Why Choose Sociology and What Can You Get Out of It?
Sociology is simply the study of human behavior which uses investigations and studies as a way of gathering new data to try to see how the social side of human beings is evolving. In sociology, you will find yourself studying the way that humans react to the government, changes in the law and society in general. Sociology is considered a social science and is therefore grouped with subjects such as law, economics and politics. In a sociology degree you’ll need to be able to predict how humans will respond to certain situations and explain why you think this will happen to groups of people. There are a variety of degree courses on offer for sociology, with some offering more specialised study such as criminology or ethnography, with BSc and BA degrees both being common.
Where can Sociology take you?
The problem with many degrees such as History or Sociology is that very few people see where a degree in this subject can take them, unlike Medicine for example. During your degree you will gain plenty of social and personal skills as you learn to understand how people behave and why they do. This means that counselling and social work come naturally from this degree as you will work with disillusioned people to help them understand what skills they have. Other jobs can include becoming a teacher, youth worker, or a probation officer.
Counsellors
Counsellors help people to explore their deep feelings and emotions and help them to overcome personal barriers such as the death of a close relative. The idea is that they don’t necessarily make these problems disappear, but help them to manage it or help them to make positive changes in their life so they can overcome it. Counsellors, do not give advice, they’re there to help clients make their own choices by giving them their perspective on certain events. Starting salaries can range from £19000+ while private counsellors can earn in excess of £50 an hour. However, if you stay with a practice, you can work your way up to being a senior counsellor and earn anywhere from £32000+
Probation Officers
A probation officer is like a liaison officer between an offender and the police force. They interact with these members of society while they may complete community service or while on bail in an attempt to help them reduce their chances of re-offending. They are there to ensure that offenders remain within the parameters of their community orders or drug/alcohol rehabilitation services. Salaries start at approximately £25000 and can increase up to around £35000 when fully qualified and with experience. A typical working week is up to 40 hours with some out of hours’ time.
Look around and see which jobs may interest you at the end of your sociology degree.