# What the hell am I going to do with a Sociology Degree?



## Psychedelic Gleam

Someone please tell me...

I swear studying liberal arts has dropped my IQ substancially.


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## protovack

I'm assuming you mean undergrad...if so, you can do anything.  It doesn't matter what you get your degree in.  You could go to law school, med school, anything.  Unless you want to be a sociology professor, in which case you should go to grad school.


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## satricion

Where are you from?

What you're being trained to do is critically analyse social processes and write about them.  So what you'll end up doing is writing and analysing.  Working for the government, political parties, NGO's, whatever...anyone who needs someone with a proven sharp mind, knowledge about the world and the ability to write.

Or you could do what I'm doing which is shoot for a Phd and hope to become the next Habermas or Foucault or something.


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## Omega Waves

Teachers in my high school advised kids against taking sociology degrees because they generally don't do much.  Unless there is a specific job you are looking at that said you needed that degree, I don't really know what to tell you besides start looking for jobs in a seemingly unrelated field that just require a degree.  If I went back to school, it would be to learn something that I could use to start my own research or business - you could always look at ways of using the information you are learning to employ yourself.

Or you could also look at teaching in Asia for a bit (if you like the idea of travelling - it will help pay off the debt you no doubt accumulated) and then decide what you really want to do with the rest of your life.  

"You could go to law school, med school, anything."

I think the idea is not to have to go to do MORE school.  For the most part, an undergraduate degree doesn't do too much in this world - in any subject.  It's a really expensive piece of paper.  University kids are the ones who really have to struggle with no promise of a future or fully accept being a tool for society to get anywhere.  College kids tend to get right into the industry.

I just dropped out of international development studies - it is a course which explains how bad the large government institutions are, but those are pretty much the only places you can get a job in afterwards.  Its a shitty road to travel, this education thing - I felt more limited in my life while going to school - now I feel I have so many options open again.  (Not that I promote the idea of dropping out of education)


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## protovack

> I think the idea is not to have to go to do MORE school. For the most part, an undergraduate degree doesn't do too much in this world - in any subject.


Well, with a sociology degree I think you would WANT to pursue more school.  What else are you going to do?  For many professional career paths, you just need a degree, in anything.  I got my bachelor's in Political Science, and I'm going into medicine.  It really does not matter what you get your degree in, unless you are going into something like engineering, architecture, comp sci, etc.  In those tracks, your undergrad education is considered essential to developing fundamental skills in the field.  Most times, engineering majors get hired right out of undergrad.  

A sociology degree is different.  There is not a whole lot that a sociology degree qualifies you for right out of school.  However, it opens a lot of doors to further education.  For example, professional tracks like law, medicine, education, etc.  Also, social work and policy analysis. 

I mean, if you just want to work at the cell phone store, by all means quit now.  But never sell yourself short - there are tons of options.


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## who_can_say

I did an Arts degree, and I think the point of them is meant to be acrewing skills that you can move into any position rather than what your actual major was. I would go do postgraduate study and try and find something you like.


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## AmorRoark

My vote goes to law school but I'm biased.


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## ebola?

>>
Or you could do what I'm doing which is shoot for a Phd and hope to become the next Habermas or Foucault or something.>>

Let it be known that you have competition.

...
Yeah, I have a sociology degree...and I'm in a PhD program.  Truth be told, I was somehow destined to go to grad school in something and enter academia, so I'm probably the wrong guy to ask about how to practically apply your degree.

ebola


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## protovack

^^^
Chances are if the OP is asking "what the hell am I doing to do with a Sociology degree" he is not going into academia.  That sounds like a question I would ask!


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## Jamshyd

I have an unimpressive degree in sociology (that would not allow me to continue with anything grad-related). As-is, it is a very useless degree... even as asswhipe. 

So my plan right now is to go teach (english) abroad. When I get a couple of years of experience under my belt, I garantee this as an option. Perhaps you may want to try that?

I might after that return to university and do a new degree with something that I can actually use and that I have discovered to be what I do best: languages and translation. Perhaps even ethnolinguistics or journalism.

But other wise, a Sociology BA is simply useful as "a university degree", and would not do much on its own.

Do you wonder now why Sociology was born with a study called "Suicide"? ;-)


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## WildLtn

The above answers are great, but the days of getting a degree and someone handing you a job are long gone. An BA shows you can jump through hoops, unless you choose to further your education; as some people have suggested.

Rather than generalizing, why don't you (Psychedelic Gleam) tell us what caught your interest in Sociology. Was there a class that you had a passion for?

