Sociology in the Workplace
Employers continue to seek people with what are called “transferable skills.” This means that they want to hire people whose knowledge and education can be applied in a variety of settings and whose skills will contribute to various tasks.
Studying sociology can provide people with this wide knowledge and a skill set that can contribute to many workplaces, including
• an understanding of social systems and large bureaucracies; • the ability to devise and carry out research projects to assess whether a program or policy is working; • the ability to collect, read, and analyze statistical information from polls or surveys; • the ability to recognize important differences in people’s social, cultural, and economic backgrounds; • skills in preparing reports and communicating complex ideas; and • the capacity for critical thinking about social issues and problems that confront modern society.
Sociology prepares people for a wide variety of careers. Besides actually conducting social research or training others in the field, people who graduate from college with a degree in sociology are hired by government agencies and corporations in fields such as social services, counseling (e.g., family planning, career, substance abuse), community planning, health services, marketing, market research, and human resources. Even a small amount of training in sociology can be an asset in careers like sales, public relations, journalism, teaching, law, and criminal justice.
