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Research as Employment Opportunity

16 February, 2016 - 11:56

There are many potential jobs out there for people with knowledge about how to conduct research. In fact, one of my very first jobs as a college graduate with a BA in sociology was at an evaluation research firm that hired me specifically because of the knowledge I’d gained in my college research methods class. While there, I worked as a data-collection coordinator, helping in the evaluation of local domestic violence shelters and transitional housing sites by administering satisfaction surveys to residents. I also helped collect data for a study on community member’s thoughts and feelings about where they lived by conducting telephone interviews with a random sample of people who lived in the area. (This last project made me much more sensitive than I’d previously been to survey researchers who do cold-calling.) Without a background in research methods, I would not have been hired for this position.

Upon graduation from college, you, too, may enjoy the benefits of employment thanks to having learned social science research methods in college. Some current jobs of sociologists I know include jobs doing research in pharmaceutical companies to understand the social consequences of medications, conducting research for lobbying organizations, working in human resources, and so on. Other recent undergraduate sociology majors went on to conduct market research in the advertising industry, work for the United States Census and other federal government positions, and even help with the collection of data for large social science studies such as the General Social Survey (http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/GSS+Website/About+GSS). Understanding research methods is important in all these jobs and careers. In addition, in 2009 the Wall Street Journal reported findings from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau showing that among 200 professions, sociologists have the eighth best job in the world (Needleman, 2009). 1 So now you should have more knowledge about what you might do with your sociology degree. Understanding social scientific research methods can lead to the prospect of a very satisfying career.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Whether we know it or not, our everyday lives are shaped by social scientific research.
  • Understanding social scientific research methods can help us become more astute and more responsible consumers of information.
  • Knowledge about social scientific research methods is useful for a variety of jobs or careers.

EXERCISES

  1. Page or scroll through a few popular magazines or news sources. Pull out any examples you see of results from social science research being discussed. How much information about the research is provided? What questions do you have about the research? To what extent will the research shape your actions or beliefs? How, if at all, is your answer to that question based on your confidence in the research described?
  2. Want to know more about jobs and career possibilities for people with undergraduate sociology degrees? Check out the American Sociological Association’s page on employment for sociologists: http://asanet.org/employment/factsoncareers.cfm.
  3. Still not convinced about the value of sociology? If you happen to be someone who is swayed by star power, you might wish to peruse the following, which contains a list of famous sociology majors: http://www.asanet.org/students/famous.cfm.