Careers In Sociology
Our Career Counselor explores the different career paths after a degree in sociology and discovers a world of options "
MANY students who embark on a liberal arts degree often wonder what sociology involves. "Hmmm... Is sociology kind of like psychology?" is the popular query. While psychology examines more of the workings of the human mind, why individuals think and behave as they do; sociology tends to examine groups of persons (societies), communities, and nations. Sociology is the scientific study of human social behaviour, interaction between humans, social institutions, and social organisations/ structures. Sociology examines the relations between all aspects of social life (social facts and problems) in modern industrialised society, but with special emphasis on class, race, and gender. The term sociologist often accompanies people in the academic field who have advanced degrees in sociology.
So what career options are available for students who have pursued a degree in sociology? Prof Vineeta Bhatia, who has been teaching sociology for the last 15 years, claims,"After a BA majoring in sociology, students can get into the development field or the NGO sector, the media or even do an MBA and then get into marketing. Today, sociology majors even join the corporate sector in fields such as human resource development. Sociology graduates make good candidates for organisations like the World Bank, WHO and UNICEF. A hot favourite currently is development in the environmental field."
What are the options for students who have done their further studies in sociology? "After a Master’s in sociology, students can pursue sociology in an academic field such as teaching and social research," elucidates Prof Bhatia. She goes on to explain how a sociologist understands human relations and culture and how this knowledge gives students the requisite help in diverse fields."It gives you a good grounding depending on your interest. Even within sociology, there are so many sub-disciplines one can get into," she adds.
Corroborates Prof Eddie Rodriguez, Head of Department of Sociology, St Xavier's College, "Degrees such as the BA just give you a foundation. Sociology gives you the best perspective of the society you live in. It is open to a huge range of specialisations both in the public and private sector.” He further stresses,"All professions accept a sociology background as it gives the profession a certain amount of depth and insight. Take the case of journalism. Graduates with a good social science degree will be able to bring that perspective to newspapers for analysis. Other examples are filmmaking and theatre." He even observes the trend that there are far more students now opting for an MA and research, which is giving rise to a good new crop of teachers. The significance of sociology can be gauged by the fact that it is a compulsory subject at the junior college level in several colleges.
TEACHING
Those who have an MA in sociology and a BEd can become professors in junior college. To teach sociology at the BA level, you need to do an MA in sociology as well as clear the National Eligibility Test (NET) or State Eligibility Test (SET) or do your PhD. "For lectureship at the MA level, in addition to these qualifications, you need certain years of experience teaching at the graduate level. You would also need to read a lot and publish research articles,” states Anagha Tendulkar, sociology teacher, Sophia College. Remuneration for teachers who are not confirmed is Rs 8,000 flat. For those confirmed, it can vary broadly from Rs 12,000 to 30,000 depending on factors like what refresher courses you’ve undertaken.
"Personally I took to teaching sociology as I liked sociology in college. I had a brilliant faculty who were my role models. Once I started teaching, I realised that sociology is more dimensional than it looks. It enables you to understand problems of society and it gives you a macro-perspective. Students tend to identify with this subject and are pulled out of their individual moulds. It is very enriching to learn sociology," shares Anagha Tendulkar.
RESEARCH
Research is a stimulating option for sociology addicts. So, how are researchers funded and what kind of research do they undertake? Shilpa Phadke, an independent researcher, explains, "Since I am an independent researcher, I am able to work on the topics that interest me and can choose what type of methodology to use. Most researchers work for institutions and are funded by the same. Alternatively, you can apply for independent grants to do research.” She goes on to say that the kind of research one does depends on what funding is available for."For example, now a lot of money is in AIDS research. However, small organisations might fund you for subjects that aren’t so ‘hot’.”
Most organisations want a minimum qualification of an MA. The downside of a career as a researcher is that although research can be extremely gratifying, it also comes with a lot of dull tasks like transcribing notes. However, Shilpa explains that,"it is only with such tasks that you will get a sense of the research project." She adds,"Personally, I feel that 50 per cent of the job is very exciting, another 25 per cent is horrible and the other 25 per cent is mundane." Researchers come from various social science disciplines out of which sociology post-graduates are usually employed in social research projects.“Once you start off as a researcher, you usually work as a research assistant under someone who heads a project. Remuneration for research assistants can be as low as Rs 5,000 and can earn up to Rs 15,000. For research associates it can vary from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 and can go up to Rs 30,000 with time. However these are all ballpark figures,” she states. Your pay depends on factors like how qualified you are, how many projects you’ve been on, the organisation that is funding you, etc.
"If you want to branch off as an independent researcher you need to put in at least five to seven years researching with an institution. Your goal is to ensure that you write and publish your research as people want to see what you did with your last research project," Shilpa claims. How does teaching and research compare as careers? "With teaching I was unable to publish my work. This didn’t gel with my future plans. But since I enjoy teaching tremendously, I try to give lectures whenever possible,” she shares.
A possible, and perhaps better paying, alternative is to do qualitative market research. The minimum qualification is an MA if you want to be taken seriously in this field. Other options include becoming research analysts, survey researchers, gerontologists, statisticians, urban planners, community developers, criminologists, or demographers.
MEDIA
Many sociology graduates often wiggle into different media slots either directly after a graduation or after a postgraduate degree or diploma in mass communication. Renelle Snelleksz, sub-editor with a media website and a recent graduate of sociology, declares, "Subjects covered in sociology such as media, women’s studies and social research have given me a holistic background for what I am doing now. It definitely provides a strong platform to enter the field of journalism.”
CIVIL SERVICES
Civil services are also a popular option for sociology students as they can choose sociology as one of their optional subjects in the civil services entrance exams. The questions that are posed in these papers require MA level knowledge to answer them. Subhashini Sankaran, who is currently pursuing an MA in sociology at JNU, Delhi, and is preparing for her civil services entrance exams, says,"I wanted to get into the civil services since I was young and planned my education likewise. I'm going to choose sociology as my optional paper in the entrance exams, both in the preliminary paper and mains.”Why sociology? "Sociology looks at different aspects of society which I think will be useful in a field like civil services. It is a complex and interesting subject that I am passionately interested in," grins Subhashini.
These are just some of the career options that one can explore after a degree in sociology. Others include administration in education, policy analysis, city management, healthcare, criminal justice, international relations, social work and seminar and workshop coordinators. Fields such as law, journalism, politics, public relations, business, or public administration, that involve investigative skills and working with diverse groups are aptly suited for sociology majors. Sociologists also often work in tandem with specialists in other fields, which gives rise to the growth of much inter-disciplinary knowledge and action.
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