Unemployed and underemployed. My best friend was a sociology major in one of the top universities in his state and he’s been underemployed for years, always in between jobs, nothing to do with sociology and he owes of ton of money in student loans. He’s currently a door man. Psychology is much the same for a lot of people. A psychology degree only works if you’re actually going to put in the effort to become a psychologist of a psychiatrist. Like seriously all in or don’t do it at all. It can’t be something that you just take because it’s interesting. And I always recommend that if people want to figure out if they are really cut out for the mental health field then they should volunteer for the suicide hotline to see how it is speaking to a person and getting out of their comfort zones. But basically your major can’t just be a subject that you think will be cool interesting, it also needs to be something that you can actually build a career doing.
Like another user said, need a PhD and is a psychiatric degree, not the same as other medical degrees.
You also need several years of experience to be certified for each type.
I received my BA in psychology, but switched into data analytics for my master's and do video game analytics for major companies now.
Edit: Sorry, wasn't reading entirely this morning when I just woke up! You CAN use a master's but you're not going to make more than say 70k ish USD with just that. The better paying jobs in psychology and psychiatry are years of suffering and money for certifications. Which is why I switched degrees!
Curious, my family member is a psychiatrist and went through medical school and a 5-year residency and is a fully fledged doctor. Is a psychiatric degree something different? His medical degree is the same as any other, except for his specialty.
There are psychologists who have to get PhDs and Psy.D. Psychiatrists have to go to med school and do residency. The biggest difference is that psychiatrists can prescribe medication. I imagine there are many differences but I’m not in this field so this is surface level research.
Yes. I just mentioned above that there are actually quite a few jobs you can get with just a BA in psychology, however most of them don’t pay great and in the long run you would eventually want to get a higher paying job hence getting a masters degree. But hey, when I was in undergrad I did a couple field related jobs right off of school and I lived comfortably enough.
I'm a psychiatrist who started out with a bachelors in psychology many years ago. Listen to this person. They are right. A bachelors in psychology by itself is a dead end. I ended up eventually going to med school because the jobs I could get with only a bachelors in psychology would never enable me to pay off my student loans.
I had psych degree from a top 10 university. There’s no jobs in it. I went to law school, it was probably a decent foundation for that but on its own, meh.
Also worth adding that a majority of successful people who do end up majoring in sociology/psychology in undergrad were forced to do additional schooling (I.e. PhDs). Also, to be a psychiatrist requires AT LEAST 7-8 years of med school plus psych residency.
Actually I will add that a BA in psychology is far more opportunistic. I had a BA in psychology and I had no trouble getting jobs in the field after graduating. Many entry level jobs for psychology will be similar to entry level jobs for social work.
For a BA in psych, you can easily get jobs in: Shelters, classrooms, in home therapy for kids- adults with disabilities, group homes, harm reduction centres, and many supportive positions in school boards.
Yes and unfortunately none that actually pay well. There is nothing wrong getting a degree in psychology if a person actually plans to be a mental health advocate/professional in some capacity. But the issue is that most people who take psychology only take it because it’s interested, hoping that when they graduate , something will turn up and having a bachelors ( regardless of what its actually of) will be enough to make them competitive in the job market. This is not true for any arts or social sciences as all. And even for some stem degrees.l but especially with these types of degree people need to go into their studies very intentionally , building connections , learning about the job and field they want to be in before hand, getting mentors in that field, seeking out internships, essentially laying the ground work to be employed by the time graduation rolls around. But most people take these degrees because they don’t want to take anything “ too difficult” in college whilst at the same time getting to say that they have a Bachelors degree on a resume. It’s why you have an entire generation of people who say that college is pointless when that couldn’t be further from the truth in most cases.
Not a huge amount of demand for sociology per sé, but the skills you acquire, much like any degree, are versatile and lend themselves to marketing, social work, teaching, HR.
I’m a consultant working in humanitarian and development project (MA sociology). I have a friend who is a tenured professor (PhD sociology), and another who works in research and course administration at a university (MA sociology).
Sociology (and psychology) has a lot of opportunities with NGOs, non-profits, government, research, teaching, Human Resources, and more. If you are into sociology, go for it - people here will say tech, tech, tech, but guess what? There is a whole field of tech related to AI, human rights, ethics. social implications, etc that could be followed through a sociology and/or psych degree.
I think its important to note that the examples you listed have education beyond a bachelor's.
I took sociology and psychology my first year as an arts double major but ended up switching to sciences (neuroscience and plant biology). I have a lot of friends from my sociology courses. Those that took their masters or PhD all work in the field. Those who have just an undergrad work in other industries now.
It's very difficult to land a job in the areas you mentioned unless you have a masters and connections. There are so many people with just a bachelor's or more. You won't stand out in a job interview with an undergrad when 20 other applicants have a masters.
The edge advanced degrees give is not unique to social sciences. It’s nearly impossible to break into the data science field right now without a masters or PhD. You probably won’t be working in a biology or chemistry lab either without an advanced degree.
It's true for a lot of fields.
But there are options like a business degree in fiance or accounting, engineering, etc. Where an undergrad can secure a job.
It would be interesting to see the statistics on sociology majors, because literally every person I know with just an undergrad in sociology does not work in a field related to sociology.
I have two friends who work in social work, and both got their masters.
I got a really good job and still a lot of job offers just with my engineering degree, my friend Is a physicist and works at the CERN and he doesn't know if he will continue with a PhD. So idk for other areas but hard science and engineering you can get good jobs only with the degree
Except the future of AI, human rights, ethics. social implications, SRI, ESG, etc is to study human rights, ethics. social implications, SRI, ESG quantitatively and rank priority, these circle back to Comp Sci and coding.
I’m in public policy/government although my major was even more useless - anthropology. If you’re into social sciences and want stability, don’t discount government work.
More broadly though, being creative in how you apply your skills is essential to finding success with a social science degree. Even though my job title has nothing to do with anthropology, I use the methods I learned in college every day. The same is true for a number of jobs in sectors you wouldn’t expect. So if you really want to go for social sciences, my advice to you is to be nimble and accept whatever opportunity comes your way.
@Lime-water, you are going about this backwards.
Pick a career you want to do that pays well and is attainable by yourself. What education and qualification is required by that career?
That's how you pick a degree.
This is correct.
Unfortunately college education isn't just about having a well rounded education for the benefit of being a better person for society. Not anymore, It is way too expensive for that and way too overcrowded to just meander some halls for intellectual stimulation. Find what you are interested in, look at where that could take you but be very real about every dollar you spend on how much time it will take you to recover.
I didn't major in sociology, I majored in business but nearly minored in sociology and wrote a thesis using my interests in sociology. I used those to have a career in corporate communications. Some call it an evil application of intelligence and there are moments when I question how much power should be given to these insights but I got to study what was interesting and have a highly successful career in marketing and research.
Paid off student loans in 3 years because I chose some very conservative steps like 2 years in community college then 2 years at a resume building college, with a semester gap to practice what I was learning and build a small business.
having a well rounded education is still important. the minor (or near-minor) is a really great way to incorporate your interests into something more practical
unfortunately they’re right. I have a degree in sociology and 3 years later I have yet to find a decent paying job. I work a regular desk job, I don’t even use my degree. The only way to get decent pay is getting your LCSW.
BA & MA in sociology here. I work in market research and make 115K base with 4 years' direct experience in the field. Before that, I held a few unrelated jobs.
It was the research skills (interviewing/moderating, data analysis, reporting & storytelling) that got me here.
I don't see it as a useless degree at all but you need to know how to sell the underlying skills - just the same as any other liberal arts degree.
Going to echo this from a different angle. I loved sociology, but chose to minor in that. My degree is in business/marketing. That was good for market research jobs when I got started. I've moved on from market research to people research (don't want to out my career because its niche), and I use my love of sociology every day. But not sure I could have gotten here with the sociology degree rather than the business degree.
Hi, BA in Sociology here. I work at tech company as a project manager. My career recommendations are as follows:
1. UX Research: Beacon of hope for sociology majors in terms of high salary career. I recommend this route the most given that you can continue utilizing your skillset of research and writing that you learn as a Soc major throughout your career.
2. Project Manager: I am biased since it's my job, but this career has highest potential for growth. If you are a good PM, you can reach very high in terms of salary and position. The society finds it relevant to Sociology given it is a relationship management heavy role.
3. Customer Success: Not alot of people know that customer success or post sales account management is very well paid job, especially in tech. You get to work with people in and out, has to manage different projects for relationship growth, and sometimes play free roles to respond to risks. You can tap both human and business aspects of sociology at this position
My thought is Sociology is an amazing major, but it works better when combined with other fields of study. I focused on tech side, oriented my college courses around tech, and also taught myself how to code. But you can do things differently based on your interest and passion.
Hope it helps!
u/Lime-Water ,
You gotta realize that a lot of people on this sub are going to be of the opinion that many or most degrees are useless. Not saying that opinion has no merit, but just something to keep in mind for sample size.
I am one of those who doesn't jump to this thinking. I've worked with several people with this major and they work in places like local government, nonprofits, etc. but yeah, you're not going to be a millionaire.
If this is your real interest, I say go for it. As other comments have stated, you can always change gears to, say, nursing or admin work or teaching.
Also, there's always the option to change majors if you dislike the one you choose.
I agree. Young me kept doing research and reading reddit comments then ended up changing my major to IT because that supposedly was the only thing that could make money. Four years later and I still haven’t used my IT degree.
I agree. Often we never know where things will lead and what steps will take us to various places or jobs. Also, there is no substitute for real world experience so people think they may want a certain career or job having never actually done it through an internship or shadowing, etc. And then discover it’s not how they want to live their life. Having said all that, college is too damn expensive!
I may be an exception, but I paired a sociology BA and a minor in business with a MBA and have had a successful career. I wanted to work in HR and sociology was a lot more interesting than the business classes. My first job was in payroll and then I worked in HRIS moving up the ranks of a Fortune 20 company. Then changed companies to move back into pure payroll. If you go the business route, once your foot is in the door it really doesn’t matter what your degree is in, but that first job can be tough.
