Investigating the top majors, Sherlock Holmes is on the case.
You can profile your picks and review the evidence to find the sure-fire academic answers you've been looking for...

Study Case #6

Sociology

Faculty:
Arts, Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Most common associations:
Human behaviour, research, social interaction, data.


Quick description:
Sociology is the study of human behaviour, and as you know this is quite a broad and varied study. Not only does this concern human beings alone but everything associated with how we live and the societies we have formed. Sociology bridges the gap between being a study of science and also the humanities. Being a major of Sociology means you get to have both the experience of working with research and data but also doing the writing and comprenhending of the data to make sense of what you've been studying. Socology takes it's form in many genres, classes and specializations, inlcuding anthropology, archeology and linguistics to name a few. Sociology opens the doors to studying many global topics from social movements and revelotions to world events and human capacity.


What your major will do for you:

A sociology major prepares you for the working world. Being able to read, write, analyze and logically think through many things makes you a very flexible employee and person of career worthiness. You will be able to recognize patterns and trends through your research, making you a great candidate for finding data and making it worth more than just plain numbers. Through this research you'll develop a great sense of attention to detail as well as making the results mean something. Writing is a bit part of sociology and you will learn to not only transfer numbers to concepts and arguments but how to present them effectively. To be able to convey things in the form of reports and thesis is something that comes to you over time, and with the help of great professors and those helping with research etc. you will develop these skills and be able to apply them to your career down the road. To conduct research you must be a pretty confident person, this comes along as a side-skill from your major. Data collection is not something most normally associated however, it interacts with a skill of communication that can be used in many different shapes and forms. This major will help you to create more manageable, organized and reliable resources and written pieces on topics of interest and critical research.


Careers:

Here are some careers and descriptions written about and for sociology majors by World Wide Learn. They have done a great job honing in on the skills learned and how these careers really fit the bill for your kind of work.

• Administration: A professional with a degree in sociology is well prepared for administrative positions, particularly in government and public agencies that administer human services. Sociologists in leadership roles help define policies toward groups of people in need of public assistance. By leading teams of researchers and social work professionals, sociologists can reshape their communities.
  
  
• Business: A degree in sociology prepares a student for a career in business. Sociologists research consumer trends and work with market researchers to discover new opportunities to meet the public's needs. Some corporations employ sociologists to impact the social effects of major projects like plant relocations or store openings. Sociologists also help product designers understand the overall trends shaping consumer culture in order to inspire tomorrow's hot new products.
  
  
• Corrections: As the prison population in our country continues to expand, many local governments hire sociologists to understand the impact of tougher laws on neighborhoods. Sociologists also help corrections officials determine the effects of new programs and regulations on the prison population.
  
  
• Counseling: Some counselors and therapists study sociology in order to better understand some of the larger trends they see among patients. By using the kinds of pattern analysis techniques that sociologists are known for, counselors can focus their practices on critical needs in their communities.
  

• Education: A person with a sociology degree may choose to pursue a career in education. A bachelor's degree and teaching certificate are adequate for teaching classes such as political science, history, and social science at the high school level. Ph.D. level graduates may pursue careers at the college and university level.
  
  
• Investigations: Sociology professionals play larger roles at major investigative bureaus, especially the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Working with detectives and profilers, sociologists help law enforcement officials anticipate crime by identifying obscure patterns. Targeting areas that are likely to be the focus of criminals allows officials to deploy scarce resources more effectively. Therefore, investigators can close cases more quickly while improving the quality of life in previously dangerous areas.
  
  
• Journalism: Sociology majors with a proven ability to communicate well may find a home for their talents in a variety of news gathering organizations. Newspapers and local broadcast news outlets employ sociologists to help understand the kinds of stories that engage readers, viewers, and listeners in a particular region. Sociologists work with editors and market researchers to identify the right balance of news that audience members expect with the stories that need to be reported to uphold civic responsibilities.
  
  
• Politics: Sociology degree holders can play numerous roles in the political community. Campaign managers hire sociology professionals who can identify critical neighborhoods that can make or break an election. By understanding the traditional voting patterns of key districts along with the crucial issues that concern voters, campaigners can deploy volunteers and activists to win over voters.
  
  
• Public Relations: Some sociology majors with an interest in journalism find jobs as public relations officers for major corporations. By reviewing market research data and understanding historic trends, sociologists can anticipate challenges when rolling out new products or building infrastructure. Sociologists who truly understand the motivations of customers, community activists, and journalists can effectively defuse problems in the media by responding to the public's concerns with carefully composed solutions.
  
