Sociology

• Studying: 13%
• Employed in graduate job: 29%
• Employed in non-graduate job: 42%
• Unemployed: 10%

• Average graduate salary: £19,636
• Average non-graduate salary: £14,182

Studying sociology develops your understanding of how society is organised and how we experience life. The skills and knowledge you develop throughout your course will often focus on the human activities and relationships that connect individuals, groups and institutions and are relevant to a wide variety of careers. You will have developed ideas relating to a range of human and societal issues including the economy, work, gender, race, social inequalities, social norms, deviance, the social environment, organisations, religion, class, relationships and health. Consider the 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. 

 View the best universities for sociology degrees.

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.

Where are the jobs?

While many sociology graduates enter work in the public sector in a social or welfare role, others go into a variety of jobs throughout the public and private sector. Some employers include local and central government, industry, commerce, the NHS, education authorities, further and higher education, and charitable, counselling and voluntary organisations. Opportunities also exist in the civil service and graduate management training schemes. Sociology graduates work with a varied and diverse client group.

Jobs directly related to your degree

After completing your sociology degree, you could find employment as a:

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

Jobs where your degree would be useful

The knowledge you have gained from your degree in sociology could also be put to good use in jobs such as:

• Probation officer
• Charity fundraiser
• Housing manager/officer
• Primary school teacher or secondary school teacher
• Human resources officer
• Youth worker

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.

Included with the permission of AGCAS and Graduate Prospects. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk. We would welcome your comments on this section of The Complete University Guide. Please email us at admin@thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.