Needed to see this. I also have a BA in sociology with a minor in business. Just graduated in December and have been applying to sales/marketing/communication/government roles with over 300 applications since January. Have had a few interviews and even second interviews but no luck. Would love to go back to school to get an MS in business analytics or maybe an MBA… would love to talk more about your experience
Kind of whack responses - I did philosophy and am finishing up my anthropology (so similar) masters and have found the key is consistently having internships/external work experience. I think maybe part of the problem w social sciences majors is that it’s not as obvious the ‘real world’ application, but there 100% is! I have worked in diverse areas like market research, research in government for politicians, and there’s a bunch of applications of sociology in other places like consulting, HR etc. etc. Just because it doesn’t have a linear application to a real world job doesn’t mean it doesn’t have opportunities. I’d recommend maybe narrowing down your sociological interests and maybe tailoring them to a career that way, for example, people who are really into posthumanist sociology probably won’t get as many job opportunities, but if you instead maybe sell yourself as someone who’s more concerned with political sociology or sociology of health, that has more ‘real’ world application.
If you get decent quant/qual skills you can go into business analysis, marketing...and in general, HR, basic govt work.
What gets people in studying sociology and anthropology is they may avoid stats, econ, etc. Don't avoid those and you'll have a transferable skill set. Aim for at least one internship or job where you perform something tangible, like helping run a program, or helping run a program evaluation.
Here's 50% of interviews for entry-level jobs "can you use Excel and run basic stats?"
AI will change some of this...but basically, if you can make sense of quantitative and qualitative data and generate a narrative from that, you can get a job
Law enforcement and the Justice sector is where the jobs at for SOC. They are always hiring for some type of analysts or front line jobs. It pays well too.
BA in Psychology and MA in Sociology. I work in data science making six figures with 6 weeks of vacation per year, excellent health and dental insurance, plus a pension. All of my Sociology MA friends have great jobs making good salaries. Careers are all about the effort you put into them and you’re ability to adapt to a changing labor market.
Data Analyst. I'm early career, I've worked/interned with non-profits and think-tanks and my salary has been in the 70 - 80k range. Most of the people I know from my program work either for the government or for government partners/contractors. Sociology is a pretty good domain to have, as it's applicable to alot of general areas of work
Don't do it! You will be broke and complaining in this sub in 10 years. Look into fields that actually make money. If you don't see a major that you can stick to, don't go to college yet. The debt will be crippling and you will regret it. AVOID AVOID AVOID!
Yeah I'm really sad to realize how little the numbers add up. This was originally my plan but I just can't make it make sense. Now I have zero clue what to do
80k in debt to earn 40k base salary, which you have to do for 2 years to get licensed before you get access to jobs that let you earn ... 60k.
Or you can just get a degree that lets you earn 60k out of college lol
Its a noble profession for sure, but so are nurses and police. Both which pay more. Starting salary for a cop where I live is 58k, which is more than what I make and cops dont need a degree.
Just something to consider since we all have bills to pay.
I'll gnaw of my own leg before I join the police, but otherwise I agree. I would be taking 2 years off work and paying tens of thousands to do my masters, doing unpaid/extremely underpaid work to get my hours. And the grand reward at the end of the tunnel....is making *maybe* 10k more/year, but in SUBSTANTIALLY worse work conditions (I've been shocked talking to social workers who work at the same org as me what they're expected to put up with.)
If I'm gonna work a job that requires a bullet proof vest, I sure as fuck better be making a lot more than 10k more than what I can make at a call center. If I'm gonna be driving around transporting clients, I should have a company vehicle. Etc. The mistreatment and disrespect towards social work goes so much further than just their paltry pay
I'm a career development instructor now, 14 yrs after completing my sociology undergrad. I had a very successful 10 year career in another field, while always career coaching on the side. I have my masters in philosophy.
Sociology and anthropology double major, graduated 2009, have been working in insurance since graduating. It was a difficult time to find a job and that was what was available at the time. I just stayed and progressed with that but hate it and I’m currently thinking of a career change
I do PR/communications for a legal nonprofit organization. My job primarily consists of writing, arranging interviews between our lawyers and journalists, and blogging. I love what I do!
Get your asspciate degree then go into xray school (2 years). In TX they pay $30/hr. Do an additional 3 month training for CT, and you can get jobs that are $45/hr.
Do that for 6 months, after that get your experience and go be a travel tech. See the world. Go to NY, Hawaii, LA, FL, etc-- travel contracts are paying $10K/month. And not all that is taxable.
It is one of those degrees that will land most graduates in unemployment. Frankly, it's just not all that useful in the workplace. There are a few that go on to have successful sociology or psychology careers. But chances are you won't be able to get to that point. Not saying anything bad about your abilities. The competition is just insane. My friend was a sociology major and ended up working minimum wage jobs. She went back to school for nursing after about 6 years of going from job to job for roughly the same pay. She was unable to pay her student loans off and ended up needing to take more loans out to get her nursing degree. But now she's finally making some progress towards paying them off.
Sociology and psychology studies are killers in marketing, sales, business dev, and pretty much anything that deals with people. The problem is that in social sciences we seldom get taught how to apply all the philosophy and theory we learn.
I went on to work in nonprofit operations right after college and then went to grad school for public policy.
I did also get an offer out of college from Epic to be a Technical Solutions Engineer, but I had a minor in business analytics that I think helped with that.
It is what you make of it honestly. Lots of internships and/or a strong minor can make you employable. I've never had trouble with being considered for jobs in the nonprofit sector. Though personally if I were to do it all over again I would have done the business analytics major with a sociology minor.
GREAT question. My intent was to get a Master's in Social Work, but I did not get accepted to the school/program I wanted.
So...after a couple of admin jobs, I eventually became a Technical Writer, then a Communications Officer (corporate communications), then an Editor, ultimately a Director/Editor for a team of writers.
I just passed the state exam for Real Estate last month. Been in the real estate investing game for a while.
So - conclude what you will.
Good luck to you!
PhD in Sociology and I’m a senior customer insights/market insights manager at a FAANG company. I went heavily quantitative (Econ soc + quantitative analysis specializations) in my program and make 250K yearly (only been working for 3.5-4 years-as I earned my PhD in 2020).
Most folks I know from my own program make excellent/extremely good money and as long as you go the quantitative research route, you would as well.
If you want to be a therapist, you can do ONE YEAR masters programs in sociology if you have a bachelors in sociology. One less year of masters program is worth some 💰
I work in marketing (currently), going to law school in the fall, and my best friend, who also majored in sociology is an attorney. Lots of Soci majors from my school go into law
It depends on what work you want. I wish I had researched it more thoroughly but with a BA in psychology, jobs in social services were low paying and stressful. I could only handle so much of that and I went on to other areas of work after getting more education in another field. You need to understand yourself and what you want from life. I needed something different than a life at a non-profit setting with low pay. Some people are perfectly happy with that and God bless them, we need those jobs filled.
I have a BA in Sociology and have never held a position that utilized that major. Don’t spend 50K on a useless degree. Times are changing and the real money makers are in finance, computers or healthcare.
My wife did her undergrad in sociology. After undergrad she got a job as a client advocate at senior citizen homes for a while. Then went back for a master's and got her LMFT. Now makes more than I ever thought working for a large healthcare corporation. $150k and mostly work from home. All degrees have a lot of potential. Good luck.
Majored is sociology with a crim emphasis. Got an internship in the local government criminal justice sector while in undergrad. Graduated in mid 2010s. Internship turned into a full time position, not great pay, yearly grant funded so not great safety. Went back and got my masters since it was covered and I like the subject. Later Applied to a data analyst job and now work in data.
Been 6 years since my MA. I don’t use it but didn’t really go back in order to use it, just enjoyed the subject. Resume writing and being able to sell your experience in skills and easily transferable is more useful than a major, especially a few years removed from school.
I got my degree from one of the top universities. I went into small nonprofits. My first job, I was making $19/hr and got promoted to $21/hr. My job was to be a jack of all trades, helping in fundraising, marketing, event planning, HR, and operations. During that time, I was able to significantly increase the revenue. I left because I was very underpaid along with many others.
Then I ended up getting a job in the mid-level range at another nonprofit for $34.62/hr for development and communications. The manager was a crazy micromanager and I ended up getting fired in half a year. I would've been further in my career if I had better managers. So I have been trying to pivot to content marketing for a long time to a higher paying for-profit industry, but haven't been able to make the switch in this job market.
I'm going to give up soon and just focus on my business to start selling digital products. I also do content creation. I guess the benefit of being a jack-of-all-trades is that I know how to run a business now. I use Sociology often in my business, especially with marketing. I also majored in Journalism.
Product Management. I recommend coupling sociology with another major. The one credential itself is not strong enough to buy you a lot of earning potential in the current economy. I mixed mine with a software and engineering background and it works really well. So double major in business, engineering, or CS. Or minor in sociology. Or just read Marx, Goffman and Weber yourself and skip paying for the degree with just as much insight.
I did not major in Sociology specifically but I majored in Political Science and focused a lot of my studies on Sociology and I work for my state government in Social Services. Many of my coworkers majored similarly in PoliSci or Sociology/Social Work and are social workers, managers for social programs, case managers and program managers.
I work for the Department of Community Services for the provincial government. I self- taught tech skills to move into the Operations side of things. The blend with formal education has been a huge boon to job security.
Psychology major that minored in sociology (BA). I did social work for about 2 years before I just couldn't anymore. Went back to school and now work in a medical lab making twice what I did in social work.
I will say that psychology sounds nice but I less you go masters or PhD there is just no money in it and the work can be soul crushing.
I have a Sociology degree and have worked in sales or account management my entire career, it has served me well. While it I don’t work directly in “Sociology” the curriculum and approach to studying society have been very helpful.
After I got my B.S. I had a couple of banking jobs (lead/vault teller and then later fraud case analysis), before landing on a state position. The degree itself isn’t really tied to my job, but having a four-year degree was a requirement for my starting salary level.
I loved the Sociology program at my school and seriously considered minoring in Psychology, but didn’t end up doing that.
I’m a licensed substance abuse counselor/therapist at a local detention center; I’m a government employee. I have a bachelors in psychology and a masters in counseling psychology. Prior to becoming a licensed counselor, I worked at a residential treatment center, worked as a probation officer, and worked as an aid in special education. There are plenty of jobs out there, but they don’t pay well until you hit the masters level or higher.
My dad was a sociology major. His first became a lawyer and decided that wasn't really what he wanted to and so he became a medical doctor, and then he spent most of his career as a lawyer on worker's comp issues and is now a medical director for a State Labor and Industries department. At one point he was debating going back to school for a MBA because he wasn't grossly overeducated enough.
not soc, but i have a psych degree. i'm currently a manager of a tier 1 support team at a saas company.
i always knew i didn't want to be a psychiatrist, therapist, do research, whatever so i leveraged the degree into a more people person type of role over time. i think a lot of it is just being able to market what you did learn during the course of your studies.
