Sociology

Sociology is the study of people and therefore the skills and knowledge you develop within the course are relevant to a wide variety of careers. It involves study of the behaviour of people in groups and of the relationship between these groups. This balance of studying major issues of concern for society and linking this to academic concepts and theories develops important skills. The ability to critically analyse common issues of concern is recognised by employers.

Over the course of your degree you develop a wide mix of subject-specific and technical skills, you should consider these skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.

Working as a Charity Fundraiser

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Prospects

A 2010 HESA survey of 2009 graduates indicates that six months after graduation, 60% of sociology graduates were in employment in the UK or overseas with a further 8% combining work and further study. These graduates entered a wide variety of jobs. Nearly 15% went into social and welfare professions and about 8% went into public and private sector management.

Interestingly, 20% entered occupations not categorised, which could include those working in not-for-profit organisations, project-based work and those using employment as a ‘stepping stone’ to gain experience for a specific career. There were also relatively high numbers employed in clerical and secretarial positions (14%) and in retail, catering and bar work (24%), which may indicate students gaining work experience as they decide their further career path.

Where are the jobs?

The wide variety of jobs that sociology graduates go into upon leaving university is reflected by the different types of employers who are likely to recruit sociology graduates. Typical employers include: local and central government; industry; commerce; the NHS; education authorities; further and higher education institutions; and charitable, counselling and voluntary organisations.

For an insight into potential employment areas explore:

• Education
• Government and public administration
• Social care

Jobs directly related to your degree

• Social researcher
• Counsellor
• Community development worker
• Advice worker
• Further education lecturer

Jobs where your degree would be useful

• Probation officer
• Social worker
• Charity fundraiser
• Housing manager/officer
• Primary school teacher or Secondary school teacher

The traditional occupation for sociology graduates has been social work or some other form of public sector welfare work. However, recently the range of jobs that sociology graduates have gone into has tended to broaden in both the public and private sectors. Employers recognise that the chief concern of sociology graduates is people and therefore jobs such as human resource management, police training, market research, retail management, journalism, the civil service and general management training are all jobs into which sociology graduates have gone.

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

You can find more about the skills you develop during your course, the jobs listed above, plus case studies and where to find these jobs at Prospects.

Included with the permission of AGCAS. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk