I got a degree in philosophy many years ago. I then got into and dropped out of a Ph.D program in same. I think there's enormous value in learning the history o

I got a degree in philosophy many years ago. I then got into and dropped out of a Ph.D program in same. I think there's enormous value in learning the history of thought, particularly from a critical angle. I don't think there is very much value in modern academic philosophy. To paint an overly general negative picture (please take with a grain of salt): First, some of the scholars I met along the way were absolute saints, and spending time reading and writing with them made the whole journey worthwhile. They modelled patient, intense curiosity and scholarship, and they left an indelible impression on the students who learned from them. For the most part, though, the field seems borderline intellectually bankrupt. The way modern academic philosophy functions is very odd. Researchers are stuck in tiny little pigeon-holes trying to churn out papers on the next fad in their discipline. There isn't a lot of critical reflection about whether topics are likely to be fruitful, or even what the goal of philosophical research is. The main "method" of analytic philosophy ("Conceptual Analysis") is at best a dull joke, at worst a weird mixture of hubris and narcissism... but that doesn't seem to bother anyone. The "philosophy of x" disciplines have some gems but tend on the whole to depend upon a very cartoonish or superficial understanding of 'x', and tend to lag way behind the disciplines they should be leading. They almost never contribute back to x. The field is at its best when it promotes deep reading, curiosity, patience, and intellectual humility. It does sometimes do this. Much of the time it promotes a mixture of artificial rigour, sophomoric egotism, and not a whole lot else. Like anything else in life it is what you make of it. For myself, the relationship I built with philosophical literature continues to be rewarding (even in my day job as an engineer). The mistakes I made along the way were my own. I think the best way to engage with philosophy in 2021 is to really give oneself time to read and go down a rabbit hole, and if one can, talk with people. I wouldn't read very much recent analytic philosophy, and would avoid the traditional "Epistemology/Metaphysics/Ethics/Logic/etc." structure like the plague.