What to Do with a Sociology Degree
You’ve graduated from college and are now ready to start a career. Problem is, you graduated with a sociology degree and don’t know what jobs to look for. You’re stuck at home wondering where to put your skills and knowledge in sociology to good use. Here are a few suggestions that you might want to look into.
Careers in:
Education - Since you already have a bachelor’s degree, you just need to have a teaching certificate to be able to teach at the high school level. If you want to teach at the college level, you need to have further education and get a doctorate degree.
Counseling - Sociologists make great counselors because they’re able to understand and interpret trends among their patients. This will help them concentrate on areas that need to be given more attention.
Administration - Sociology graduates are competent for administrative work. Government agencies and nonprofit organizations hire sociologists to help them identify the needs of the community and determine the most effective manner to deliver services to them.
Politics - Sociologists are good campaign manager because they can study a particular community, identify the overall characteristic of the population and plan an effective campaign strategy for that group. Different government organizations need sociologists to interpret factors that affect the economic and political balance of a community. They can also help determine how a proposed law or project will be accepted by the population. Surveys and other researches in the community are conducted by sociologists to find out problem areas that the government needs to be aware of.
Research- Some sociologists choose to become independent research consultants. This gives them the advantage of getting interesting projects they may want to research on.
Mental health - A mental health technician assists patients by planning activities that are appropriate for them and conducting effective group therapy sessions.
Human services- The government needs sociologists to conduct researches on different population groups. A study on group characteristics, behaviors and trends will yield information that will help the government solve problems of a population group and be ready for issues and situations that may emerge from this group.
Business- Corporations hire sociologists to analyze consumer and market trends. They help these businesses effectively cater to their consumer’s needs by looking for better ways and opportunities to send out their services and products in the market. They review past trends to anticipate consumer’s behavior in the future.
Investigations- Sociologists work with detectives and police officers by identifying patterns of crimes in a community. This way, officers are able to determine areas that may have a higher crime rate than the rest.
Journalism - A sociologist graduate can be an effective writer. If you have a good communication skill and is able to write stories, reviews, and other articles very well, you may choose to be a journalist, or you can also work with writers and editors. You will be able to help them understand the types of stories and articles readers from a specific population would likely be interested in.
There are a lot of things you can do with a sociology degree. Don’t limit yourself to the most convenient position you can get. Think of the career path you want to have and get the right job for you. Happy job hunting!