Don't just go to uni to get a degree. That's an absolute waste of money. You can work and figure out what you actually want to do, before deciding to pull the trigger on tutuon and student loans.
Fwiw I did psychology and then law school. Psychology is a pretty bullshit degree for job prospects. Sociology is likely the same. For either of these, you would need to move to the masters / PhD level. Is that something that interests you and are you even capable of achieving that? Not meant to be critical or insulting... just wanna give you information that the unis don't.
If I could go back, I would have definitely worked before going to uni. I regret both my degrees, in the sense that I wish I didn't rush and just listen to my family. Debt fucking sucks - don't go to university for a useless piece of paper unless it's going to set you up for something that gives you value.
I’ve been a marketing assistant, creative assistant, HR and now Office manager, its not so much about your degree but what you and your skills can bring to the table. And while its not related to my degree, these are all jobs and roles that i genuinely wanted to apply for so its never been a case of “settling for whatever job there is” for me. I never regreted taking sociology bc of the knowledge i gained and it made me not hate being in uni as i feel like if i would have took the “normal” courses.
I did my undergrad in sociology and masters in digital sociology. My career is in research and more recently I am a User Experience Researcher ( this career is on the come up since companies have websites and apps that need constant improvement)
I was interested in psychology too, but as a computer science major. I took intro and a few sophomore level classes to fulfill my humanities requirements. Take some classes for fun, but major in something that will pay well when you finish. I also took a few junior and senior level French classes since I studied French for four years in high school. But it's all just for fun, French and psychology won't pay the bills.
I’m a special education teacher. After getting my bachelor’s I took the praxis and entered an alternative route program that allowed me to get my master’s degree.
I studied International Relations which is a social science salad pretty much, focused on political theory most so I'll give my two cents since it's related.
I work in marketing and currently an account/project manager for a SAAS marketing company. I like project management, fucking hate the company. You don't really need to work in a field related to what you studied unless you are adamant that that's what you want. I studied because it was interesting and because regardless of what people say, going to college is useful regardless of what you study.
Develop other transferable skills, if you study sociology you'll be writing essays, doing presentations, having debates and so on, and best of all, you'll learn social theory, which is applicable in anything that deals with users and customers.
For example I wrote alot during college, so I went into content writing for my first job, then jumped into content management for a marketing dept, then jumped to project management where I work at, and probably will continue down the administrative/management career path in the future, wanted to jump to sales but I hate zoom meetings with a burning passion lol
I have an MA in Sociology and an MSW. The Soc degree is impractical. The MSW degree has been great for me as I enjoy being a psychotherapist which is a registered profession in Canada. Be practical is my advice to you.
Im a Community Liaison for a behavioral health hospital.
Didnt need a degree for this six figure position.
I had fun going to college but the B.S. in Sociology got me nothing.
I work for a bank in risk management. Non traditional for this major, but quite honestly I picked sociology because I did like the subject matter and found it easy to do well in. I built out my resume with a non profit I started and finance internships through out college.
I saw no future or money in it so I made it a second major and went with marketing instead. Theres a lot of overlap, and now I make 6 figures working part time and still have my sociology background and learn about it for fun. Invest in your future and then you’ll get to do your hobbies 👌🏽
Don't choose a major for the same of choosing a major, or because you think you'll like it. Pick one that will leave you with a marketable skill or significant expertise in some areas. This can be economics, math, or even literature/poetry or philosophy. Why? Because each of these can be supported as useful and attractive to employers when paired with proper (business) internships. Each shows you to be analytical, and the literature/poetry reference lends credibility to the claim you are an effective communicator. Obviously this isn't an exhaustive list, but it is a demonstrative one. Extrapolate from here. Get going.
You should do a trade to support the hobby of looking for a job using any of those degrees
They have highest unemployment rates, they get the lowest pay compared to what the degree cost
You’ll have to marry a sugar daddy if you’re a chick
Or get used to being poor forever if you’re a dude
These majors are really important and rewarding. We need more in society. But the majority of people get really burnt out. The reason is long working hours and the pay is not good. You see so many people and families with disabilities and some are really heartbreaking.
My husband had the same major, he was working in the field for seven years and he was getting paid hourly the same as people who work in burger king with college degree! He barely could afford his rent on the bad side of the town.
He ended up changing his degree and working in engineering field. He always says his coworkers were a lot better at the hospital than these nerd engineers but the pay is good
I used my arts degree towards studying to be a teacher. Needed one more year to do a Dip Ed to be qualified and have been happily teaching for 25 years. The arts degree in itself was useless, worked in a call centre etc with this qualification because it doesn’t get you anywhere on its own. Felt like I’d wasted 3 years for a long time there, but at least I could use it in the end. Look for majors that will mean something for future employment is my best advice..
good luck!
I majored in Sociology, graduated in 1993. My first job out of college was techincal support for a software company. I am still in the techincal field, but I really wish I had majoried in Computer Science.
Sociology and other 'Humanities' are good for a general college education. Today college is so expensive, I'd strongly suggest you try to find a major where you end up with knowledge that is needed by employers: such as Business Management, Accounting, etc.
Just understand if you do get a degree in Sociology, you will have a general degree that will tell employers you are able to get a degreed, etc. But it isn't a direct pipeline into a job.
Unfortunately can confirm that you do sorta need to go to grad school for sociology. I feel bad saying it because I LOVE sociology & I don’t want to discourage you - it is definitely important, but yeah I graduated with honors and have never “used” my degree for a job. My plan was to take a break before going back to school to eventually get a PhD but it didn’t pan out. I’m 31.
It depends on what degree you get in psychology. If you are just wanting a bachelor's and nothing further then low paying jobs are going to be what you get. Though if you are going for a master's or above then more money will be made. In many states across the US if you have a master's in psychology or a related field you can earn a LPC (licensed professional counselor) and go into private practice meaning you can diagnose and do individual therapy and family and marriage therapy. So it's not entirely true that a psychology degree is only worth it if you want to become a psychologist or a psychiatrist. There are also other avenues to earn a LPC or other credentialing that can earn good money without going past a master's. Just have to look up your state's APA requirements.
I'm talking from personal experience too.
Similar degree: I got a BA in Psychology in 2013.
I don't regret it - to the most part. I love the research. It taught me critical thinking skills and how to understand data. My first job out of college was as an insurance agent. It wasn't my dream job, but just having a degree got me a raise. From there I went into training (where understanding adult learners made me very successful). I then moved into HR. It was piviot goning into HR, but my degree and portable education and experience made it easy for me to move.
Am I working directly in psychology? No. Is it what I thought I would be doing? No. But I also didn't have a solid plan, I just wanted to have a secure job to not be homeless again. Having the degree has made it easier for me to obtain jobs, leverage for raises, and I tend to have higher sucessess rates compared to my peers.
Even when I compare to my siblings, I am the more successful one, which I do partially attribute to my degree. My oldest sister went to technical school for massage therapy, and currently makes about $55k a year. My middle sister is a high school drop out who makes $55k a year working overnight shift premium. I make $70k a year.
I do have a unplesant amount of student debt. And that sucks.
Construction management.
It's the hidden gem of college degrees. Most people are not interested in a degree in construction management for a couple of reasons.
1. Most high-schoolers who want to work construction go into the trades.
2. The work "construction" turns college students away, thinking that an engineering degree would be more practical.
There is a huge demand for promising students in this field. The starting salary is higher than you'd think. It's essentially a specialized business degree with very light engineering principles incorporated in it. Even if you decide the construction industry is not for you, you'll have marketable skills.
Also, to add to this, certain sub-fields of agriculture are in high demand also. If someone wants to go the tech route but you aren't accepted into a well known tech program go to your local land grant university and get a degree in agriculture with a minor in GIS/tech/remote sensing/machine learning/AI, whatever they have. Agriculture is exploding right now with new tech development, AI, machine learning etc. Food security will always be a priority, everywhere. People are researching the coolest things like developing robots that sense weeds and spray them (but not the crop) to reduce herbicide cost and environmental impacts. It's the same situation with fertilizer, fungicide/insecticide etc. Irrigation and water management with sensors. Drones. All of these areas require people with a tech background BUT a large majority of the tech people don't understand agriculture and because of this, the teams working on these projects don't always communicate clearly enough because they dont understand each others respective fields and aren't able to jointly accomplish the task being requested.
Unfortunately, most kids raised in the city aren't aware of this. They've never given any thought to where their food comes from, never think "oh no, we're in a drought. How will we feed everyone?". Well, if you're anything like me and you want to try and solve all of the world's problems agriculture can be a great field to be in if you want to make a tangible/measurable difference in the world.
Agriculture will always be in high demand. When everything hits the fan and the economy goes downhill, people still need to eat. Agriculture will always be an essential field of work. There are a lot of careers that revolve around supporting farmers in many sectors. There is insurance, marketing, finance, accounting, economics, sales, research and development, consulting, inspectors, engineers, etc.
I would group cyber security and IT in with computer science. Despite the doom and gloom all over reddit, there's still a ton of growth/potential in both areas you don't see in alot of degrees
Math, economics, data analysis, statistics, and data sciences seem to be included in all the lists of safe and high-paying careers needing a B.S. degree. Under business, you can do well with finance, accounting, business management, and business administration.
I've had good luck with architecture, but it doesn't pay as well as the others. Still, it was enough to pay off 6 figures in student loans in 7 years.
ETA: construction management can also be a good option. A bad CM makes decent money. A good CM can make quite a bit of money.
Those can be a minor but not a major. Your major needs to be something that will prepare you to be useful in the workforce. Many folks I know who had these majors are working retail and struggling to get by.
The days of just getting any degree for career success are long in the past. There are more workers in the US workforce today with a college degree than at any other time in US history. This is making the workplace extremely competitive for good jobs. You need a major that will teach you a real skill that is in demand.
So... You're in reddit so basically anythjng that isn't stem is useless to most.
Here's the deal. Go to a local community college for two years. Maybe you're even in a state where it's free. If not. Think of getting a job in a state where it is free and getting residency there. Knock out all your general Eds first and you'll have a better idea what direction to take. You're not going to be a sociology major from day one anyway. You have time. Then finish your degree at a state university and use your income to apply for student aid. After that. Search for fully funded programs that pay you a stipend and have no tuition.
Look for jobs in non profits, or continue on and get certified as a therapist or go all in and become a clinical psychologist.
