Sociology

Studying sociology opens up a range of careers in areas such as welfare, education, social research, and local and central government

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Advice worker
• Community development worker
• Equality, diversity and inclusion officer
• Further education teacher
• Higher education lecturer
• Housing manager/officer
• Market researcher
• Policy officer
• Secondary school teacher
• Social researcher

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Barrister
• Charity officer
• Civil Service administrator
• Civil Service Fast Streamer
• Counsellor
• Health service manager
• International aid/development worker
• Learning mentor
• Local government officer
• Marketing executive
• Newspaper journalist
• Police officer
• Probation officer
• Social worker
• Youth worker

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

It's important to get some work experience to find out if you would enjoy a particular career and to put your academic skills and knowledge into practice.

Look for volunteering or work experience opportunities with organisations and businesses that you're interested in working for, or that will help you develop the skills relevant to your career interests. For example, volunteering opportunities exist in schools, community education and social work departments, or with groups including young people, victims of crime or homeless people.

Some sociology degrees offer a year out in industry, providing an opportunity to get real-life experience working for a government organisation, NGO, charity or social enterprise, for example.

If you're looking for a career in an area such as law or the Civil Service, internships offer the chance for more structured work experience. Competition for places is strong, so research the company well before applying.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

You may be thinking of entering a career in areas such as education, welfare, criminal justice youth, social or care work, or local and national government. Typical employers in these areas include:

• charitable and voluntary organisations
• counselling services
• law firms
• local and central government
• the NHS
• police, prison and probation services
• schools, colleges and universities
• social and market research organisations.

However, there are also opportunities with a range of other employers in the public and private sector. They include:

• commercial and industrial companies
• banking and financial organisations
• advertising, marketing and PR firms
• media, publishing and communication companies.

Opportunities also exist on a range of graduate management training schemes.

Find information on employers in charity and voluntary work, public services and administration, social care and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

Studying sociology helps you develop a range of skills valued by employers, including research, communication, creative thinking, problem solving and analytical skills. You learn to:

• appreciate the complexity and diversity of social situations
• develop a cross-cultural understanding of the world
• apply sociological theory to society's organisations, including schools, hospitals and offices
• research and evaluate complex information
• use critical thinking skills to make reasoned arguments
• apply social research methods, analysis and statistical techniques
• develop opinions and new ideas on societal issues
• work collaboratively as part of a team on projects
• think creatively and independently in order to understand, scrutinise and re-assess common perceptions of the social world
• relate sociological knowledge to social, public and civic policy
• organise your work and meet deadlines.

Further study

You may consider going on to further study at Masters level in order to specialise in an area of sociology that interests you, such as public, social or healthcare policy, digital media and society, public administration or social research.

It's also possible to study for a research Masters or PhD, which opens up opportunities to work in research.

Some sociology graduates undertake further study and training to move into careers such as:

• counselling
• information management
• journalism
• law
• probation work
• social work
• teaching
• youth work.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses in sociology.

What do sociology graduates do?

Police officers (sergeant and below) (7%), welfare and housing associate professionals (6%), national government administrative occupations (3%), HR officers (3%), care workers and home carers (2%), advertising and marketing associate professionals (2%), educational support assistants (2%) and youth and community workers (2%) are all among the top ten jobs held by sociology graduates.

For a detailed breakdown of what sociology graduates are doing after graduation, see What do graduates do?

Graduate Outcomes survey data from HESA.