Is a Philosophy degree worth it?
Across 83 schools, graduates of Philosophy earn a median $55,124 five years out on $20,647 of debt — most often working as Natural Sciences Managers. Every figure is a real, published federal number.
Median 5-yr pay
$55,124
Median debt
$20,647
Years to pay off
3.5
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
53%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
+3%
BLS 2024–2034
Gender pay gap
-8.9%
$57,851 vs $63,019
Net price
$20,689/yr
Debt-test failures
5.2%
of programs
'Real' premium
−$13,467
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Philosophy in full →Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, O*NET, AI-exposure measures (Eloundou/AIOE), Zillow. Earnings reflect federally-aided graduates; see the full story for methodology and limitations.