What Do Sociologists with BA’s Do?

  • Social services– in rehabilitation, case management, group work with youth or the elderly, recreation, or administration.
  • Community work– in fund-raising for social service organizations, nonprofits, child-care or community development agencies, or environmental groups.
  • Corrections– in probation, parole, or other criminal justice work.
  • Business– in advertising, marketing, and consumer research, insurance, real estate, personnel work, training, or sales. College settings- in admissions, alumni relations, or placement offices.
  • Health services– in family planning, substance abuse, rehabilitation counseling, health planning, hospital admissions, and insurance companies.
  • Publishing, journalism, and public relations– in writing, research, and editing.
  • Government services– in federal, state, and local government jobs in such areas as transportation, housing, agriculture, and labor.
  • Teaching– in elementary and secondary schools, in conjunction with appropriate teacher certification.

 

What Do Sociologists with MA’s Do?

Three activities form the common core of most sociological work: teaching, research, and practice. MA and Ph.D. graduates, especially professors, may engage in all three simultaneously or at different times in their careers.

  • Teaching – Despite the broad applicability of sociology at the BA level, a substantial majority of graduate-level sociologists teach, whether in high schools, two-year colleges, four-year colleges, or universities. **Extremely competitive & credentialed
  • Research – Sociology graduates can conduct research in a variety of employment settings, whether in a university; a public agency at the federal, state, or local level; a business or industrial firm; a research institute; or a non-profit or advocacy sector organization. Some self-employed sociologist researchers direct their own research and consulting firms. 
The research follows teaching as the most common career option within sociology.
  • Sociological Practice – Given the usefulness of their methods and perspectives, sociologists have developed many career paths that take research into the realm of intervention or “sociological practice.” This broad category refers to positions that involve “applied” or “clinical” sociology–using sociology to affect positive change among individuals, families, organizations, communities, and societies.

 

Typical Practice (Applied) Settings

  • Policy-Making and Administration – Sociologists help others make more informed policy decisions and administer programs more effectively; design research projects that others will conduct, cooperate with full-time staff researchers or outside consultants. Apply the developing knowledge of sociology and the social sciences to problems that involve housing, transportation, education, control of the AIDS epidemic, corporate downsizing, health, welfare, law enforcement, or other major issues.
  • Opportunities in Government
 – Sociologists conduct research and evaluation projects, others manage programs, and some are engaged in policy analysis or problem-solving for their agency, urban planning, health planning, criminal justice, education, and social service administration.
  • Opportunities in Business – Using demography and forecasting to plan for the future; using training techniques to deal with organizational change; finding out what consumers want through market analysis and focus groups; increasing productivity and efficiency through team-building and work reorganization.

 

Careers and Internships

The only legitimate reason for including internships in a sociology curriculum is that they provide students with a significant learning experience…most of the literature, however, touts their merits and value in providing for careers. Three career-related claims:

  • Internships offer students the opportunity to explore their future careers.
  • They provide students with job-related skills and knowledge.
  • They help students get hired after graduation.

 

Other Resources

LinkedIn for Job Seekers: How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile is a resource guide through the process of creating a LinkedIn profile, offering specific tips to optimize each section. Some topics covered include tips for writing your headline, building your experience section, claiming a custom URL, and adding relevant skills. I believe this would be an excellent supplemental resource to help your students not just set up, but thoroughly optimize their LinkedIn profiles to assist in their job hunts.

Zety Career Blog provides free, handy guides, to help students in entry-level job search, no experience or with.

Grad’s Guide to Getting Hired. This website is full of expert advice on what to do to maximize employment opportunities. The guide covers pre-graduation prep, starting the job search, networking, and final steps to stand out from the crowd.

ZipRecruiter provides assistance in resume’ building, as well as a job and salary search throughout the United States.

College Grad provides information on diverse career opportunities and additional information.

Social Service Jobs provides information on social service careers throughout the United States.

Salary Calculator Enables you to perform a salary data search for the occupation and region in which you are seeking employment.