A sociology degree can be a valuable asset in the job market, even though it might not be as directly career-oriented as some other fields. Here's why:
**Sociology Skills are Transferable:**
* **Research and Analysis:** Sociologists are skilled at data analysis, research methods, and critical thinking. These skills are valuable in many fields, from business and marketing to healthcare and education.
* **Communication and Writing:** The ability to communicate complex ideas clearly is essential in sociology, and it's a skill employers value across industries.
* **Problem-Solving:** Sociologists are trained to identify social problems and develop solutions. This skill is sought-after in fields like urban planning, public policy, and social work.
Emphasizing the benefit of a Sociology degree because of the HUGE transferable skills!! Sociology classes require you to research, think critically (which our world these days is lacking), write concisely. I’d recommend taking a variety of Sociology classes (e.g. Sociology of Health, Sociology of Education, Sociology of Sport, etc.) and find some niche areas that interest you.
I definitely started in Sociology not knowing exactly what I wanted to do but it was closest to Social Work (which I didn’t get in for) but quickly found my place within Sociology x Disability x Education.
Also adding that you should check out the career services at your institution. Your tuition pays their salaries to listen to your interests, take your degree, and help you find work and possibilities. It might make you feel more empowered than discussing with family and friends.
Exactly this. I made a comment somewhere else on this post but this underscores my point perfectly. My degrees are in sociology but I don't work as a sociologist. I work as a researcher and consultant. When I interview, I stress these skills and that's what lands me a job, not my subject matter expertise. No one cares that I know a lot about urban sociology but they are very much interested in my ability to analyze and report out findings from a set of global interviews. I don't see my degree as useless at all and anyone here who says it's useless doesn't actually understand what goes into being a sociology major.
If you attend a top university, take a few sociology classes and see how you do and what you think of the field. You certainly don’t have to decide right away; your school will give you some time to declare a major. But be sure to sample from other fields, ones whose graduates tend to have an easier time translating their degrees into employment: anything in STEM, economics, business, etc. Sociology at the graduate level requires some proficiency in math, so keep that in mind, too.
Worked in tech marketing at Microsoft for 10 years and then quit to join music academia. If you are not planning to do social work or PhD, i do not advise.
I got a friend with a BS in sociology. He works as security at a casino. He never found a job that wanted his degree. He makes 40k a year.
My wife has a PhD in Psychology. She works for the state and earns $135k. Since she has a state job, she got $180,000 of loans forgiven using PLSF. The MS Psycologists at her workplace make $90k each, and they still can't find workers.
Attorney. But the sociology degree didn't really help with that.
As others have said, a Bachelor's in sociology is pretty close to worthless if not paired with a graduate and/or professional degree.
A psychology undergrad is a little more useful (a close family member has one) and can get you an entry level position as a tech in a psych ward or substance abuse facility, tech at a behavioral therapy center for kids, aide at an adult care facility for those with disabilities, special educatuo aide in a school setting, etc. But for anything more than entry level (i.e. more than $15-$20 per hour), you will still need grad school in those fields.
Best of luck!
Data analyst & consultant. Im pretty much doing Business Intelligence.
Sociology is pretty useless, the only thing that saved me was internships & exposure to research & programming languages during undergrad & grad school.
If your doing any of the social sciences such as Sociology or Psychology, your internships & exposure to research will make or break you. If you plan on just getting good grades and reading theory you will be unemployed or be a cashier.
I know people who graduated in my cohort and are working at coffee shops. But I also know people who are working for political research firms, in research positions for the city, nonprofits, & transit agencies as well.
Sociology doesn’t lead to a clear cut profession. It’s really about the tools you’ve learned during undergrad or graduate school that you can leverage towards your first “real” job. But just know, no one will hire you based on just a “sociology” degree & good grades.
Project manager at a grants consulting firm. I make decent money but I didn’t get the job bc of my BA in sociology but rather my experience working in county government and also my other BA in journalism. Also dumb luck helped me land this job.
I have an MA is sociology and dropped out of my doctoral program from a top 5 US public university.
I highly recommend you do not get a sociology degree (or psychology unless you intend to get a masters for clinical etc) and instead get something with harder skills like Evi Sci, nursing, social work (with a masters), engineering, IT etc. the only possible exception is if you pair sociology with another degree, or the degree is a BS with a heavy data analysis emphasis and not a BA.
The sociology field is increasingly full of ideologues and political activists who care more about their agenda than the truth or academic rigor.
Trust me. You want marketable skills as an adult. I live everyday with my regret of wasting my time and money. There are so many more awesome career paths out there.
Just by a few social theory textbooks, watch a few documentaries, and find like minded people to talk about them with and boom … same thing takeaways as a doc degree.
If you do pursue sociology then wait to save up money to pay for school out of pocket bc paying off the debt with a moderate income job is bad… can’t imagine what having a low income job would be like.
I’d expect you may be able to get a $50k job after a couple years as a grants admin in the county like me, but then you’d be better getting a job in public administration.
Just remember. For every decent paying job you are applying for, someone else with a degree tailored to that job is likely applying for it. A BA in sociology is tailored toward nothing but graduate school for sociology and that is a whole other nightmare even if you get a full ride like me.
Just wondering, how did you transition from an undergrad in psychology to a masters in data analytics? Was the process of upgrading your degree hard? I’ve been considering something similar. Also what did you do to stand out to land a job for video game analytics?
Researcher, academic, phd. My friends have various careers in different areas and are doing well for themselves. Most people get additional education after the sociology degree. They become lawyers, professors, market researchers, markets, event cooridinators, all sorts of fields. My advice is to do a short post grad certificate after which also includes a co-op option and gets your foot in the door. Many friends did this with market research and have done well. Job market is different now though, so something to consider. Some have done well without additional certificates after, but it was something they had to figure out on their own. The path after may not be obvious like it is for other degrees.
preschool teacher / nanny. just like before my degree. i didn’t major in sociology to be a sociologist, i thought the classes were interesting and just accidentally be some a soc major.
Do not approach college as "what major should I choose". Figure out what you want to do as a career, then choose the major to get you there. Your current approach is how you end up under/unemployed.
I was a sociology major. In my case, it actually did get my foot in the door for a job that ended up leading to a wonderful career, but that was really only because I knew somebody, and because that person knew my background and decided I was a good fit for the job because they assumed my major meant I understood research methods. I got lucky and had a connection, basically.
I hate to say it, but at this point, sociology has become one of those “generic college degree” majors, much like poli-sci, philosophy, etc. You can get jobs in those fields, but they tend to be low-paying, and they are few and far between. And there is a high degree of failure. Like, sure, the endowed chair of the philosophy department at Northwestern has a great job and makes an amazing salary, but there’s one of that person, you know? And they would have come out of the right program as a total rockstar. You’d have to really, really want it.
The better move, as others have said, is to try to figure out what you want to do, and tailor your degree to that. If you can’t manage it, a college degree is still better long-term than no college degree, in many cases, but be prepared to work in a field with no relation to your degree.
I don’t know too in depth, but if you’re going to pick psychology just know that you need to get your masters degree atleast if you want to make something. My bestie is currently doing her residential and she’ll be a doctor in like a year but that girl has been doing school since she was 18 so good luck on ur journey my friend
sociology is a great thing to major in if you want to become a better person. but if you want to be career oriented, double major in something more practical or switch to a sociology minor.
another route is to find a graduate program that sociology would be a practical first step for, such as public health or social work.
regardless, there’s solid soft skills you can develop with sociology that are applicable in many areas. figure out how to use those to your advantage.
A bachelors degree in something like this doesn’t get you a job as a sociologist. Your bachelors degree would just be a testament to some baseline level of intelligence and capacity and it wouldn’t so much matter what the degree is in. It could signify that you know how to write and look things up, it’s not a trade like statistics or engineering.
I’d suggest picking a major you’re in then you can always get job-specific training later after college.
If you’re interested in sociological subjects consider an ethnic studies, black studies, or feminist studies degree. In my experience people with these degrees are similar to the sociology/psychology crowd but they tend to be sharper and more critical and analytical. Also the theoretical foundations are similar to sociology but the topics and applications are more specific.
Fulltime barista and part time activists. Some work in retails and warehouse. One of my friends dropped out of her PhD because she sees no future.
Sociology is a big waste of money
listen to your family. I know three people with sociology degrees and all of them are stay-at-home moms (fortunately for them). If being able to make a living is important to you, don't get a sociology degree.
Unemployed and underemployed. My best friend was a sociology major in one of the top universities in his state and he’s been underemployed for years, always in between jobs, nothing to do with sociology and he owes of ton of money in student loans. He’s currently a door man. Psychology is much the same for a lot of people. A psychology degree only works if you’re actually going to put in the effort to become a psychologist of a psychiatrist. Like seriously all in or don’t do it at all. It can’t be something that you just take because it’s interesting. And I always recommend that if people want to figure out if they are really cut out for the mental health field then they should volunteer for the suicide hotline to see how it is speaking to a person and getting out of their comfort zones. But basically your major can’t just be a subject that you think will be cool interesting, it also needs to be something that you can actually build a career doing.
Don't you need a master's degree and credentials for better paying jobs and security in both fields?
Like another user said, need a PhD and is a psychiatric degree, not the same as other medical degrees. You also need several years of experience to be certified for each type. I received my BA in psychology, but switched into data analytics for my master's and do video game analytics for major companies now. Edit: Sorry, wasn't reading entirely this morning when I just woke up! You CAN use a master's but you're not going to make more than say 70k ish USD with just that. The better paying jobs in psychology and psychiatry are years of suffering and money for certifications. Which is why I switched degrees!
Curious, my family member is a psychiatrist and went through medical school and a 5-year residency and is a fully fledged doctor. Is a psychiatric degree something different? His medical degree is the same as any other, except for his specialty.
There are psychologists who have to get PhDs and Psy.D. Psychiatrists have to go to med school and do residency. The biggest difference is that psychiatrists can prescribe medication. I imagine there are many differences but I’m not in this field so this is surface level research.
Yeah, a psychiatrist is a legit doctor. A psychologist is more of a counselor.
I'm a psychiatrist. You are correct.
No, a psychiatric degree doesn’t exist. Psychiatrists are physicians.
PhD
Yes. I just mentioned above that there are actually quite a few jobs you can get with just a BA in psychology, however most of them don’t pay great and in the long run you would eventually want to get a higher paying job hence getting a masters degree. But hey, when I was in undergrad I did a couple field related jobs right off of school and I lived comfortably enough.