I work at a college and degrees like English (my field), Anthropology, and Sociology, tend to be dead end fields unless you are in academia doing research.


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## skywise

satricion said:
			
		

> Or you could do what I'm doing which is shoot for a Phd and hope to become the next Habermas or Foucault or something.



If your arguments for determinism are anything to go by, you'll have to work on your logic a bit first!  

To the OP.  Pretty much like everyone else said, you can pursue just about whatever you want.  I'm graduating with a philosophy degree and already have starting racking up business management experience.  Of course, I'm not positive that's the field I want to go into after college but the point is that a lot of places (whether they be jobs or grad/law schools) just want someone with a degree, regardless of what it is.


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## The_Idler

why would one choose to study sociology?
there seems to be a correlation between people who study sociology and people who pick an area of study without knowing anything about it, or the potential use of the qualification.
It could be that people who DO find out about a course before taking it, would not study sociology, or it could be that people who want to study sociology would not have the initiative to find out what its good for.
anyway, id say go for another degree. maybe psychology (maybe to masters), or you know, some other useful, recognised qualification.

EDIT:
UNLESS you want to go straight into a business, using your degree as proof of proficiency and some level of intelligence (if not qualification), and join on some reasonably paid, probably middle-managerial role.


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## 9mmCensor

Psychedelic Gleam said:
			
		

> I swear studying liberal arts has dropped my IQ substancially.


Quite possible the good thing though is that your "IQ" is irrelevant.


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## The_Idler

9mmCensor said:
			
		

> Quite possible the good thing though is that your "IQ" is irrelevant.


and he says hes studying sociology.....


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## StagnantReaction

......... Oh crap.

*switches major*


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## The_Idler

maybe its different in the USA, but here in england when people say they are sudying sociology the usual response is "Why?!?", 
to which they reply EITHER "dunno actually", or "its easy".


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## ebola?

>>maybe its different in the USA, but here in england when people say they are sudying sociology the usual response is "Why?!?",
to which they reply EITHER "dunno actually", or "its easy".>>

So "it turns out that I am interested in how commodity fetishism affects subjectivation in modern societies" is an outlier response?"


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## satricion

I started out doing psychology, but now I'm doing my honours in sociology with plans to do a phd next year.

Why?

Because sociology is a rigorous, engaged discipline answering real world questions about human life and society in ways that have the potential to improve our lives.

As to 'it's easy'...well...psychology is definitely, definitely easier than sociology.  The arrogance of psychology with regards to the validity of it's paradigm and the strength of its truth claims makes psych much less rigorous than sociology, and much easier to study, because you never have to question the epistemological foundations of what you're trying to do.  I mean, I used to get top marks for psych courses that I hadn't attended at all because all that was required was a week of rote learning before the exam.  And the standard of writing expected was so low that anyone who can get a 70 in a sociology essay would blow psych lecturers away with their capacity to do crazy things like 'argue a point'...


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## The_Idler

i am impressed.

tbh i was ignorant no to investigate myself what a sociology degree entailed....
sounds interesting-

unfortunately the courses offered for A level are not so engaging, or rigorous - which definitely encourages enrollment by some of the lazier (or less self-confident) candidates.

Im not saying the discipline of sociology is useless and pointless, im saying it often attracts the wrong people for the wrong reasons, and a lot of the time people who take any kind of course in sociology dont plan on working in the field, so there are lots of people who want to join a business, with a sociology degree/A level that would be irrelevant to the position. 

i suppose once youre doin masters, or PhD then it would imply some actual genuine interest.

But, the point remains, there are a lot of people who (for example) do a degree in sociology and then say "What the hell am I going to do with a Sociology degree?"
and this does not portray a positive image for those studying sociology.


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## Jamshyd

To answer your question, Idler:

I took an intro. soc. course the first year. I was in university for psychology. I ended up _hating_ psych and found sociology to just "come naturally" if you may. The only other thing at the time that did as well was religious studies, so I picked sociology because it was slightly less useless .

In all honesty though, I am currently sick of it, and would not really want to spend blood and tears on a graduate work. I did have to face the "oh shit, this is going nowhere" thing in my 3rd year of university. Its a horrible feeling especially that by that time it would be too late to change programs (hard as I tried), and too wasteful to drop out...

It seems my interests have shifted towards something like amateur archaeology, so I might consider taking up Tomb Raiding


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## satricion

^^
Hehe.

Well go and do anthropology or something then...goes perfectly with a sociology degree for a start.


