department of
Sociology,
Social Work & Anthropology
What
can I do with a BS/BA in Sociology?
Social Services
Substance Abuse Counselor*:
Counsels and aids individuals & their families who are dealing with
substance abuse problems. Interviews clients, & with other professionals,
creates treatment and rehabilitation programs. Monitors client progress
and counsels clients and their families individually or in-group sessions.
Workers’ Advocate:
Organize low-income workers (the specific field you may work in varies,
i.e. healthcare, factories) to ensure workers’ right to economic
justice, dignity & respect. Assist in developing a direct action
grassroots campaign to build power at the low wage workplace. A strong
commitment to social & economic justice and the ability to work
well with people from various economic & ethnic backgrounds is needed.
Youth Services Provider:
Organize & provide services for the youth of a community. Provider
must be sensitive toward ethnic minorities. Areas of service may include:
after-school programs, counseling, vocational training, organizing volunteer
projects, sports & recreation & helping ethnic minorities gain
to access higher education and other resources.
Probation/ Parole Officer:
Counsels juvenile or adult offenders. Formulate a rehabilitation plan
with input from the offender, legal representatives, family & other
concerned persons. Parole officers also evaluate offender’s progress
by making visits at their client’s home, school or work.
Criminal Justice Counselor:
Help plan & direct juvenile and adult crime prevention projects.
Counselors work with offenders to maintain their safety, & the safety
of their families. This is done through monitoring & documenting
client activity and through individual & group counseling. Counselors
may work as a part of a community renewal team focused on issues such
as reducing drug activity and ensuring safe housing.
Police / Peace Officer*:
Interacts & works with diverse groups both within the department
& in the community. Performs investigations, interviews, renders
service, enforces traffic & criminal laws within a community.
FBI Agent*: FBI agents
investigate violations of federal law such as kidnapping, extortion
& bank robbery. They also safeguard the nation’s security
by investigating subversion, espionage & sabotage. Special Agents
do investigative work through interviews, suspect observation &
evidence analysis.
Recreational Therapist:
Plans, organizes & directs recreation programs adapted to the needs
of patients in hospitals, nursing homes & other institutions. Activities
may include sports, arts & other games to assist patients in developing
interpersonal relationships & confidence in social settings.
Service Provider for the Elderly:
Provides & organizes services to help seniors stay active &
healthy while accommodating their specific needs. Services may include:
physical therapy, transportation, counseling for depression & emotional
difficulties and help coping with changes in living situations. Work
may be in a variety of settings: planned communities, hospitals, nursing
homes or in an individual’s home.
Instructor for Persons with Disabilities:
Provide employment support for people with developmental disabilities.
Locate jobs within the community that will meet the needs of both the
employer and special-needs employee. Teach clients employment skills
such as teamwork, interviewing skills, personal hygiene, & following
instructions.
Urban/City Planner: Develops
comprehensive plans & programs for the use of land & buildings
in cities, counties and metropolitan areas. Works with other professionals
to compile & analyze data on the economic, social, environmental
& physical factors affecting land use.
Grassroots/ Human Rights Organizer:
Build organizations in low-income communities on the most basic level;
family by family. Organizers hear from community residents what they
want in their neighborhood, community, city, state & country. Work
with community residents to hold meetings, do research on key issues
and develop campaign strategies such as conferences, marches, protests,
working with the media etc. to get the people’s needs addressed.
Community Organization Worker:
Plans, organizes and coordinates programs with community groups that
address social problems within the community. A few specialized areas
include: housing, urban renewal, volunteer coordination, community health,
welfare, elderly, financially disadvantaged, substance abuse, juvenile
delinquents, physically or mentally handicapped or domestic abuse.
Community Relations in Public Housing:
Promotes tenant welfare in low-income public housing developments. Facilitates
constructive relationships between tenants and housing management. Connects
tenants with other social services such as health, welfare and education
programs for improving individual, family & community standards.
