are given the task of raising the money to fund your research. You have a large amount of time - say one year, but the only way you can raise the monye is by randomly approaching people on the street, explaining whatever you want about the research in two minutes or less and asking for a donation.

As you can imagine, this will be more easy to do for some subjects than others.

Some problems may be so abstract that the only way you can get any money at all for them is to lump them together and sell them as "the value to solutions of abstract problems" but then, you have to split your pot with everyone else who is working on a related abstract problem.

While this metaphor has it's limitations I think it gives you a good idea of how easy it is to get a job doing academic work of any kind.
 

Similar threads

Schools How good and well-known is the physics program at RPI?
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
982
Other Physics PhD after working for few years
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
Other How to Afford Moving to Another State For Grad School?
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
3K
Is a Low CGPA a Deal Breaker for Grad School Admissions?
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
5K
Admissions Grad School Admissions: Which do I Bother With?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Admissions Graduating a year early anxieties + grad school
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
2K
Advice: Doing grad school abroad and getting a masters instead of PhD
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
4K
Admissions Curious about my grad school prospects
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
4K
Studying Any tips for getting GPA over 3.7 in grad school?
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
4K
Admissions Research experience for physics grad school application
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K