Going with your strength, or passion?

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For as long as I can remember, I have been good at Math.
I never did any homework, and aced every test.. I did math for fun, math competitions, and I now tutor people in *drum roll*.. Math.

However, I am extremely passionate about Philosophy, Developmental Psychology (especially conceptual), Linguistics, and anything to do with Education.

So, do you just go the 'easy' route with your strength? Get a job, make money, case and point?
OR, go with the passion, and try to change the world?

You're in a very interesting position since it is typically the Math that holds people away from the lucrative fields.. but your passion is in something which has become synonymous with "Worthless" degrees (Philosophy).. Myself being a History major, I can tell you that it's especially interesting since almost ALL of the earliest philosophers were also mathematicians. Where as most of the modern Philosophers are anything but.

So who's to say you can't study Philosophy.. but with a mathematical bent to it? Or perhaps double major in Philosophy & Mathematics since Math is so easy for you, it shouldn't be too strenuous to add that as a secondary option. Linguistics is another very very interesting one.. and it combined with mathematics (Hello Cryptography!) could still allow you to follow your passion and your strength at the same time.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that people imply Philosophy is a useless degree.. Philosophy and Mathematics are both at the top tier of knowledge and human advancement.
Where do things like Quantum Physics come from? Math and Philosophy.
Maybe if you're talking about say, the philosophy of law, ethics etc.. I don't see that much value in those. But metaphysics, phenomenology and many other areas are deeply involved in every aspect of our lives, and educational branches.

With that aside, I am actually considering something along those lines. There is an "Independent Studies" major at my University which essentially allows me to design my own degree.. as long as it is approved of course.
There just seem to be far too many areas to cover;
- Mathematics (Pure and Applied)
- Philosophy (Mind, Metaphysics, Educational, Epistemology, Logic)
- Psychology (Developmental, Cognitive, Educational)
- Linguistics and Foreign languages..

and yes, many of the great men from the past were both philosophers and mathematicians, but one must also remember that "Philosophy" in those days was an umbrella term for nearly all the humanities, and even Physics - "Natural Philosophy".
Not to mention that I learned the extent of Descartes' mathematics in Grade 10, while his Philosophy, his true genius I believe, I've only explored in the last year or so.... seems odd huh?

Get a career in something you're good at, take up the rest as a hobby on the side . If you have a stable career and no monetary worries, it frees up a lot for you to be able to focus on other aspects of life.

Yeah it's a HUGE field your attempting to tackle and if you get a really good academic adviser it might just be possible to design a plan of action that even if you don't get to cover all of these topics in your BA, you could then go on to cover them in a linked field with an MA or a PhD.

Mostly I just get tired of the jokes about Philosophy majors that "They can ask you *Why* you want fries with that".. It's grossly unfair and is just another example of how the schools, in their haste to grab ahold of as much federal funding for STEM fields as possible, are actively encouraging inter-departmental bickering and bullying of students.

I do agree with you about the mathematics-philosophy thing.. but honestly Philosophy isn't something I put a lot of thought into.. not outside of the philosophical strains that directly impact my field.. so mainly economic and political philosophies.. not the kind of stuff you're talking about.. Kant, Hegel, Heidigger are all interesting to me though and I'd like to read more of their works but I just always feel as if I'm not quite at a level yet where I can make the most of their ideas.

That's what I figured, but my career options, given my personality and skills, are limited to research and teaching pretty much. Which are really time intensive I would think...

I do plan to continue to a PhD ... there is no reason to do just a Bachelor's degree in these fields, I love going to school anyway (besides the social aspect)
That mcdonalds bit ain't bad, heh. I imagine that is where you would end up with a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, with no ambition/bad marks.

I notice that all over the place here. Math majors (and professors) are always mocking the arts/engineering students.. I guess I understand, unite with a common enemy or whatever.. but all fields contribute something to society in the end.

Philosophy isn't something most people put thought into, I agree.. but someone has to :p
And I happen to love doing it, I can't see myself giving it up.
Kant is great, I'm working through his material right now, I'm a little stumped on his explanations of a priori synthetic judgements, I can see why he's so heavily debated though.

You've brought forth something that touches a nerve with me, and the main reason why I am so concerned about having a major in Philosophy, or anything but Math in this situation... the "real world" only wants to pay you for what you can give them, and as a Philosopher you're not offering answers so much as questions... but of course that's why I'm taking Education, Psych and Linguistics courses, for something pragmatic to apply theory to.

Not necessarily--if you are really good at it you may not have to spend much time on it--leaving plenty of time for your hobbies. I know one guy who has to travel as part of his job--which gives him the opportunity to visit collections of rare books--at his customers' expense!

What job is that?

He has credentials/expertise that allows him to be a consultant in designing gardens for private estates. He likes to study history, but you can't really make a living writing about the history of horticulture in the USA.

I would imagine you can't make money anywhere doing that..

I personally feel that you should pursue your passion. That’s the path I chose ( Biological and ecological Sciences). I am currently at a college that specializes in my field and, although I don’t ever expect to make a huge profit, I have never been happier.

Besides, if you go the easy route, you’ll always wonder, for the rest of your life, what you could have been capable of if you’d followed your dream.