The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken...

In last week’s blog I talked about coming to terms with being a senior and what comes with the territory and it’s only fitting that I follow-up by talking about what comes after. Turns out, I’m not too sure! Interestingly, this isn’t due to a lack of planning but rather to an influx of ideas on different career paths to take. As you might know, I’m double majoring in Philosophy and Computer Studies, two distinct majors with distinct career paths. The question is which do I explore first and which do I leave behind?

Philosophy is what I genuinely love and can sincerely call my passion but as far as careers go, there isn’t much to it. I’ve conducted countless amounts of research and talked to professors and fellow majors alike and there seems to be only two main things to do with a philosophy degree; either earn my Ph.D. and become a philosophy professor or go to law school. Here’s the dilemma: pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy is no small task, it can take anywhere from 4 to 10 years after acquiring an undergraduate degree (A LOOONG TIME). So many questions come to mind such as, what can I possibly do by way of earning a living within that period? What if after 2 or 3 years I find out that it’s not for me, what do I do next? Difficulty answering these questions makes me shy away from this career path. I could go the law school route but that also comes with its share of uncertainty. Besides, I’m passionate about philosophy not law so why throw myself into a career field I’m not in love with just because it’s convenient?!

While pondering these questions, I remember that I am simultaneously going for a second degree: COMPUTER STUDIES! It’s no philosophy but I do enjoy its practicality, hands-on learning process, diversity, and it’s …Computer Studies gives me more career options and good entry level jobs right out of college while allowing me to continue schooling and improve my level of expertise in whatever area I decide to specialize in. This way, I can improve my knowledge base and not starve while I’m at it. But this would mean completely abandoning my philosophy degree, something I just can’t bring myself to do.

Unlike the traveller in Robert Frost’s famous poem, I don’t want to live the rest of my life wondering about the road not taken and where it could’ve led me, so I’ll take them both! How, you say? I’ll complete both degrees and apply for a good entry-level job with my computer studies degree and see how I like it. At the same time, I’ll attend law school, I might not be in love with law but it gives me a chance to apply all the critical and objective thinking skills I picked up as a philosophy student and that’s all I can really ask for! I don’t know which of these roads will lead me to the right place but I can always say I travelled them both.