  
• Research: Some sociology professionals can carve out careers as independent research consultants who examine trends in human behavior for a variety of clients. By carving out a solid reputation for reliable work, these specialists attract interesting problems without having to pursue grants like their colleagues in the academic sector.
  
  
• Senior Services: Over the next few decades, the United States will experience an unprecedented explosion in the number of Americans over the age of sixty-five. Numerous outreach organizations and government agencies are hiring sociologists to study the effects of an again population on our culture. In addition, many researchers hope to anticipate the results of the coming contraction of population as baby boomers die off. Sociologists use scenario planning exercises along with a variety of resources to predict the opportunities for future generations to thrive in a country with far fewer residents.
  
  
• Youth Services: Our society places more value on the lives of children than at any point in our nation's history. A variety of government agencies and nonprofit institutions monitor the impact of policies and parental habits on today's young people. Sociologists examine the challenges that young people face when interacting with people of other generations. They also examine the significant cultural shifts driven by young people's tastes in popular culture.

Skills:

• Critical thinking skills. To be in sociology means to take what you've found and look at it with a critical and analytical eye. Sometimes your assignments will be challenging however this teaches you to percevier and examine each side of an issue to come to a conclusion or to make your own personal argument on. Problem solving also comes along with the skill and that can be applied to many decisions in both your career and personal life. Through conducting such research you'll be able to think on your feet and really in the long run, make sense of it.
  

• Ability to recognize trends and patterns. As discussed before, looking at data you'll soon be able to recognize when there are similarities and patterns shown in your research or in things you've looked up. Relationships between tests subjects, or interaction methods can really aid your research and findings. Through patterns there comes understanding and through understanding comes results. So this is not only a great skill to have in research alone, but teaches you to stay open minded and to bring up different points than you would have first thought of.
  
  
• Ability to create reports and essays. In sociology, there is a specific way to write out reports and essays, with enough detail and data to convince the reader, but to put it in a format which is concise enough and only as much as it has to be. Funding proposals, research grants, essays as a start of a project can really make or break your success. You must be able to write with a zeal that will both convince the reader but not take up their whole day to read.

• Presentation skills. Now that you have achieved some very powerful writing abilities your successes in presentation skills with surely improve. Sociology majors tend to take their research to more public outlets at times and through this you will develop a way to interact with the media, public and press. You will confront many audiences and will learn ways to be both animated and interactive.
  
  
• Modern data and analysis technology. Research is no longer conducted with a sheer pen and paper in a survey format. In sociology you will make use of many new technologies and research capacities in order to complete you work in an efficient and modern manner. In the future, knowing how to conduct and use technologies such as these will help you. Especially if you seem to become more and more comfortable and interested in things such as computer software or engineering for example.
  
  
• Grant writing skills. This is very specific to sociology majors. This is where you must learn to be the most convincing. Academic boards and agencies will be watching you and reading your statements to see whether or not it it worth it to invest in you. For this reason you must show them that you can both convince them in a short amount of time and also continue to make strides through your research.
  
  
• Research skills. Like many majors you will be using your research skills to their capacity. Your ability as a sociology majors to both learn and utilize the resources available is indispensible. You must be efficient and organized when using resources such as the library as well as internet databases. Knowing how to find great and credible resources will only make your abilities to stirve for great research even stronger.
  
  
• Planning and organizational skills. Many projects you work on will end up having deadlines and time lines to keep to. As a sociology major you will learn to work by these and they will encourage you to be productive and efficient. These skills are great to have in any workplace because they make you a hard worker and someone they can count on.
  

How to Prepare:

Coming out of high school you may not have had many opportunities for extra curricular involvement that really relates to sociology. However keeping up with daily times in your reading, as well as covering as many research stories as possible will keep you in the know. Get to know your library and the innerworkings of research now, that way you will have a headstart before you even get to a university setting.

Also, sociology really works on cultural and social levels. Even by being involved in everyday social activities will help you realize that you are part of specific activities or certain lifestyles. To have this surface level interaction and pattern realized, you will have more interest in such research and comparision to your life and what you're looking into.

Sociology Majors? It's elementary, my dear Watson. Till next time!

References

WorldWideLearn. "Sociology Major". Last Updated on October 17th, 2007. Accessed on August 1st, 2008. WorldWideLearn.com

Sherlock Holmes. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/photogallery/holmes_photogallery1.shtml>

Sherlock Holmes, <http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2007/03/16/sherlock-holmes-edgy.jpg>