Applied Sociology Career Spotlight: Graduate Programs versus Small Business

Here are some of the benefits of joining Graduate Training Schemes versus beginning your career in small to medium-sized enterprises.

1) In graduate programs you move around different departments, getting a good overview of an organisation (this is great for policy work). The programs are well structured and there’s a strong emphasis on training and development. These skills and extra qualifications will serve you well in other jobs. These positions are easy to find via job search engines, government websites and your university networks.

2) There are more opportunities in small businesses, start ups and local not-for-profits. These jobs are not as well paid, but you may develop your project management and leadership skills quicker. They will also increase your professional network due to the flatter management structure. These jobs are more difficult to find in the sense that you need to cast a wider net and think outside the box. Search on job sites using keywords related to your applied skills, rather than simply looking for jobs asking for sociology (few jobs do). Look out for keywords like social research, quantitative/qualitative research, project officer, and industry-specific terms that you specialise in (health, policy, community work, etc.).

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