Sociology – Page 4 – Sociology at Work

In Honour of Nelson Mandela Day

Nelson Mandela is a Black South African man with short, curly, grey hair. he is in a grey suit, lookng at the camera in a half-smile

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” In honour of the upcoming celebration of his life and courage, UNICEF released a video about the many names of Mandela.

Classic Quote of the Week: Ann Oakley on the Sociology of Women’s Unpaid Work

Ann Oakley is a white woman with greying blonde hair below her chin and a fringe. She wears silver stud earrings and she is smiling

“Clearly, society has a tremendous stake in insisting on a woman’s natural fitness for the career of mother: the alternatives are all too expensive.” – Ann Oakley

Highest Paid Social Science Careers

A White woman moves a mouse and looks at the laptop of the woman beside her, who wears a hijab. A third man is working next to them with headphones on

A new graphic shows the highest paid jobs for experienced social science graduates in the USA.

Sociology for Clients

A white woman sits on a couch beside a Black woman who is holding an open laptop

This post provides an overview of the client work that applied sociologists carry out, as well as examples of applied sociological work in the public service, the private sector, and consultancy.

Rigour in Sociological Practice

Three Asian men and an Asian woman in hijab are in a meeting room with a laptop, phone and writing in a book

We tell graduates that sociology can be used to improve the delivery of social services, that it can better shape social policy, that we can use it to mediate conflict to achieve social justice. Yet, once we enter our paid professional life, practitioners often encounter the perception that applied sociological work is less rigorous. WhyContinueContinue reading “Rigour in Sociological Practice”

Retaining Sociology Students

A Black man sits outdoors smiling as he checks a book and writes on his laptop

Sociology has a problem recruiting and retaining students. The way forward is for sociological degrees to demonstrate how their training prepares them for the workplace. The latest American Sociological Association (ASA) survey of almost 2,700 sociology students in the USA finds that retention is not purely about loving the subject matter. Students are most satisfiedContinueContinue reading “Retaining Sociology Students”

Sociology’s Gendered “Ritual Nods”

Two miniature figures against a pale blue background, a dwoman in a red dress sitting on a pill, and a man with his hands in his pocket stands beside her

White male European and American voices dominate sociology. New analysis makes me wonder: are we reproducing inequality through our “ritual nods” to social theory? Sociologist Rafael Pereira published an analysis of the most-cited authors in sociology papers. The analysis was limited to the Google Scholars Citations page. Pereira finds that the top sociology citations favourContinueContinue reading “Sociology’s Gendered “Ritual Nods””

Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra: An Investigation into the Problems facing Young Job Seekers in our Region

Aerial view of two young people sitting on a bench outdoors. Both wear caps and they have a backpack beside them

Scott Burrows discusses his social policy work on youth unemployment. He explores how sociology can be used as a framework to understand citizenship. He ends by reflecting on his transition from university to a private organisation. By Scott Burrows [1] This short article discusses the way I have experienced studying a social policy issue such as unemploymentContinueContinue reading “Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra: An Investigation into the Problems facing Young Job Seekers in our Region”

I Can Feel Like a Ship Without a Rudder

Susan Pitt offers an introspection on the importance of peer support and networks for non-academics, and how this shapes her identity as a sociologist. Her paper also provides an example of one career path available to sociology students, within one of the various public service graduate programs. By Susan Pitt I have finally come to theContinueContinue reading “I Can Feel Like a Ship Without a Rudder”

Using Sociology in Market Research

Three Black people brainstorm in a room. Two of them sit in front of laptops, while anothe woman presents

We explore the evolving history of sociological contributions to market research. We then delve into a current example of sociology used in a social marketing project for a government organisation.