The City Urban Perspectives
Philosophers in Tech? Yes, It鈥檚 a Logical Choice
This philosophy major is designed for a unique and rewarding career in 涩里番鈥檚 tech industry
By Hannah Notess | Photo by John Crozier
Left to right: Associate Professor of Philosophy Rebekah Rice meets with philosophy majors Kelsey Tuohy and Qadar Omar.
For a growing number of 涩里番 grads, the key to a successful tech career is coming from a surprising place: a philosophy degree.
Yes, really. In fact, the connection between philosophy and tech is more logical than you might think.
The connection is just that — logic. 鈥淚t teaches you how computer science and philosophy go together,鈥 says philosophy major Qadar Omar 鈥16.
Logic plays a key role in both disciplines. And armed with a two-course series in logic, among other skills, SPU philosophy majors have been highly successful in tech careers, even though it鈥檚 not a traditional major choice for their career, Associate Professor of Philosophy Rebekah Rice says. For the past six years, she鈥檚 been keeping track of philosophy majors鈥 career paths.
鈥淕raduate school of some sort is common,鈥 she says, 鈥渂ut when we look at the folks that are working, we see a heavy emphasis on business and tech.鈥
Even through the economic recession, SPU philosophy grads鈥 careers remained steady. 鈥淭hey are used to putting forward arguments,鈥 she says, 鈥渁nd so our students interview really well. Our students get into entry-level positions, and then they are very promotable.鈥
Now, tech-inclined philosophers have a major designed just for them. Beginning in the 2016–17 academic year, the philosophy major鈥檚 new technical track combines courses in topics such as logic, ethics, and metaphysics, with key computer science and programming courses.
While creating the new track, Rice and other faculty spoke with SPU alumni working in tech to figure out which courses and skills would be most valuable. Ben Olsen 鈥09 says he uses the skills gained in his philosophy major every day. He鈥檚 founder and CEO of Analytics Guild, a startup that provides training in data analysis. Olsen works with two other SPU liberal arts majors and will be teaching data analytics courses in partnership with SPU鈥檚 School of Business, Government, and Economics beginning next year.
鈥淭he ability to focus on a given problem for a long period of time is an underrated skill,鈥 Olsen says. 鈥淲hat philosophy does is give you a problem that鈥檚 almost inscrutable to begin with and requires you to spend time with it.鈥
Working with big data, Olsen says, is the same. 鈥淚t requires an incredible amount of focus and mental discipline.鈥
With the tech-philosophy combination, grads will be prepared for a variety of career roles — especially for positions that work with both technical staff and non-technical 涩里番, like sales or clients. That鈥檚 the role Omar sought after graduation. At SPU, he added computer science courses into the mix with his philosophy major, and taught himself a programming language — Python — on the side. Upon graduation, he already had a potential job offer on the table.
So what stood out to Jeff Gough 鈥02, the philosophy and communication double major who extended Omar’s job offer?
鈥淐haracter,鈥 he says. As founder of two tech companies, True North Service and Vehicle, he鈥檚 hired a number of SPU graduates into technical and business roles. He looks for a spirit of humility and a hunger to learn new things.
鈥淭he liberal arts is good in that you often get 涩里番 that are well-rounded,鈥 he says. 鈥淵ou can take someone like that and they鈥檙e effective at many different things and they learn to specialize on the job.鈥
For Omar, that path is a perfect fit. 鈥淭ech is booming in our city, so it made sense for me to pursue it,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 want to be challenged more than anything.鈥