The first thought which comes to any person's mind when they hear about studying sociology is “What will he/she do with it”. Sociology, when done with proper planning and execution, can be useful in all kinds of industries. It can also be a strong foundation for graduate studies.

How sociology prepares you for the Job Market?

Sociology is a subject that makes you learn to think critically about social phenomena and social problems. It is a very broad field. It is open for study, criminology, work roles, family, deviance, public policy, social inequality, group interaction, and many more.

Sociology is the study of society and people and how they interact with each other. It has a strong focus on finding answers to complex questions with the help of research, data analysis, and high-level thinking. Sociology graduates enter the job market with an extra advantage because the degree hones an array of practical skills that are valuable to many fields and career options. 

1. Critical Thinking and problem-solving – Sociology teaches how to research and collect data and how to analyse it to come up with valuable insights. This is how critical thinking and problem-solving is taught to them.

2. Communication skills – Communication skills are learned because of the course in sociology. They adapt their communication to a variety of audiences.

3. Leadership – Leadership is an important skill that sociology students gain during their course. 

4. Data collection and analysis – Sociology students learn how to ethically collect and analyse data and develop skills that are used to manage and understand large information. 

5. Computer Literacy – Since sociology needs data and research, students gain high-level computer skills. 

6. Interpersonal and cross-cultural skills – Sociology teaches how important it is to understand the context and messages while working with a diverse field. 

7. Research skills – Sociology students easily learn the correct information from reputable courses while developing an argument. This is important when everyone has got lots of information and some of it is not rooted. Research skill goes hand in hand with critical thinking along with data analysis. 

The knowledge of sociology helps Guidance Counsellors to help students navigate academics. They help the families to devise methods to support student achievement. Through the use of interview and counselling methods, guidance counsellors help students to make academics and career choices. 

Another place where these guidance counsellors contribute is to solve social problems within schools through problem-solving skills. They explain social issues like substance abuse, safer sex, and bullying by group sessions and instruct students. 

By 2030, this career is expected to see a growth of 8%.

The main requirement to be an effective Human Resource Representative is by showing finesse in their interaction with a huge range of groups and individuals. They should be able to assess the suitability of candidates for the jobs. The study of sociology also teaches interviewing skills that are needed for evaluation. 

Problem-solving skills are used to meditate conflicts and help to resolve personnel issues. Analytical and decision-making skills are used to evaluate employee's benefit from the human resources representatives. 

The expected job growth in this sector is 5% by 2030. 

A lawyer requires no introduction to the job market. They use critical thinking and analytical skills to litigate and research their cases. Areas like adoption, child custody, divorce, worker compensation, etc. are all related to sociology. 

Lawyers need to gather evidence and facts to support their notes which is similar to sociology. Their finding needs to be in a compelled manner to be able to convince a judge, jury, or opposing attorney. This work has similarities to the presentations in sociology. 

The expected growth is 6% by 2030.

Management Consultants are required to analyse issues, research remedied or enhancements, and present the solutions to the clients. New sociology graduated start in positions like a research assistant, junior consultant, or research analyst and support the senior staff. 

Sociology students develop qualitative and quantitative research skills which help to understand business problems and they generate solutions too.

Writing and public speaking skills are also showcased while presenting analysis and solutions. 

Jobs are expected to rise to 14% by 2030. 

The main job of a Market Research Analyst is to evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing campaigns by testing products and services. They use statistical methods to analyse data with the help of their sociology knowledge. 

The knowledge of sociology enables the Market Research Analyst to understand group processes and communication skills to focus on group interaction and conduct interviews with the consumers. 

There is an expected growth of 20% by the year 2030. 

The work of a Media Planner involves the assessment of the advertising needs of clients. They help in designing a media plan use in enhancing the sales to all groups. Similar to sociology graduates, they need to interpret research and analyse the preferences of the target population. 

Aided by the knowledge of sociology, media planners study the characteristics of the groups and help in selecting the best possible media to advertise. 

Issues that affect the public are researched by Policy Analyst. Legislation is recommended to address these problems. Sociology knowledge helps them to assess the impact of legislation on social problems. 

Sociology students have the foundation to understand issues like poverty, welfare, job training, substance abuse, education, gay marriage, etc. 

The main skill required by a Public Relations Specialist is Ultimate Communicators. With the help of Sociology, their ability to understand the audience and cater to its attitudes, preference, and needs is enhanced. Writing skills are essential for drafting high-impact press releases.

Interpersonal skills are also needed as a Public Relations Specialist to talk to media and cover their stories. 

Employment for public relations representatives is expected a growth of 6% by 2030. 

The knowledge of social institutions and social dynamics learned as a sociology student helps social workers to assess client issues and solve their issues.

Other skills are active listeners and verbal communication skills which are essential. 

A wonderful growth of 11% is expected by the year 2030.

A survey researcher measures attitudes and opinions in areas like social and political issues, culture, health, and others. They compose the survey questions required to elicit answers. They use data collection and statistical techniques learned by sociology graduates. Their reports are written and presented to share their findings. 

If you are a sociology student, please remember that many jobs and career options are waiting for you. You need to explore them and find out jobs that suit your personality.

More about jobs and careers of the future can be found on Acadru which opens many multi-disciplinary learning for all students.