BS in Philosophy, PhD in Political Science... more career options?

[grapico]

Greetings,

I am in a bit of a conundrum as to what I want to do. Would I be able to do a PhD in Political Science after a BS in Philosophy?

I would think it would open up more career options than a PhD in Philosophy, i.e. I could work for gov/other sectors, and have more of a choice of location on where I lived.

I work in IT now for 7 years but want a career shift. Considering grad school for something else. Note, I already make about 70K a year and have 0 debt...So I would like to top out a little more. I'm about topped out now unless I went into a management position which I would not want to do.

I did undergrad in MIS and Philosophy. More interested in Philosophy, but definitely interested in Political Philosophy, ethics, international relations and comparative politics as well, took classes on all.

I am at this point limited on cities I would want to live in, and believe a PhD in Phil might be super limiting, end up in some college town somewhere... hate it.

Basically I'd really only want to live in NYC/Chicago/Boston/SF/DC. I already have 2 houses out in Bay Area that I don't want to give up (family stuff), and would want quick flights to there if I moved out of the region.

I prefer an urban/car free environment. As does my fiance. So juggling a few things here I suppose.

Should I stick with IT, or pursue a PhD in Phil or Political Science... Ideally I would like to have a nice think tank or federal job in a good city, while being able to teach some philosophy or political philosophy courses. The PhD in Phil I really only find employable in academia.

Thoughts? Is this even feasible? Or are the chances so slim that I am wasting my time and money. Or, are they both limiting to pretty much academic jobs and you can take what you can get?

I am 28 currently, so need to make a decision soon on applying for Fall 2010 schools.

Thanks in advance.

[walt526]

There's a very limited number of opportunities that you can do with a PhD in Political Science in the private sector--particularly if you want to study ethics and political theory--and they are very, very competitive many are not all that well-paying. Eventually you might earn >$100k, but that's only after you've completed grad school (5-6 years) and established yourself (probably another 5-10 years), so you'll experience a steep, steep reduction in pay (and most likely lifetime earnings).

The BLS also expects the government sector employment of Political Scientists to decline by about 5% from 2006 to 2016 (ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.reques...cc_19-3094.pdf). The primary source for new jobs will be replacing retiring academics.

That being said, if Political Science is what you are interested in, there's no reason for an undergraduate major of Philosophy should prevent you from pursuing graduate study. But there will be some concern over your ability to be a student after such a long-time in the workforce. If you are aiming for a top program, you might want to consider an intermediate masters (just don't do it in political science, statistics would be the most helpful). A MA/MS would also allow you a chance to cultivate relationships with faculty who could strong LORs for you (your employers recommendation will carry absolutely no weight). You might also want to think about a MPP or MPA. If you want to work for the government, it will open up some doors for you and you may find that it's sufficient training if you have no interest in academia, in which case you'd have your terminal degree in 18-24 months (versus 5-6 years for the PhD).

We're the same age and I faced a similar decision last year: leave a relatively well-paying but very boring job to ultimately pursue a PhD (I would love to be a professor in some backwater college town). It had been 5-6 years since I completed my BA. Right now I'll be entering my second year in a MA in Economics program (along with something approaching a 2nd BA in Applied Mathematics and Statistics) to shore up my math skills, signal to adcoms that this isn't some whim, and get LORs. I hope to start a PhD program in Fall 2010, but it will have taken me 2+ years to re-establish myself as a student before I even get started on my terminal degree. So all I can say is be sure that it's something that you really, really want to do.