Philosophy Professor

Philosophy Professor carries out 20 hands‑on tasks here that demonstrate the full shape of a shift. Expect clear action steps, client interactions and the usual follow‑up duties. Each one shows where we found it, and comes with an AI prompt you can copy and use straight away.

20evidenced tasks
20ready prompts
8tools of the trade
25-1126.00O*NET-SOC code
20,460hold this job (US, BLS 2025)
$80,260median pay/yr (US)
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What it pays

Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.

Half of all Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary in the U.S. earn more than $80,260 a year — the middle 80% land between $49,140 and $139,580. About 20,460 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Philosophy and Religion 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).
$80,260typical pay / year
20,460people in this work
$139,580+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
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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.

Keeping the record3

Grade papers and exams

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Grade the midterm papers and final exam for PHIL 301, record scores with brief formative comments linked to…
Grade the midterm papers and final exam for PHIL 301, record scores with brief formative comments linked to learning outcomes, flag plagiarism concerns, and upload final grades to the course gradebook by Monday noon so students get feedback before office hours.
The tools that do the workCourse management systemESCOjob descriptionsO*NET
$ ls -la drwxr-xr-x docs/$ run script

Prepare lectures and exams

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Draft three lecture outlines and two timed exam papers for PHIL 301 covering Kantian ethics and epistemology,…
Draft three lecture outlines and two timed exam papers for PHIL 301 covering Kantian ethics and epistemology, map each item to course objectives, create answer keys, and assemble a printable packet for next Wednesday's classes.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft PowerPointESCOjob descriptionsO*NET

Liaise with university colleagues

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Send a succinct agenda and two proposed curriculum changes to Lisa in curriculum committee and to Mark in…
Send a succinct agenda and two proposed curriculum changes to Lisa in curriculum committee and to Mark in department administration, request their feedback by Friday, and propose a twenty-minute meeting next week to finalize wording for the faculty meeting.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookESCOO*NET
Move1

Instruct students in philosophy

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Prepare this week's seminar plan for PHIL 301: learning aims, two short readings, five discussion questions,…
Prepare this week's seminar plan for PHIL 301: learning aims, two short readings, five discussion questions, a 15-minute in-class writing prompt, and assessment rubric, then post the session plan and readings to the student portal by Tuesday evening.
The tools that do the workBlackboard LearnESCOjob descriptionsO*NET
Learning1

Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions

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Design and post a discussion plan for tomorrow's tutorial: one provocative prompt, two background excerpts,…
Design and post a discussion plan for tomorrow's tutorial: one provocative prompt, two background excerpts, roles for four student responders, time allocation, and moderator notes, then assign student roles and remind them to prepare one minute before class.
The tools that do the workCollaborative editingjob descriptionsO*NET
The daily work15

Compile course material

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Gather the readings, lecture slides, assessment dates, and weekly objectives for Intro to Ethics, order them…
Gather the readings, lecture slides, assessment dates, and weekly objectives for Intro to Ethics, order them by week, check copyright permissions, and produce a single student-facing packet and instructor notes by next Monday.
The tools that do the workGoogle DocsESCOsee the evidence ↗

Perform classroom management

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Record attendance policy, seating plan, discussion norms, and de-escalation steps for this semester’s Moral…
Record attendance policy, seating plan, discussion norms, and de-escalation steps for this semester’s Moral Psychology seminar, create a one-page instructor checklist and a student-facing rules sheet, and circulate both to teaching assistants by Friday.
The tools that do the workCollaborative editingESCOsee the evidence ↗

Develop course outline

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Draft a twelve-week course outline for Contemporary Political Philosophy stating learning outcomes, weekly…
Draft a twelve-week course outline for Contemporary Political Philosophy stating learning outcomes, weekly topics, key readings, formative assessments, and one summative assessment, then map readings to outcomes and send the outline to the curriculum committee before Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordESCOsee the evidence ↗

Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.

