Philosopher

Philosopher trains newcomers and these 19 real tasks outline the concrete coaching and checks you’ll perform. Tasks cover first-week priorities, simple demonstrations, and common rookie errors. Each one shows where we found it, and comes with an AI prompt you can copy and use straight away.

19evidenced tasks
19ready prompts
7tools of the trade
25-1066.00O*NET-SOC code
41,530hold this job (US, BLS 2025)
$80,340median pay/yr (US)
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What it pays

Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.

Half of all Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary in the U.S. earn more than $80,340 a year — the middle 80% land between $49,050 and $153,600. About 41,530 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$80,340typical pay / year
41,530people in this work
$153,600+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
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The work, task by task

These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.

Get approval1

Recruit and hire new faculty.

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Run the faculty search: post the job ad for a tenure-track faculty in ethics and philosophy of mind, collect…
Run the faculty search: post the job ad for a tenure-track faculty in ethics and philosophy of mind, collect CVs and cover letters, shortlist five candidates by March 31, schedule first-round interviews with the department chair and two senior hires, and draft offer language ready for the dean.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft WordESCOjob descriptionsO*NET
Learning3

Develop course materials and syllabi

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Create the Fall seminar syllabus in metaphysics: list weekly topics, required and recommended readings, three…
Create the Fall seminar syllabus in metaphysics: list weekly topics, required and recommended readings, three assessment tasks with rubrics, learning outcomes linked to department standards, and a two-page course packet to upload by August 1.
The tools that do the workGoogle DocsMicrosoft PowerPointESCOjob descriptionsO*NET

Grade papers and exams

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Grade the set of midterm essays: apply the rubric to each paper, leave constructive comments on argument…
Grade the set of midterm essays: apply the rubric to each paper, leave constructive comments on argument structure and sources, convert raw scores into letter grades, and upload final marks and feedback to the student records by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workBlackboard LearnMicrosoft WordESCOjob descriptionsO*NET

Teach courses in psychology

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Prepare and teach the introductory psychology seminar this term: assemble five lecture plans linking…
Prepare and teach the introductory psychology seminar this term: assemble five lecture plans linking philosophical perspectives to cognitive experiments, create in-class discussion prompts and two short quizzes, and circulate the week-by-week schedule and readings to students by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointGoogle DocsESCOjob descriptionsO*NET
Keeping the record1

Maintain student attendance and records

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Update the attendance register and student records for my seminar: enter last four weeks of attendance, note…
Update the attendance register and student records for my seminar: enter last four weeks of attendance, note excused absences with documentation, recalculate participation scores for each student, and send an attendance summary to the program coordinator by Friday noon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Outlookjob descriptionsO*NET
Analysing1

Keep current with field literature and conferences

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Compile a two-page research update: scan recent journal issues and conference programs for relevant papers on…
Compile a two-page research update: scan recent journal issues and conference programs for relevant papers on moral epistemology, list five must-read articles with one-sentence takeaways, note upcoming conferences to attend, and circulate to the department this Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET
The daily work13

Moderate classroom discussions

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Lead tomorrow's seminar discussion on Sartre and freedom, assign opening 10‑minute comments to Maya and Luis,…
Lead tomorrow's seminar discussion on Sartre and freedom, assign opening 10‑minute comments to Maya and Luis, keep the exchange to 40 minutes, intervene if discussion risks personal attack, and record two learning outcomes in the session note.
The tools that do the workBlackboard Learnjob descriptionsO*NET

Write grant proposals for research funding

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Draft a 10‑page research funding proposal seeking three years of support for my project on moral…
Draft a 10‑page research funding proposal seeking three years of support for my project on moral epistemology, include aims, literature gap, methodology, timeline, and a detailed budget, circulate to Priya in grants office before Friday for review.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NET

Provide clinical services such as assessment and psychotherapy

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Prepare intake summaries and informed consent forms for next week's clinical assessment slots, schedule two…
Prepare intake summaries and informed consent forms for next week's clinical assessment slots, schedule two 60‑minute psychotherapy sessions for Anna and Jonah, note risk assessment items and emergency contact procedures in the client file after each session.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET

Conduct research and publish findings

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Write the draft methods and results sections for the paper on practical reasoning, include participant…
Write the draft methods and results sections for the paper on practical reasoning, include participant recruitment, coding scheme, statistical tests, and two tables of findings, then send the draft to Elena for coauthor feedback by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET

Write letters of recommendation for students.