Community Health Education:
Plans and directs programs of public health education & promotes
the establishment of public health services such as family planning,
domestic violence shelters & childhood immunization programs in
a community. Also coordinates special health education campaigns on
specific issues such like disease epidemics. May also direct health
education activities in public schools.
Non Profit Organizations:
Nonprofit agencies offer an incredibly wide array of community &
social services. Workers raise funds for, provide, administer and manage
these services. Here are just a few of many nonprofit organizations:
Amnesty International, Alcoholics Anonymous, Red Cross, United Way,
Green Peace, Boys and Girls Club, Domestic Violence Shelters, Global
Exchange, The Women’s Union, Police Assessment Resource Center,
Save the
Children, American Association for the Blind.
Social Research & Data Analysis
Contrary to its reputation, research is often a highly social occupation.
Gathering information from groups of people and individuals is exciting
& interesting. There are limitless topics to be researched. Researchers’
fields of study vary from migrant workers in California, inner city
drug dealers, to consumer buying trends. Industrial firms, research
institutes, nonprofit agencies & businesses all use research services.
Market Research Analyst:
Researches market conditions on the local, regional or national scale
to determine the potential sales of a product or service. Gathers public
information using research methods such as: surveys, opinion polls,
questionnaires or interviews. Researcher may collect data on competitors,
methods of marketing and customer buying habits. This data is then analyzed
and presented in reports to predict and prepare for future marketing
trends.
Community Researcher:
Plans, organizes and conducts research for use in understanding the
social problems communities face. Research may be used to determine
the needs of disadvantaged groups, & to find possible ways of meeting
those needs. Information is gathered about disadvantaged groups/ individuals
through interviews with community members, surveys, tests, observation,
& documents. Data is analyzed and written in reports.
Research Assistant: In
collaboration with professors, lawmakers or other researchers, assistants
collect from many sources such as documents, literature & reference
works. They may conduct interviews, help set up and process surveys
and prepare & analyze statistical data.
Union Researcher: With
a commitment to progressive social change, researchers work with union
activists & organizers to develop & implement corporate, legal,
legislative & regulatory strategies to build worker power. Work
may also include corporate investigations, industry trend analysis &
market research.
Data Analyst for Local & State Government:
Using the qualitative analysis & writing skills developed in a sociology
major, Data Analysts develop reports, summarize trends, identify emerging
client needs & document the impacts of local &/or state government
agencies and programs.
Human Resources Management
A variety of fields need Human Resource Management: government, healthcare,
manufacturing, service, education, & financial institutions.
Employment Specialist:
Collects applications, performs credential checks & background investigations
prior to interviewing & hiring an employee. May conduct interviews
or train department managers on how to conduct interviews fairly. Has
knowledge of affirmative action, equal opportunity & other labor
laws. Written & verbal communication skills are important.
Employee Training and Development:
Develops training programs to address the diverse life situations of
a company’s employees. Training enhances employee cohesiveness;
competence & helps groups manage change, by addressing varied issues
such as “managing a two career family”, “planning
for retirement” & “stress reduction techniques”.
Other areas of training include; employee safety, health precautions
& using employee benefits effectively.
Human Resource Generalist:
Knowledge of payroll systems, employee benefits. Manage and keep records
on items such as; employee 401k’s, medical claims, workers compensations
& sexual harassment claims. Recruits & trains new employees.
Training Instructor / Lecturer:
Develops & conducts training programs for employees of other companies.
Using methods such as individual training, group instruction, workshops,
demonstrations & multi-media visual aids. Training Instructors help
a company’s employees better understand company policies, new
technologies or requirements. Employee progress & training effectiveness
are evaluated through tests.
Academic Advisor: Find
out students’ educational & career goals. With these objectives
as a guide, help students plan academic courses & use available
resources to meet their goals. Provide students with correct up-to-date
academic information about university, college or high school graduation
requirements & career options.
*Jobs with an asterisk require additional
licensing or certification, but not necessarily a master’s degree.
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