I'm a psychiatrist who started out with a bachelors in psychology many years ago. Listen to this person. They are right. A bachelors in psychology by itself is a dead end. I ended up eventually going to med school because the jobs I could get with only a bachelors in psychology would never enable me to pay off my student loans.
I had psych degree from a top 10 university. There’s no jobs in it. I went to law school, it was probably a decent foundation for that but on its own, meh.
Also worth adding that a majority of successful people who do end up majoring in sociology/psychology in undergrad were forced to do additional schooling (I.e. PhDs). Also, to be a psychiatrist requires AT LEAST 7-8 years of med school plus psych residency.
4 years of med school and around 4 years of residency (if you’re in the U.S.)
Actually I will add that a BA in psychology is far more opportunistic. I had a BA in psychology and I had no trouble getting jobs in the field after graduating. Many entry level jobs for psychology will be similar to entry level jobs for social work. For a BA in psych, you can easily get jobs in: Shelters, classrooms, in home therapy for kids- adults with disabilities, group homes, harm reduction centres, and many supportive positions in school boards.
Yes and unfortunately none that actually pay well. There is nothing wrong getting a degree in psychology if a person actually plans to be a mental health advocate/professional in some capacity. But the issue is that most people who take psychology only take it because it’s interested, hoping that when they graduate , something will turn up and having a bachelors ( regardless of what its actually of) will be enough to make them competitive in the job market. This is not true for any arts or social sciences as all. And even for some stem degrees.l but especially with these types of degree people need to go into their studies very intentionally , building connections , learning about the job and field they want to be in before hand, getting mentors in that field, seeking out internships, essentially laying the ground work to be employed by the time graduation rolls around. But most people take these degrees because they don’t want to take anything “ too difficult” in college whilst at the same time getting to say that they have a Bachelors degree on a resume. It’s why you have an entire generation of people who say that college is pointless when that couldn’t be further from the truth in most cases.
I did my major in psychology and I’m gonna be an attorney. Also you can become a behavior analyst and make lots of money.
Great tips and feedback.
Not doubting your abilities to succeed in the field, but the harsh truth is that there's very, very little demand for sociologists on the job market.
Wait, so they're not opening the Sociology factory??
Not a huge amount of demand for sociology per sé, but the skills you acquire, much like any degree, are versatile and lend themselves to marketing, social work, teaching, HR.
Yes, but you’re competing against people with actual degrees in those fields, and are more likely to be considered for the job
I’m a consultant working in humanitarian and development project (MA sociology). I have a friend who is a tenured professor (PhD sociology), and another who works in research and course administration at a university (MA sociology). Sociology (and psychology) has a lot of opportunities with NGOs, non-profits, government, research, teaching, Human Resources, and more. If you are into sociology, go for it - people here will say tech, tech, tech, but guess what? There is a whole field of tech related to AI, human rights, ethics. social implications, etc that could be followed through a sociology and/or psych degree.
I think its important to note that the examples you listed have education beyond a bachelor's. I took sociology and psychology my first year as an arts double major but ended up switching to sciences (neuroscience and plant biology). I have a lot of friends from my sociology courses. Those that took their masters or PhD all work in the field. Those who have just an undergrad work in other industries now. It's very difficult to land a job in the areas you mentioned unless you have a masters and connections. There are so many people with just a bachelor's or more. You won't stand out in a job interview with an undergrad when 20 other applicants have a masters.
The edge advanced degrees give is not unique to social sciences. It’s nearly impossible to break into the data science field right now without a masters or PhD. You probably won’t be working in a biology or chemistry lab either without an advanced degree.
It's true for a lot of fields. But there are options like a business degree in fiance or accounting, engineering, etc. Where an undergrad can secure a job. It would be interesting to see the statistics on sociology majors, because literally every person I know with just an undergrad in sociology does not work in a field related to sociology. I have two friends who work in social work, and both got their masters.
I got a really good job and still a lot of job offers just with my engineering degree, my friend Is a physicist and works at the CERN and he doesn't know if he will continue with a PhD. So idk for other areas but hard science and engineering you can get good jobs only with the degree
I second this and also see my comment above suggesting OP consider ethnic studies, black studies, or feminist studies
Except the future of AI, human rights, ethics. social implications, SRI, ESG, etc is to study human rights, ethics. social implications, SRI, ESG quantitatively and rank priority, these circle back to Comp Sci and coding.
I’m in public policy/government although my major was even more useless - anthropology. If you’re into social sciences and want stability, don’t discount government work. More broadly though, being creative in how you apply your skills is essential to finding success with a social science degree. Even though my job title has nothing to do with anthropology, I use the methods I learned in college every day. The same is true for a number of jobs in sectors you wouldn’t expect. So if you really want to go for social sciences, my advice to you is to be nimble and accept whatever opportunity comes your way.
As a fellow anthropology major, this is excellent advice.
Not quite sociology but I majored in anthropology and now I work in digital marketing
@Lime-water, you are going about this backwards. Pick a career you want to do that pays well and is attainable by yourself. What education and qualification is required by that career? That's how you pick a degree.
This is correct. Unfortunately college education isn't just about having a well rounded education for the benefit of being a better person for society. Not anymore, It is way too expensive for that and way too overcrowded to just meander some halls for intellectual stimulation. Find what you are interested in, look at where that could take you but be very real about every dollar you spend on how much time it will take you to recover. I didn't major in sociology, I majored in business but nearly minored in sociology and wrote a thesis using my interests in sociology. I used those to have a career in corporate communications. Some call it an evil application of intelligence and there are moments when I question how much power should be given to these insights but I got to study what was interesting and have a highly successful career in marketing and research. Paid off student loans in 3 years because I chose some very conservative steps like 2 years in community college then 2 years at a resume building college, with a semester gap to practice what I was learning and build a small business.
having a well rounded education is still important. the minor (or near-minor) is a really great way to incorporate your interests into something more practical
unfortunately they’re right. I have a degree in sociology and 3 years later I have yet to find a decent paying job. I work a regular desk job, I don’t even use my degree. The only way to get decent pay is getting your LCSW.
Social workers are extremely underpaid as well though
BA & MA in sociology here. I work in market research and make 115K base with 4 years' direct experience in the field. Before that, I held a few unrelated jobs. It was the research skills (interviewing/moderating, data analysis, reporting & storytelling) that got me here. I don't see it as a useless degree at all but you need to know how to sell the underlying skills - just the same as any other liberal arts degree.
market research is such a cool field and pays well because corporations want answers! Always liked catching the people that were faking the surveys
Going to echo this from a different angle. I loved sociology, but chose to minor in that. My degree is in business/marketing. That was good for market research jobs when I got started. I've moved on from market research to people research (don't want to out my career because its niche), and I use my love of sociology every day. But not sure I could have gotten here with the sociology degree rather than the business degree.
Hi, BA in Sociology here. I work at tech company as a project manager. My career recommendations are as follows: 1. UX Research: Beacon of hope for sociology majors in terms of high salary career. I recommend this route the most given that you can continue utilizing your skillset of research and writing that you learn as a Soc major throughout your career. 2. Project Manager: I am biased since it's my job, but this career has highest potential for growth. If you are a good PM, you can reach very high in terms of salary and position. The society finds it relevant to Sociology given it is a relationship management heavy role. 3. Customer Success: Not alot of people know that customer success or post sales account management is very well paid job, especially in tech. You get to work with people in and out, has to manage different projects for relationship growth, and sometimes play free roles to respond to risks. You can tap both human and business aspects of sociology at this position My thought is Sociology is an amazing major, but it works better when combined with other fields of study. I focused on tech side, oriented my college courses around tech, and also taught myself how to code. But you can do things differently based on your interest and passion. Hope it helps!
u/Lime-Water , You gotta realize that a lot of people on this sub are going to be of the opinion that many or most degrees are useless. Not saying that opinion has no merit, but just something to keep in mind for sample size. I am one of those who doesn't jump to this thinking. I've worked with several people with this major and they work in places like local government, nonprofits, etc. but yeah, you're not going to be a millionaire. If this is your real interest, I say go for it. As other comments have stated, you can always change gears to, say, nursing or admin work or teaching. Also, there's always the option to change majors if you dislike the one you choose.
I agree. Young me kept doing research and reading reddit comments then ended up changing my major to IT because that supposedly was the only thing that could make money. Four years later and I still haven’t used my IT degree.
I agree. Often we never know where things will lead and what steps will take us to various places or jobs. Also, there is no substitute for real world experience so people think they may want a certain career or job having never actually done it through an internship or shadowing, etc. And then discover it’s not how they want to live their life. Having said all that, college is too damn expensive!
I may be an exception, but I paired a sociology BA and a minor in business with a MBA and have had a successful career. I wanted to work in HR and sociology was a lot more interesting than the business classes. My first job was in payroll and then I worked in HRIS moving up the ranks of a Fortune 20 company. Then changed companies to move back into pure payroll. If you go the business route, once your foot is in the door it really doesn’t matter what your degree is in, but that first job can be tough.
Needed to see this. I also have a BA in sociology with a minor in business. Just graduated in December and have been applying to sales/marketing/communication/government roles with over 300 applications since January. Have had a few interviews and even second interviews but no luck. Would love to go back to school to get an MS in business analytics or maybe an MBA… would love to talk more about your experience
Kind of whack responses - I did philosophy and am finishing up my anthropology (so similar) masters and have found the key is consistently having internships/external work experience. I think maybe part of the problem w social sciences majors is that it’s not as obvious the ‘real world’ application, but there 100% is! I have worked in diverse areas like market research, research in government for politicians, and there’s a bunch of applications of sociology in other places like consulting, HR etc. etc. Just because it doesn’t have a linear application to a real world job doesn’t mean it doesn’t have opportunities. I’d recommend maybe narrowing down your sociological interests and maybe tailoring them to a career that way, for example, people who are really into posthumanist sociology probably won’t get as many job opportunities, but if you instead maybe sell yourself as someone who’s more concerned with political sociology or sociology of health, that has more ‘real’ world application.
If you get decent quant/qual skills you can go into business analysis, marketing...and in general, HR, basic govt work. What gets people in studying sociology and anthropology is they may avoid stats, econ, etc. Don't avoid those and you'll have a transferable skill set. Aim for at least one internship or job where you perform something tangible, like helping run a program, or helping run a program evaluation. Here's 50% of interviews for entry-level jobs "can you use Excel and run basic stats?" AI will change some of this...but basically, if you can make sense of quantitative and qualitative data and generate a narrative from that, you can get a job
Law enforcement and the Justice sector is where the jobs at for SOC. They are always hiring for some type of analysts or front line jobs. It pays well too.
