What can I do with a Sociology major?

This question is important for our majors, and sometimes for their parents, who may greet our students’ enthusiasm for Sociology with a blank stare and expressions of concern about how their children are going to make a living. It is true that there is no single route into the world of employment with a Sociology degree; in fact few fields have as broad a scope and relevance as does Sociology. This makes it both exciting and challenging to build a future, because many choices are open to you.

Many of our majors go on to graduate school or professional schools, pursuing graduate degrees in medicine, public health, law, business, social work, international relations and policy studies, as well as Ph.D’s in Sociology. We have information about graduate and summer school programs in Sociology, and about internships that can expose you to experience in business, government, and non-profit organizations. We can also connect you to offices at Rice University and to our alumni should you want more personal sources of information about a given career.

Even if they eventually go on to post-graduate education, many majors take jobs when they graduate. The strong analytic, methodological, and statistical skills acquired as a Sociology major have qualified our graduates for jobs in business, government, service, and education.

We urge you to discuss these issues with the Undergraduate Advisor as well as faculty you know well in the department. We will all be happy to discuss resources at Rice and beyond to help you in building on your major to make a future you will find rewarding after graduation from Rice

What have other Sociology majors done after graduation?

This list describes the post-graduate activities of some of our majors and should give you a clearer idea of the career opportunities open to a Sociology major. As you can see from the variety of careers, majoring in Sociology does not so much impart a narrow set of professional skills as educate majors to see the world through a "sociological perspective," which can be applied in a broad range of contexts.

  • Attorney (Law School: Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Texas, Iowa, Cornell)
  • Economic Development Planner (Kennedy School)
  • Financial research – Shell, BP, Stavis Margolis
  • Public Health (Yale, UTSPH)
  • Medicine (Johns Hopkins, Baylor, UTMB Galveston)
  • Social Work (NYU, Berkeley)
  • VISTA
  • Film School (UCLA)
  • IT entrepreneur
  • Real estate developer
  • Manager, non-profit service organizations
  • Accounting Consultant
  • International Relations (Woodrow Wilson, Thunderbird)
  • Sales
  • Paralegal
  • Educational Policy (Harvard School of Education, LBJ School)
  • Event manager/marketing
  • Teach for America

How to Find a Job with a BA in Sociology

People with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology are often employed in the helping professions, business, and administrative positions. They do not usually hold the title "sociologist," however. Employment opportunities for those with BA's in Sociology include (but are not limited to) entry-level positions in: administration, advertising, banking, accounting, counseling (family planning, developmental, career), community planning, health services, journalism, marketing and market research and consulting, publishing, sales, human resources or personnel work, social services, social research, teaching, IT writing and marketing. Finding a job often includes but goes beyond designing a resume and consulting with Rice’s office of Career Services. Use some of your skills as a sociologist, here. For example, use summer employment and internships to develop both knowledge of what you’re interested in and networks of people who can help you in your job search. Consult personnel offices of corporations, social service agencies, etc. to find out more about possible employers. Use the web. Use resources at Rice to contact alumni who are in areas you may be interested in exploring. (E.G. the Sociopath contains correspondence from Sociology alumni; the Alumni Office has lists of alumni "mentors." Also remember that faculty members will be as supportive as possible in this endeavor.