Christian Feest BA Philosophy, 2012

Software Engineer

Hi, I'm Christian Feest and I studied BA Philosophy within Humanities at the University of Southampton.

The staff, students, and general environment of Southampton University made for some of the best years of my life and when I reached the end of my Bachelor's degree I wasn't ready to leave!

I think everyone at some time or another has pondered questions such as 'what is the meaning of life?', 'what makes certain actions right or wrong?' and maybe even 'how can I know I'm not dreaming?' and I am no different. My compulsion to resolve these questions motivated me to choose philosophy as an A level and I absolutely loved it from day one. I had never intended to go to university but found studying philosophy to be so interesting that I had to pursue it further.

During my time at Southampton my love of philosophy only grew. The philosophy department offers a broad range of modules but I soon began seeking out specific areas that were most relevant to my interests. The lecturers' expertise in logic, the philosophy of maths and the philosophy of language, combined with their willingness to help, was immensely encouraging and I learned an incredible amount from them. It is no exaggeration to say I use this knowledge every day of my life. The abstract rules of sound reasoning that studying philosophy instils are so powerful and so generally applicable that it genuinely does change the way you think about absolutely everything.

The staff, students, and general environment of Southampton University made for some of the best years of my life and when I reached the end of my Bachelor's degree I wasn't ready to leave! Fortunately, the university was incredibly supportive and allowed me to stay on to study for a Master's degree in philosophy. When it finally came time to leave I was confident that the skills I had gained from studying philosophy at the University of Southampton would serve me well in the job market. I now work as a software developer in the defence department of a technology company where I have learned the programming languages C and Python. The job advertisement for this role specifically requested philosophy graduates due to their attention to detail, ability to communicate complex ideas clearly, as well as a capacity to think outside of the box. This unique combination of skills is highly valuable and explains why employers are increasingly seeking out philosophy graduates.