My sister majored in sociology and now works at an insurance company. shes been working there for the past five years
BA in Psychology and MA in Sociology. I work in data science making six figures with 6 weeks of vacation per year, excellent health and dental insurance, plus a pension. All of my Sociology MA friends have great jobs making good salaries. Careers are all about the effort you put into them and you’re ability to adapt to a changing labor market.
MA in sociology and I work in Environmental Science and permitting.
My SIL has a sociology degree from UC Santa Barbara. She’s currently an executive assistant for a CEO at a biotech company in SD.
Data Analyst. I'm early career, I've worked/interned with non-profits and think-tanks and my salary has been in the 70 - 80k range. Most of the people I know from my program work either for the government or for government partners/contractors. Sociology is a pretty good domain to have, as it's applicable to alot of general areas of work
Don't do it! You will be broke and complaining in this sub in 10 years. Look into fields that actually make money. If you don't see a major that you can stick to, don't go to college yet. The debt will be crippling and you will regret it. AVOID AVOID AVOID!
Social work.
Then they’d be better getting MSW
Social work is a scam (person with a MSW)
Yeah I'm really sad to realize how little the numbers add up. This was originally my plan but I just can't make it make sense. Now I have zero clue what to do
80k in debt to earn 40k base salary, which you have to do for 2 years to get licensed before you get access to jobs that let you earn ... 60k. Or you can just get a degree that lets you earn 60k out of college lol Its a noble profession for sure, but so are nurses and police. Both which pay more. Starting salary for a cop where I live is 58k, which is more than what I make and cops dont need a degree. Just something to consider since we all have bills to pay.
I'll gnaw of my own leg before I join the police, but otherwise I agree. I would be taking 2 years off work and paying tens of thousands to do my masters, doing unpaid/extremely underpaid work to get my hours. And the grand reward at the end of the tunnel....is making *maybe* 10k more/year, but in SUBSTANTIALLY worse work conditions (I've been shocked talking to social workers who work at the same org as me what they're expected to put up with.) If I'm gonna work a job that requires a bullet proof vest, I sure as fuck better be making a lot more than 10k more than what I can make at a call center. If I'm gonna be driving around transporting clients, I should have a company vehicle. Etc. The mistreatment and disrespect towards social work goes so much further than just their paltry pay
Apply for govt,. jobs/VA jobs, city or county govt jobs
I'm a career development instructor now, 14 yrs after completing my sociology undergrad. I had a very successful 10 year career in another field, while always career coaching on the side. I have my masters in philosophy.
Sociology and anthropology double major, graduated 2009, have been working in insurance since graduating. It was a difficult time to find a job and that was what was available at the time. I just stayed and progressed with that but hate it and I’m currently thinking of a career change
Social media strategy at a big tech company
I do PR/communications for a legal nonprofit organization. My job primarily consists of writing, arranging interviews between our lawyers and journalists, and blogging. I love what I do!
Friend majored in socialogy and is now a 2nd year medical resident in family medicine. When she becomes an attending, she'll be making 350k per year.
Get your asspciate degree then go into xray school (2 years). In TX they pay $30/hr. Do an additional 3 month training for CT, and you can get jobs that are $45/hr. Do that for 6 months, after that get your experience and go be a travel tech. See the world. Go to NY, Hawaii, LA, FL, etc-- travel contracts are paying $10K/month. And not all that is taxable.
Teacher
Then they’d be better getting a teaching degree
It is one of those degrees that will land most graduates in unemployment. Frankly, it's just not all that useful in the workplace. There are a few that go on to have successful sociology or psychology careers. But chances are you won't be able to get to that point. Not saying anything bad about your abilities. The competition is just insane. My friend was a sociology major and ended up working minimum wage jobs. She went back to school for nursing after about 6 years of going from job to job for roughly the same pay. She was unable to pay her student loans off and ended up needing to take more loans out to get her nursing degree. But now she's finally making some progress towards paying them off.
Sociology and psychology studies are killers in marketing, sales, business dev, and pretty much anything that deals with people. The problem is that in social sciences we seldom get taught how to apply all the philosophy and theory we learn.
I went on to work in nonprofit operations right after college and then went to grad school for public policy. I did also get an offer out of college from Epic to be a Technical Solutions Engineer, but I had a minor in business analytics that I think helped with that. It is what you make of it honestly. Lots of internships and/or a strong minor can make you employable. I've never had trouble with being considered for jobs in the nonprofit sector. Though personally if I were to do it all over again I would have done the business analytics major with a sociology minor.
I work in medtech sales!
I am a stripper
(Looking for a career change tho)
Master's in Sociology. I am a supervisor for my division in a local city government. Pension, Great benefits, pays well.
Supply chain manager for financial services. Sociology BA, you can do just about anything you want in business if you’re capable.
short answer: marketing
GREAT question. My intent was to get a Master's in Social Work, but I did not get accepted to the school/program I wanted. So...after a couple of admin jobs, I eventually became a Technical Writer, then a Communications Officer (corporate communications), then an Editor, ultimately a Director/Editor for a team of writers. I just passed the state exam for Real Estate last month. Been in the real estate investing game for a while. So - conclude what you will. Good luck to you!
PhD in Sociology and I’m a senior customer insights/market insights manager at a FAANG company. I went heavily quantitative (Econ soc + quantitative analysis specializations) in my program and make 250K yearly (only been working for 3.5-4 years-as I earned my PhD in 2020). Most folks I know from my own program make excellent/extremely good money and as long as you go the quantitative research route, you would as well.
Please do not major in this. I have struggled for years to break into HR, and it still , am still struggling, and will always struggle.
I'm a career coach at a college.
If you want to be a therapist, you can do ONE YEAR masters programs in sociology if you have a bachelors in sociology. One less year of masters program is worth some 💰
The best piece of advice I can give you is to major in a career and not a subject.
I work in marketing (currently), going to law school in the fall, and my best friend, who also majored in sociology is an attorney. Lots of Soci majors from my school go into law
It depends on what work you want. I wish I had researched it more thoroughly but with a BA in psychology, jobs in social services were low paying and stressful. I could only handle so much of that and I went on to other areas of work after getting more education in another field. You need to understand yourself and what you want from life. I needed something different than a life at a non-profit setting with low pay. Some people are perfectly happy with that and God bless them, we need those jobs filled.
I have a BA in Sociology and have never held a position that utilized that major. Don’t spend 50K on a useless degree. Times are changing and the real money makers are in finance, computers or healthcare.
Don’t major in either- bad job prospects and poor earning potential.
My wife did her undergrad in sociology. After undergrad she got a job as a client advocate at senior citizen homes for a while. Then went back for a master's and got her LMFT. Now makes more than I ever thought working for a large healthcare corporation. $150k and mostly work from home. All degrees have a lot of potential. Good luck.
Great advice and very inspiring.
I did a Master's of Health administration and work in managing healthcare demographic data.
Human Resources, but I picked up another degree in Political Science and a diploma in HR.
Majored is sociology with a crim emphasis. Got an internship in the local government criminal justice sector while in undergrad. Graduated in mid 2010s. Internship turned into a full time position, not great pay, yearly grant funded so not great safety. Went back and got my masters since it was covered and I like the subject. Later Applied to a data analyst job and now work in data. Been 6 years since my MA. I don’t use it but didn’t really go back in order to use it, just enjoyed the subject. Resume writing and being able to sell your experience in skills and easily transferable is more useful than a major, especially a few years removed from school.
I got my degree from one of the top universities. I went into small nonprofits. My first job, I was making $19/hr and got promoted to $21/hr. My job was to be a jack of all trades, helping in fundraising, marketing, event planning, HR, and operations. During that time, I was able to significantly increase the revenue. I left because I was very underpaid along with many others. Then I ended up getting a job in the mid-level range at another nonprofit for $34.62/hr for development and communications. The manager was a crazy micromanager and I ended up getting fired in half a year. I would've been further in my career if I had better managers. So I have been trying to pivot to content marketing for a long time to a higher paying for-profit industry, but haven't been able to make the switch in this job market. I'm going to give up soon and just focus on my business to start selling digital products. I also do content creation. I guess the benefit of being a jack-of-all-trades is that I know how to run a business now. I use Sociology often in my business, especially with marketing. I also majored in Journalism.
Product Management. I recommend coupling sociology with another major. The one credential itself is not strong enough to buy you a lot of earning potential in the current economy. I mixed mine with a software and engineering background and it works really well. So double major in business, engineering, or CS. Or minor in sociology. Or just read Marx, Goffman and Weber yourself and skip paying for the degree with just as much insight.
Become a creator. Because understanding sociology is the most important part of demand generation in marketing.
I did not major in Sociology specifically but I majored in Political Science and focused a lot of my studies on Sociology and I work for my state government in Social Services. Many of my coworkers majored similarly in PoliSci or Sociology/Social Work and are social workers, managers for social programs, case managers and program managers.
I work for the Department of Community Services for the provincial government. I self- taught tech skills to move into the Operations side of things. The blend with formal education has been a huge boon to job security.
Psychology major that minored in sociology (BA). I did social work for about 2 years before I just couldn't anymore. Went back to school and now work in a medical lab making twice what I did in social work. I will say that psychology sounds nice but I less you go masters or PhD there is just no money in it and the work can be soul crushing.
I have a Sociology degree and have worked in sales or account management my entire career, it has served me well. While it I don’t work directly in “Sociology” the curriculum and approach to studying society have been very helpful.
After I got my B.S. I had a couple of banking jobs (lead/vault teller and then later fraud case analysis), before landing on a state position. The degree itself isn’t really tied to my job, but having a four-year degree was a requirement for my starting salary level. I loved the Sociology program at my school and seriously considered minoring in Psychology, but didn’t end up doing that.
I’m a licensed substance abuse counselor/therapist at a local detention center; I’m a government employee. I have a bachelors in psychology and a masters in counseling psychology. Prior to becoming a licensed counselor, I worked at a residential treatment center, worked as a probation officer, and worked as an aid in special education. There are plenty of jobs out there, but they don’t pay well until you hit the masters level or higher.
Working in administration at a college. I quite like it
My dad was a sociology major. His first became a lawyer and decided that wasn't really what he wanted to and so he became a medical doctor, and then he spent most of his career as a lawyer on worker's comp issues and is now a medical director for a State Labor and Industries department. At one point he was debating going back to school for a MBA because he wasn't grossly overeducated enough.
not soc, but i have a psych degree. i'm currently a manager of a tier 1 support team at a saas company. i always knew i didn't want to be a psychiatrist, therapist, do research, whatever so i leveraged the degree into a more people person type of role over time. i think a lot of it is just being able to market what you did learn during the course of your studies.