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## mentaldentrising

In your case some kind of Masters in criminal justice is the path to quicker paychecks.

And hella cheaper.


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## protovack

> Because sociology is a rigorous, engaged discipline answering real world questions


Depends on the sociologist.  Are you researching job availability in poor urban areas? Or are you stuck in a pit of epistemological muck? 



> The arrogance of psychology with regards to the validity of it's paradigm and the strength of its truth claims makes psych much less rigorous than sociology


 As if constantly doubting your "epistemology" is necessarily rigorous! Maybe it is better to avoid constructing strict frameworks for meaning. Remember people do construct their own meaning...and academic sociology is just one avenue among many for putting "meaning to experience."

But to readdress the original question, look at the core issue here.  We go to college to enrich our minds and prepare ourselves for a productive life in which we add something to the collective "humanity."  If you believe you will be better able to contribute to humanity by possessing an in-depth knowledge of sociology, then go for it.  Maybe you'd like to do research on social movements, or even start one of your own.  Maybe you want to do social work or participate in government designing social support systems that do the most good. The point is, a sociology degree does not necessarily mean you will become a professional "sociologist" but you will draw upon your experience.



> Protovak did polictical science? Nice move into medicine against all the premeds


Heh, I ranked high in my ochem class too   3 years ago I asked myself, "What the hell am I going to do with a Political Science degree?"  Answer: nothing specific, just move on and pursue a career in something interesting outside of academia.  I just assumed this is what most people do.


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## ebola?

>>Depends on the sociologist. Are you researching job availability in poor urban areas? Or are you stuck in a pit of epistemological muck?>>

We need to clear the epistemological muck to get valid statements off the ground. 

>>As if constantly doubting your "epistemology" is necessarily rigorous! >>

If rigor is to be valuable, what is it other than auto-critique?

ebola


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## Curious Quetzal

Ugh, i know how you feel.
I'm 15 credits short of attainiing an undergraduate 'Religious Studies' degree.  
I did learn a good bit in school and I met some cool professors and made some new friends.  Additionally, I learned how to think in a more critical fashion.  

HOWEVER, I haven't been in school since February when I simply just stopped going to classes.  
What the hell am I going to do with a degree in Religious Studies?  I have a spiritual side in my life, but I wouldn't feel comfortable going into a religious career....

I see what you mean about the lib studies classes.  I have an entire year to go with school because I need to complete two upper level language classes.  All my other classes have to be lib studies as well.  What the fuck, it's nice that they want the masses to be well-rounded, but it's such a distraction.  

Lately I've been wondering what a degree in school is for anyways.  Sure it prepares you for the 'real world' but what does that mean?  
Private property, a nice car, a tv...?   
It feels like so much of the real world (in the US) is a capitalist dream gone awry, where the masses slave away their lives in terrifyingly dull lower class white color work.  

I have a friend who graduated with honorary degrees in Poli-Sci and Computer Science.  Today he delivers pizza for minimum wage. 

At the moment I'm doing organic farming internships and trying to see what kind of conservation work I can do.  Maybe I'll find some 'career' in those fields.  

To answer your question, pretty much all I've heard from Sociology majors is: "Well I guess I'm going to do social work."

Which isn't necessarily a good or bad thing.   

Sorry if I rambled incoherently.


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## ebola?

>>Go to grad school.>>

Watch out!  This might form a closed feedback loop. 

ebola


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## Opi_Kid_Rock

The ability to think, write, and speak within the social sciences and liberal arts can be easily transferred to Sales, Management, or caring for people if you possess the other dimension of being able to relate to others.

I’m speaking from personal experience.


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## AbbeyLee

There is such a thing as learning for learning's sake  But as @Opi_Kid_Rock says "the ability to think, write and speak.." is always useful. Sometimes you just have to think outside the square.


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## Xorkoth

There are many jobs where some undergraduate degree - ANY undergrad degree - is a prerequisite.  So you've got something valuable there.  For example, at my job, the survey programmers/data analysts all do coding (I use that term loosely - they use a survey platform and it requires a limit amount of coding knowledge, but they mostly just copy and paste snippets and modify them, rather than truly understanding what they're doing, except for one guy who is making n effort and getting better).  Not a one of them has a degree in computer science.  One was a music major, one was a political science major, and the other was... a sociology major.  They're all making pretty good money considering they don't actually have degrees in computer science.  

Just an example.  No undergrad degree is truly useless.


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## thegreenhand

Xorkoth said:


> Not a one of them has a degree in computer science.


that's kinda jarring ngl


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