Careers in Sociology

If you have an interest in helping others, making the world a better place, justice, or ensuring the health and safety of those unable to look after themselves, you might consider careers in sociology. Sociology is a broad field encompassing research and academics; direct care and social work; victims' rights and recovery, and a number of other related fields. Here, briefly, is a look at some of the career tracks available to those considering careers in sociology.

Direct Care

Direct care careers in sociology include social workers, case managers, home health work, substance abuse counselors, and protective services personnel, among others. Direct care providers can be office based, or work in the field. Healthcare clinics and mobile service providers serving the mentally ill, homeless, or mentally retarded often employ folks with a background in sociology as they provide the support and assistance needed by their target populations.

In these settings, you could provide something as simple and critical as good nutrition, or could provide medications, medical care, or counseling. Some of this work also involves tracking services provided and filling out reams upon reams of paperwork in order to help you clients and your agency access resources and funds available to help.

Education and Outreach

Beyond the obvious careers as guidance counselors in schools, sociology professors, and school teachers, careers in sociology pertaining to education and outreach include outreach specialists who reach out to many different target populations with a social or public health message. AIDS educators, domestic violence prevention specialists, various issues-based acting and performance troupes, or shaken baby prevention educators all scour the nation's towns and villages, reaching out to those most at risk for their issues of interest. This is good, but sometimes heartbreaking work, and it rarely pays well.

Victims' Rights, Recovery, and Prevention

There's some overlap with other areas here, but victims' rights, recovery, and prevention is critical work within sociology. Substance abuse counselors, suicide hotline specialists, adult and child protective service investigators, meth clinic counselors, and battered women shelter workers all fall under this broad umbrella.

Activism and Social Justice

This crew is perhaps the loudest of the bunch, but so important. These are the protest organizers, the media strategists, the lobbyists – the folks who make sure that we don't ever forget about the injustices and the needy within our ranks. Social justice careers are exhausting, and unless one cultivates the right attitude of valuing baby steps and finding some satisfaction simply in keeping their issues visible, burnout levels can be pretty high. At issue is that social justice issues are addressed by society over years and decades, not hours and days. This pace can create in social justice professionals a perception that they are trying to hold back the ocean. Slow and steady is the right attitude here!

Careers in sociology are every bit as varied and important as they seem. If you're an idealist, a caretaker, or have a driving passion to help make things better for individuals, groups, or our greater society, perhaps this niche is right for you.