Careers with Sociology: Evidence from UJ

Abstract

This article reports on the findings of a study which focused on former sociology students and their current careers. The underlying aim of the study was to establish whether former students believe sociology was useful to them in their endeavours to find jobs and, if so, how it was useful. The article is based on research conducted in November 2006, in which 47 former postgraduate and undergraduate students participated. These participants had been students in the Sociology Department of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) sometime between 2001 and 2005. The article will show that there is a contrast between what students expect with regard to their studies and finding jobs, and what happens in reality. The majority of former students believe sociology has been a valuable asset to them and that they use the skills they have acquired on a regular basis in their individual careers. This research is significant as it demonstrates that sociology can provide students with the opportunity to enter a broad range of interesting jobs. Furthermore, based on the respondents' perspectives, the article identifies what employers look for when selecting candidates. For one, most participants claim they had little problem finding a ¡ob after graduating. However, they stipulated that employers often seek employees with postgraduate degrees. The study mostly makes use of qualitative data obtained from respondents.

Is There Life after Sociology? Exploring the Career Paths of Former South African Academics in Sociology

“…The section of our research that relates in particular to the aforementioned article by Smuts (2010) stems from a question put to all our research participants, namely whether their training as sociologists was of any use to them in their current jobs. The current occupations of the participants include working in government positions (six), in research organisations (two), in a higher education institution in a non-academic position (one), in small entrepreneurial companies (two), in professional disciplines (two) and in artistic environments (two).…”