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Compose a one‑page letter recommending Daniel for the PhD program, describe his seminar contributions,…
Compose a one‑page letter recommending Daniel for the PhD program, describe his seminar contributions, argumentative rigor, teaching potential, and compare him to peers, email it to admissions and copy Daniel before Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft OutlookO*NET

Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.

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Assemble an annotated bibliography of ten recent books and articles on feminist ethics for next week's…
Assemble an annotated bibliography of ten recent books and articles on feminist ethics for next week's reading list, include full citations, two‑sentence annotations, and one sentence on why each suits first‑year students.
The tools that do the workGoogle DocsO*NET

Publish research findings

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Send the finished paper, its data appendix, and the signed ethics statement to the journal's submission…
Send the finished paper, its data appendix, and the signed ethics statement to the journal's submission portal, include a 150-word cover letter explaining contribution and methodology, and copy my department chair before Friday noon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft OutlookESCO

Liaise with university colleagues

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Share the draft syllabus and preliminary article summary with Mary in philosophy and Tom in cognitive…
Share the draft syllabus and preliminary article summary with Mary in philosophy and Tom in cognitive science, request their written comments by next Tuesday, and schedule a 30-minute meeting to reconcile feedback the following Thursday.
The tools that do the workGoogle DocsMicrosoft OutlookESCO

Participate in campus and community events.

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Attend the Philosophy Department open forum at 3 PM Thursday, present a ten-minute talk on civic ethics,…
Attend the Philosophy Department open forum at 3 PM Thursday, present a ten-minute talk on civic ethics, staff the campus community table afterward for one hour, collect names and follow up with readings and event calendar by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookO*NET

Plan and revise curricula

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Revise the undergraduate ethics curriculum to add a module on algorithmic bias, update learning outcomes and…
Revise the undergraduate ethics curriculum to add a module on algorithmic bias, update learning outcomes and week-by-week topics, circulate the draft to the curriculum committee and request feedback by next Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Wordjob descriptions

Perform administrative duties

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Prepare the departmental annual report section on teaching and service, compile course loads, committee work,…
Prepare the departmental annual report section on teaching and service, compile course loads, committee work, and outreach activities from the past year, attach evidence files, and submit the package to Chair Rafael Ortega by Friday noon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Wordjob descriptions

Lead review and feedback sessions for students

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Run two 30-minute feedback sessions for senior seminar students Tuesday, review drafts with each student for…
Run two 30-minute feedback sessions for senior seminar students Tuesday, review drafts with each student for ten minutes, give written constructive comments on argument structure, and email revised deadlines within 48 hours.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookESCO

Conduct academic research in psychology

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Design a mixed-methods study protocol on moral decision-making, list hypotheses, measures, and recruitment…
Design a mixed-methods study protocol on moral decision-making, list hypotheses, measures, and recruitment plan, prepare the data codebook and ethics memo, and circulate to my research assistants for comment by Friday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsGoogle DocsESCO

Says who?

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The logs, files & records this job keeps

Shared with other careers — the same record means something different in each.

Related careers

Same family of work — each with its own tasks and prompts.

The LLOS Work Atlas is the world's largest evidenced task library — a map of human work, with a ready prompt behind every task. 1,774 careers · every task named by the sources that witnessed it — O*NET, ESCO, real job descriptions, Wikipedia — and the deepest tasks by several at once. And it is honest about limits: where AI cannot help, the map says so.

The rest of the map

Same library, five ways in.

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