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Research the ethics of AI consciousness by collecting recent peer-reviewed articles, annotate arguments and…
Research the ethics of AI consciousness by collecting recent peer-reviewed articles, annotate arguments and counterarguments, draft a 6,000-word article with citations, then prepare the submission packet for Ethics and publishable online appendix within three months.
The tools that do the workGoogle DocsO*NET

Write articles and books.

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Draft a 60,000-word manuscript on moral responsibility, outline chapters and chapter abstracts, write three…
Draft a 60,000-word manuscript on moral responsibility, outline chapters and chapter abstracts, write three sample chapters with full citations, prepare a cover letter and select three target presses or journals, aiming to send proposals by October 1.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordO*NET

Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.

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As department chair, compile winter term teaching loads, reconcile sabbatical replacements, draft a budget…
As department chair, compile winter term teaching loads, reconcile sabbatical replacements, draft a budget reallocation proposal and a one-page rationale for faculty meeting, circulate it to faculty and the dean for approval by next Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OutlookO*NET

Act as advisers to student organizations.

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Advise the undergraduate philosophy society by reviewing their constitutional amendments, suggest two event…
Advise the undergraduate philosophy society by reviewing their constitutional amendments, suggest two event formats that meet learning outcomes, draft a calendar of meetings and a fundraising pitch, and email the finalized plan to the student officers before Friday.
The tools that do the workCollaborative editingMicrosoft OutlookO*NET

Participate in campus and community events.

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Prepare a public lecture on democracy and disagreement for the campus forum, create a 45-minute talk outline,…
Prepare a public lecture on democracy and disagreement for the campus forum, create a 45-minute talk outline, two short handouts for community groups, and a publicity blurb for campus events by next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft OutlookO*NET

Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.

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Compile a specialized bibliography on existentialism for advanced undergraduates, select twenty key texts…
Compile a specialized bibliography on existentialism for advanced undergraduates, select twenty key texts with annotations and page recommendations, organize them by theme, and upload the reading list to the course site by the first week of term.
The tools that do the workBlackboard LearnGoogle DocsO*NET

Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.

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Draft three full grant proposals for external research funding: one on moral epistemology, one on philosophy…
Draft three full grant proposals for external research funding: one on moral epistemology, one on philosophy of mind, one interdisciplinary with cognitive science; include aims, budget justification for a 24-month project, key personnel and a 2-page impact statement for an August 1 deadline.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft ExcelO*NET

Lead review and feedback sessions for students

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Run end-of-term review sessions for my seminar papers: schedule one-hour slots with each student, annotate…
Run end-of-term review sessions for my seminar papers: schedule one-hour slots with each student, annotate their drafts with focused comments on argument structure and sources, then prepare a one-page feedback summary and a revision checklist before Friday.
The tools that do the workCollaborative editingCourse management systemESCO

Conduct academic research in philosophy

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Carry out literature review and archival research on 19th-century German philosophy: compile an annotated…
Carry out literature review and archival research on 19th-century German philosophy: compile an annotated bibliography of 40 sources, extract quotations and page references, map themes across sources, and produce a 3,000-word research note by six weeks from now.
The tools that do the workGoogle DocsESCO

Publish research findings

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Prepare the paper for publication: edit the 8,000-word manuscript to meet journal formatting, integrate…
Prepare the paper for publication: edit the 8,000-word manuscript to meet journal formatting, integrate reviewer responses, format citations consistently, produce a clean submission file and a 300-word cover letter for submission next Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordESCO

Teach philosophy

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Design the undergraduate Introduction to Ethics course: write weekly learning objectives, select primary and…
Design the undergraduate Introduction to Ethics course: write weekly learning objectives, select primary and secondary readings, build three formative assessments and two summative exams, and assemble a reading schedule and syllabus by June 20.
The tools that do the workCourse management systemESCOsee the evidence ↗

Curriculum objectives

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Define curriculum objectives for the philosophy department’s core: produce competency statements for critical…
Define curriculum objectives for the philosophy department’s core: produce competency statements for critical thinking, ethical reasoning and argumentation, align them with assessment methods and suggest rubrics for faculty review by the curriculum meeting on July 5.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft WordESCOsee the evidence ↗

Says who?

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