What should I do after M.A. Philosophy?

[Asher]

By the way, this is just further ammunition for the futility of philosophy in university.

After Boris has burned tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayers money studying philosophy, WHAT SHOULD HE STUDY NOW FOR REAL?

[Fake Boris]

You will note that each proposed field - except telco engineering - could be easily paired with philosophy for a future Ph. D.

[Fake Boris]

top grade = top 10 physicists per year in the world
good = top 100

anybody else is pretty much useless

By good I mean can shoot for (crap) faculty position. In any case it doesn't matter, as I'd be switching back to filosofy.

[KrazyHorse]

a) a PhD in "the philosophy of X" IS NOT A USEFUL ACCOMPLISHMENT. It's simply more of a waste of resources

b) Are you seriously considering going back to undergrad? Holy ****, you'll be almost 30 before you get your BSc or BEng.

[Asher]

Some people need the extra time.

[Fake Boris]

a) a PhD in "the philosophy of X" IS NOT A USEFUL ACCOMPLISHMENT. It's simply more of a waste of resources

b) Are you seriously considering going back to undergrad? Holy ****, you'll be almost 30 before you get your BSc or BEng.

That's not worse than becoming a specialist doctor.

And BTW, I don't exclude staying in my second field if I'm doing good.

[KrazyHorse]

By good I mean can shoot for (crap) faculty position. In any case it doesn't matter, as I'd be switching back to filosofy.

You wouldn't even come close to getting a faculty position. I'm not kidding you. Unless you have some sort of genius that you've simply never tapped into (Ed Witten), you will, from what I've seen, at best be a mediocre undergrad.

at a 25 year-old MA philosophy student trying to get a faculty position in physics

[Fake Boris]

Don't think you have the proper mind for computer science.

Any proper computer scientist would be outraged by the nonsense and willy-nilly arbitrariness of philosophy (and don't even try to explain how the rigid arguments of philosophy are strict and sensible).

You're so cute.

[KrazyHorse]

You have NO IDEA of the level of competition you're talking about.

[KrazyHorse]

Seriously, please start an undergrad physics degree. I look forward to laughing at you for the 6 months it takes you to decide that it isn't a good fit.

You're going to be competing against kids who are 7 years younger than you, who have been in love with the idea of becoming a physicist since they were kids, who haven't let their knowledge go stale, who are in all likelihood at least as smart as yourself, on average, and who are STILL going to mostly end up (~97% of them?) not getting a faculty position. Have fun.

[rah]

That's the way to motivate people.

[Fake Boris]

You have NO IDEA of the level of competition you're talking about.

I do. You do not seem to realize that in that respect philosophy is comparable to physics - only a handful of geniuses write stuff that matters. The rest just teach it.

I know for instance a friend who's doing really well in electrical engineering, and I was better than him at math in High School. There is some potential, but it would involve lots of hard work to be recovered, and yes the gamble is rather immense (I tend to shoot for large things).

The point is that I am most likely going back to philosophy, I'm just saying that I want to be working as if I was shooting for it.

[KrazyHorse]

I know for instance a friend who's doing really well in electrical engineering, and I was better than him at math in High School.

OMFG

You're basing your comparison on somebody doing ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING given how well you did in HIGH SCHOOL MATH?

EDIT: this is a joke, right?

[Fake Boris]

I know for instance a friend who's doing really well in electrical engineering, and I was better than him at math in High School.

OMFG

You're basing your comparison on somebody doing ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING given how well you did in HIGH SCHOOL MATH?

EDIT: this is a joke, right?

What do you propose to evaluate the case then?

I'm just pointing out that I used to be really good at math (and I mean compared to a lot of people who are now scientists), so at least there must be some kind of potential.

The worst thing that can happen is that I get a basic understanding of contemporary science, which can't hurt.

[Fake Boris]

Why don't you make yourself useful and have a serious discussion about the qualities of a good physicist?