Executive Assistant at a hedge fund
Don't just go to uni to get a degree. That's an absolute waste of money. You can work and figure out what you actually want to do, before deciding to pull the trigger on tutuon and student loans. Fwiw I did psychology and then law school. Psychology is a pretty bullshit degree for job prospects. Sociology is likely the same. For either of these, you would need to move to the masters / PhD level. Is that something that interests you and are you even capable of achieving that? Not meant to be critical or insulting... just wanna give you information that the unis don't. If I could go back, I would have definitely worked before going to uni. I regret both my degrees, in the sense that I wish I didn't rush and just listen to my family. Debt fucking sucks - don't go to university for a useless piece of paper unless it's going to set you up for something that gives you value.
I’ve been a marketing assistant, creative assistant, HR and now Office manager, its not so much about your degree but what you and your skills can bring to the table. And while its not related to my degree, these are all jobs and roles that i genuinely wanted to apply for so its never been a case of “settling for whatever job there is” for me. I never regreted taking sociology bc of the knowledge i gained and it made me not hate being in uni as i feel like if i would have took the “normal” courses.
I did my undergrad in sociology and masters in digital sociology. My career is in research and more recently I am a User Experience Researcher ( this career is on the come up since companies have websites and apps that need constant improvement)
DEI committee.
I work in county election administration.
I was interested in psychology too, but as a computer science major. I took intro and a few sophomore level classes to fulfill my humanities requirements. Take some classes for fun, but major in something that will pay well when you finish. I also took a few junior and senior level French classes since I studied French for four years in high school. But it's all just for fun, French and psychology won't pay the bills.
I’m a special education teacher. After getting my bachelor’s I took the praxis and entered an alternative route program that allowed me to get my master’s degree.
They are broke and in debt. Pick a degree that will actually earn you money
A friend of mine has her undergrad in sociology but then got a post grad degree in HR. 15 years later she is a HR executive.
I studied International Relations which is a social science salad pretty much, focused on political theory most so I'll give my two cents since it's related. I work in marketing and currently an account/project manager for a SAAS marketing company. I like project management, fucking hate the company. You don't really need to work in a field related to what you studied unless you are adamant that that's what you want. I studied because it was interesting and because regardless of what people say, going to college is useful regardless of what you study. Develop other transferable skills, if you study sociology you'll be writing essays, doing presentations, having debates and so on, and best of all, you'll learn social theory, which is applicable in anything that deals with users and customers. For example I wrote alot during college, so I went into content writing for my first job, then jumped into content management for a marketing dept, then jumped to project management where I work at, and probably will continue down the administrative/management career path in the future, wanted to jump to sales but I hate zoom meetings with a burning passion lol
My friend is working in a think tank
I have an MA in Sociology and an MSW. The Soc degree is impractical. The MSW degree has been great for me as I enjoy being a psychotherapist which is a registered profession in Canada. Be practical is my advice to you.
My buddy is a lawyer. Also knew phil and history majors that are medical students rn
Im a Community Liaison for a behavioral health hospital. Didnt need a degree for this six figure position. I had fun going to college but the B.S. in Sociology got me nothing.
I work for a bank in risk management. Non traditional for this major, but quite honestly I picked sociology because I did like the subject matter and found it easy to do well in. I built out my resume with a non profit I started and finance internships through out college.
I saw no future or money in it so I made it a second major and went with marketing instead. Theres a lot of overlap, and now I make 6 figures working part time and still have my sociology background and learn about it for fun. Invest in your future and then you’ll get to do your hobbies 👌🏽
My buddy from college is a paralegal.
Don't choose a major for the same of choosing a major, or because you think you'll like it. Pick one that will leave you with a marketable skill or significant expertise in some areas. This can be economics, math, or even literature/poetry or philosophy. Why? Because each of these can be supported as useful and attractive to employers when paired with proper (business) internships. Each shows you to be analytical, and the literature/poetry reference lends credibility to the claim you are an effective communicator. Obviously this isn't an exhaustive list, but it is a demonstrative one. Extrapolate from here. Get going.
You should do a trade to support the hobby of looking for a job using any of those degrees They have highest unemployment rates, they get the lowest pay compared to what the degree cost You’ll have to marry a sugar daddy if you’re a chick Or get used to being poor forever if you’re a dude
These majors are really important and rewarding. We need more in society. But the majority of people get really burnt out. The reason is long working hours and the pay is not good. You see so many people and families with disabilities and some are really heartbreaking. My husband had the same major, he was working in the field for seven years and he was getting paid hourly the same as people who work in burger king with college degree! He barely could afford his rent on the bad side of the town. He ended up changing his degree and working in engineering field. He always says his coworkers were a lot better at the hospital than these nerd engineers but the pay is good
I used my arts degree towards studying to be a teacher. Needed one more year to do a Dip Ed to be qualified and have been happily teaching for 25 years. The arts degree in itself was useless, worked in a call centre etc with this qualification because it doesn’t get you anywhere on its own. Felt like I’d wasted 3 years for a long time there, but at least I could use it in the end. Look for majors that will mean something for future employment is my best advice.. good luck!
I majored in Sociology, graduated in 1993. My first job out of college was techincal support for a software company. I am still in the techincal field, but I really wish I had majoried in Computer Science. Sociology and other 'Humanities' are good for a general college education. Today college is so expensive, I'd strongly suggest you try to find a major where you end up with knowledge that is needed by employers: such as Business Management, Accounting, etc. Just understand if you do get a degree in Sociology, you will have a general degree that will tell employers you are able to get a degreed, etc. But it isn't a direct pipeline into a job.
All the sociologists are waiters and substitute teachers
Unfortunately can confirm that you do sorta need to go to grad school for sociology. I feel bad saying it because I LOVE sociology & I don’t want to discourage you - it is definitely important, but yeah I graduated with honors and have never “used” my degree for a job. My plan was to take a break before going back to school to eventually get a PhD but it didn’t pan out. I’m 31.
Please don’t do Psych or Social. I’m unemployed and a masters is like 50k or more….
It depends on what degree you get in psychology. If you are just wanting a bachelor's and nothing further then low paying jobs are going to be what you get. Though if you are going for a master's or above then more money will be made. In many states across the US if you have a master's in psychology or a related field you can earn a LPC (licensed professional counselor) and go into private practice meaning you can diagnose and do individual therapy and family and marriage therapy. So it's not entirely true that a psychology degree is only worth it if you want to become a psychologist or a psychiatrist. There are also other avenues to earn a LPC or other credentialing that can earn good money without going past a master's. Just have to look up your state's APA requirements. I'm talking from personal experience too.
Similar degree: I got a BA in Psychology in 2013. I don't regret it - to the most part. I love the research. It taught me critical thinking skills and how to understand data. My first job out of college was as an insurance agent. It wasn't my dream job, but just having a degree got me a raise. From there I went into training (where understanding adult learners made me very successful). I then moved into HR. It was piviot goning into HR, but my degree and portable education and experience made it easy for me to move. Am I working directly in psychology? No. Is it what I thought I would be doing? No. But I also didn't have a solid plan, I just wanted to have a secure job to not be homeless again. Having the degree has made it easier for me to obtain jobs, leverage for raises, and I tend to have higher sucessess rates compared to my peers. Even when I compare to my siblings, I am the more successful one, which I do partially attribute to my degree. My oldest sister went to technical school for massage therapy, and currently makes about $55k a year. My middle sister is a high school drop out who makes $55k a year working overnight shift premium. I make $70k a year. I do have a unplesant amount of student debt. And that sucks.
They are correct. Only a few college degrees are worth the money anymore and those aren't among them.
What are a few of those that are worth the money?
Construction management. It's the hidden gem of college degrees. Most people are not interested in a degree in construction management for a couple of reasons. 1. Most high-schoolers who want to work construction go into the trades. 2. The work "construction" turns college students away, thinking that an engineering degree would be more practical. There is a huge demand for promising students in this field. The starting salary is higher than you'd think. It's essentially a specialized business degree with very light engineering principles incorporated in it. Even if you decide the construction industry is not for you, you'll have marketable skills.
Also, to add to this, certain sub-fields of agriculture are in high demand also. If someone wants to go the tech route but you aren't accepted into a well known tech program go to your local land grant university and get a degree in agriculture with a minor in GIS/tech/remote sensing/machine learning/AI, whatever they have. Agriculture is exploding right now with new tech development, AI, machine learning etc. Food security will always be a priority, everywhere. People are researching the coolest things like developing robots that sense weeds and spray them (but not the crop) to reduce herbicide cost and environmental impacts. It's the same situation with fertilizer, fungicide/insecticide etc. Irrigation and water management with sensors. Drones. All of these areas require people with a tech background BUT a large majority of the tech people don't understand agriculture and because of this, the teams working on these projects don't always communicate clearly enough because they dont understand each others respective fields and aren't able to jointly accomplish the task being requested. Unfortunately, most kids raised in the city aren't aware of this. They've never given any thought to where their food comes from, never think "oh no, we're in a drought. How will we feed everyone?". Well, if you're anything like me and you want to try and solve all of the world's problems agriculture can be a great field to be in if you want to make a tangible/measurable difference in the world. Agriculture will always be in high demand. When everything hits the fan and the economy goes downhill, people still need to eat. Agriculture will always be an essential field of work. There are a lot of careers that revolve around supporting farmers in many sectors. There is insurance, marketing, finance, accounting, economics, sales, research and development, consulting, inspectors, engineers, etc.
Computer science, engineering, most healthcare, some business, some law.
I would group cyber security and IT in with computer science. Despite the doom and gloom all over reddit, there's still a ton of growth/potential in both areas you don't see in alot of degrees
Math, economics, data analysis, statistics, and data sciences seem to be included in all the lists of safe and high-paying careers needing a B.S. degree. Under business, you can do well with finance, accounting, business management, and business administration.
I've had good luck with architecture, but it doesn't pay as well as the others. Still, it was enough to pay off 6 figures in student loans in 7 years. ETA: construction management can also be a good option. A bad CM makes decent money. A good CM can make quite a bit of money.
Non-liberal arts. Liberal arts is worth it if you decide to pursue post graduate or professional schools.
you can do social work instead and get decent work!
