What can I do with my sociology degree?

Social work is perhaps the most common career path, but it’s not the only one. There are so many more exciting careers out there! If you’re unsure about what career path to go take, then read on to discover and learn about careers you had perhaps never even considered.

Counselling 

One career you may consider is counselling. From your sociology degree, you have gained many skills to become a great counsellor. You’ll be working with a variety of individuals to help them face personal problems such as mental health issues, trauma or family and relationship difficulties. Counsellors deal with sensitive and personal issues that take a lot of time to develop and explore and it’s very rewarding when you can eradicate or help someone manage their problems. Other similar roles include a community development worker, children and family support worker and, advice worker.

Education 

Education is also a great career option. Many sociology graduates go on to teach, whether that be in a primary school, secondary school or college. If you want to teach at a primary or secondary level, your sociology degree will come in handy as you will have all of the skills and necessary knowledge of education in society, children’s development and various laws. Having a sociology degree is a great foundation to have if you want to step into teaching. If teaching is something you’re considering, then you’ll need to complete a professional teaching qualification. This only takes around a year to complete so you’ll be qualified in no time.

If you’re wanting to teach higher education, then you may want to consider a postgraduate degree. To teach at universities, you tend to need at least a master’s degree, with a PhD being preferable. At this level, it’s likely that you’ll be working within your own specialist area in teaching. Possible job roles include a researcher, lecturer, and tutor. Many people who go on to get a PhD in sociology tend to combine this with writing papers to be published in journal articles.

Journalism & PR

Your sociology degree could also take you into the world of journalism and PR. With the knowledge you have gained from your studies, you’ll have a great understanding of trends and human behaviour in regards to what will work. As a public relations manager, you would be communicating with diverse audiences on a multitude of topics. The best person for this is of course someone with a sociology background who knows all about human behaviour needs. You have the unique skill to analyse, predict and explain human behaviour. Similarly, opting for a career in advertising or marketing would be great as you’ll understand how to analyse, predict and research consumer behaviour.

Today, there are hundreds of careers suitable for sociologists. Teaching and conducting research remains the top career choice, however, there are so many more paths you can take such as journalism and advertising. If you’re wanting a job directly related to your degree then you may consider becoming a social researcher, researching for projects on many topics such as crime, housing or unemployment.

Social policy 

Do you want to influence major decisions made around you? A job in social policy may be perfect for you. You can find these positions in public sector organisations such as the NHS, local councils and civil service roles. You may be working on policy regarding education, health, law, housing and social care services.

Such roles require being analytical, organised and being able to solve problems. You would be required to research, interpret and evaluate data from research publications, social surveys and to then use this to make recommendations to policy changes.

Here’s what you can do with a Psychology Degree.

Lauren Buck is a Criminology and Psychology graduate, freelance writer, blogger and Etsy store owner.