I have one foot inside and one foot outside the philosophy Ivory Tower, and I often find that people outside it have a sharper mind for philosophical issues. You mention your experiences in economics, and I am hard pressed to remember much talk of any philosophy of economics. I know that the economics Ivory Tower is pretty averse to discussion about the underlying principles of it.

FWIW: in case you're interested, my Medium account has many articles trying to explain philosophy in a simplified manner, without the jargon.