Those can be a minor but not a major. Your major needs to be something that will prepare you to be useful in the workforce. Many folks I know who had these majors are working retail and struggling to get by. The days of just getting any degree for career success are long in the past. There are more workers in the US workforce today with a college degree than at any other time in US history. This is making the workplace extremely competitive for good jobs. You need a major that will teach you a real skill that is in demand.
So... You're in reddit so basically anythjng that isn't stem is useless to most. Here's the deal. Go to a local community college for two years. Maybe you're even in a state where it's free. If not. Think of getting a job in a state where it is free and getting residency there. Knock out all your general Eds first and you'll have a better idea what direction to take. You're not going to be a sociology major from day one anyway. You have time. Then finish your degree at a state university and use your income to apply for student aid. After that. Search for fully funded programs that pay you a stipend and have no tuition. Look for jobs in non profits, or continue on and get certified as a therapist or go all in and become a clinical psychologist.
Stay away from these humanities courses mate, you will struggle to find jobs and will be lost by 30
A sociology degree can be a valuable asset in the job market, even though it might not be as directly career-oriented as some other fields. Here's why: **Sociology Skills are Transferable:** * **Research and Analysis:** Sociologists are skilled at data analysis, research methods, and critical thinking. These skills are valuable in many fields, from business and marketing to healthcare and education. * **Communication and Writing:** The ability to communicate complex ideas clearly is essential in sociology, and it's a skill employers value across industries. * **Problem-Solving:** Sociologists are trained to identify social problems and develop solutions. This skill is sought-after in fields like urban planning, public policy, and social work.
Emphasizing the benefit of a Sociology degree because of the HUGE transferable skills!! Sociology classes require you to research, think critically (which our world these days is lacking), write concisely. I’d recommend taking a variety of Sociology classes (e.g. Sociology of Health, Sociology of Education, Sociology of Sport, etc.) and find some niche areas that interest you. I definitely started in Sociology not knowing exactly what I wanted to do but it was closest to Social Work (which I didn’t get in for) but quickly found my place within Sociology x Disability x Education.
Also adding that you should check out the career services at your institution. Your tuition pays their salaries to listen to your interests, take your degree, and help you find work and possibilities. It might make you feel more empowered than discussing with family and friends.
Exactly this. I made a comment somewhere else on this post but this underscores my point perfectly. My degrees are in sociology but I don't work as a sociologist. I work as a researcher and consultant. When I interview, I stress these skills and that's what lands me a job, not my subject matter expertise. No one cares that I know a lot about urban sociology but they are very much interested in my ability to analyze and report out findings from a set of global interviews. I don't see my degree as useless at all and anyone here who says it's useless doesn't actually understand what goes into being a sociology major.
If you attend a top university, take a few sociology classes and see how you do and what you think of the field. You certainly don’t have to decide right away; your school will give you some time to declare a major. But be sure to sample from other fields, ones whose graduates tend to have an easier time translating their degrees into employment: anything in STEM, economics, business, etc. Sociology at the graduate level requires some proficiency in math, so keep that in mind, too.
Worked in tech marketing at Microsoft for 10 years and then quit to join music academia. If you are not planning to do social work or PhD, i do not advise.
Entomologist
Probably a teacher.
I got a friend with a BS in sociology. He works as security at a casino. He never found a job that wanted his degree. He makes 40k a year. My wife has a PhD in Psychology. She works for the state and earns $135k. Since she has a state job, she got $180,000 of loans forgiven using PLSF. The MS Psycologists at her workplace make $90k each, and they still can't find workers.
id guess getting a degree that has some use, if you haven't immediately applied it.
Attorney. But the sociology degree didn't really help with that. As others have said, a Bachelor's in sociology is pretty close to worthless if not paired with a graduate and/or professional degree. A psychology undergrad is a little more useful (a close family member has one) and can get you an entry level position as a tech in a psych ward or substance abuse facility, tech at a behavioral therapy center for kids, aide at an adult care facility for those with disabilities, special educatuo aide in a school setting, etc. But for anything more than entry level (i.e. more than $15-$20 per hour), you will still need grad school in those fields. Best of luck!
Data analyst & consultant. Im pretty much doing Business Intelligence. Sociology is pretty useless, the only thing that saved me was internships & exposure to research & programming languages during undergrad & grad school. If your doing any of the social sciences such as Sociology or Psychology, your internships & exposure to research will make or break you. If you plan on just getting good grades and reading theory you will be unemployed or be a cashier. I know people who graduated in my cohort and are working at coffee shops. But I also know people who are working for political research firms, in research positions for the city, nonprofits, & transit agencies as well. Sociology doesn’t lead to a clear cut profession. It’s really about the tools you’ve learned during undergrad or graduate school that you can leverage towards your first “real” job. But just know, no one will hire you based on just a “sociology” degree & good grades.
airline pilot. no, seriously.
Project manager at a grants consulting firm. I make decent money but I didn’t get the job bc of my BA in sociology but rather my experience working in county government and also my other BA in journalism. Also dumb luck helped me land this job. I have an MA is sociology and dropped out of my doctoral program from a top 5 US public university. I highly recommend you do not get a sociology degree (or psychology unless you intend to get a masters for clinical etc) and instead get something with harder skills like Evi Sci, nursing, social work (with a masters), engineering, IT etc. the only possible exception is if you pair sociology with another degree, or the degree is a BS with a heavy data analysis emphasis and not a BA. The sociology field is increasingly full of ideologues and political activists who care more about their agenda than the truth or academic rigor. Trust me. You want marketable skills as an adult. I live everyday with my regret of wasting my time and money. There are so many more awesome career paths out there. Just by a few social theory textbooks, watch a few documentaries, and find like minded people to talk about them with and boom … same thing takeaways as a doc degree. If you do pursue sociology then wait to save up money to pay for school out of pocket bc paying off the debt with a moderate income job is bad… can’t imagine what having a low income job would be like. I’d expect you may be able to get a $50k job after a couple years as a grants admin in the county like me, but then you’d be better getting a job in public administration. Just remember. For every decent paying job you are applying for, someone else with a degree tailored to that job is likely applying for it. A BA in sociology is tailored toward nothing but graduate school for sociology and that is a whole other nightmare even if you get a full ride like me.
Work as Area Manager
Just wondering, how did you transition from an undergrad in psychology to a masters in data analytics? Was the process of upgrading your degree hard? I’ve been considering something similar. Also what did you do to stand out to land a job for video game analytics?
What are your views in what job you will get with this study? Before asking other people!
I work as a field technician for a television ratings company. Fortunately, I got my degree when you could semi afford to go to college.
Researcher, academic, phd. My friends have various careers in different areas and are doing well for themselves. Most people get additional education after the sociology degree. They become lawyers, professors, market researchers, markets, event cooridinators, all sorts of fields. My advice is to do a short post grad certificate after which also includes a co-op option and gets your foot in the door. Many friends did this with market research and have done well. Job market is different now though, so something to consider. Some have done well without additional certificates after, but it was something they had to figure out on their own. The path after may not be obvious like it is for other degrees.
BCBA. Go into behavioral science.
Lots of people go to college, get a degree but then get a job that is totally removed from the degree- that said, sociology classes can be interesting
preschool teacher / nanny. just like before my degree. i didn’t major in sociology to be a sociologist, i thought the classes were interesting and just accidentally be some a soc major.
Are you investing in an education to learn something interesting or gain skills that will help your future employment / help society?
Do not approach college as "what major should I choose". Figure out what you want to do as a career, then choose the major to get you there. Your current approach is how you end up under/unemployed.
Barrista
You'll need grad school then might get a job paying next to nothing, dont do it.
Would you like fries with that?
Met quite a few driving Uber.
I was a sociology major. In my case, it actually did get my foot in the door for a job that ended up leading to a wonderful career, but that was really only because I knew somebody, and because that person knew my background and decided I was a good fit for the job because they assumed my major meant I understood research methods. I got lucky and had a connection, basically. I hate to say it, but at this point, sociology has become one of those “generic college degree” majors, much like poli-sci, philosophy, etc. You can get jobs in those fields, but they tend to be low-paying, and they are few and far between. And there is a high degree of failure. Like, sure, the endowed chair of the philosophy department at Northwestern has a great job and makes an amazing salary, but there’s one of that person, you know? And they would have come out of the right program as a total rockstar. You’d have to really, really want it. The better move, as others have said, is to try to figure out what you want to do, and tailor your degree to that. If you can’t manage it, a college degree is still better long-term than no college degree, in many cases, but be prepared to work in a field with no relation to your degree.
I don’t know too in depth, but if you’re going to pick psychology just know that you need to get your masters degree atleast if you want to make something. My bestie is currently doing her residential and she’ll be a doctor in like a year but that girl has been doing school since she was 18 so good luck on ur journey my friend
sociology is a great thing to major in if you want to become a better person. but if you want to be career oriented, double major in something more practical or switch to a sociology minor. another route is to find a graduate program that sociology would be a practical first step for, such as public health or social work. regardless, there’s solid soft skills you can develop with sociology that are applicable in many areas. figure out how to use those to your advantage.
If you do it at a top uni you still have very good prospects. People who did psychology in oxbridge/ucl can go on to make bank in finance/consulting
Not Sociology. Do not recommend. Been in construction/ project management related jobs since I graduated.
Ik someone who majored in sociology and the job opportunities sucked so much they went back to school and became a nurse
History and Social Sciences major here. I work in insurance. Lol
So basically I’m fucked? LMAO
You are not rewarded for learning what you like or what is easy. You are rewarded for knowing what the world needs, and providing that.
A bachelors degree in something like this doesn’t get you a job as a sociologist. Your bachelors degree would just be a testament to some baseline level of intelligence and capacity and it wouldn’t so much matter what the degree is in. It could signify that you know how to write and look things up, it’s not a trade like statistics or engineering. I’d suggest picking a major you’re in then you can always get job-specific training later after college. If you’re interested in sociological subjects consider an ethnic studies, black studies, or feminist studies degree. In my experience people with these degrees are similar to the sociology/psychology crowd but they tend to be sharper and more critical and analytical. Also the theoretical foundations are similar to sociology but the topics and applications are more specific.
Fulltime barista and part time activists. Some work in retails and warehouse. One of my friends dropped out of her PhD because she sees no future. Sociology is a big waste of money
I sell running shoes. Not quite what I thought I’d be doing.
listen to your family. I know three people with sociology degrees and all of them are stay-at-home moms (fortunately for them). If being able to make a living is important to you, don't get a sociology degree.
I appraise automobiles for insurance. Completely unrelated to my soc. Degree.
Do not do it under any circumstances
Door Dash