Career & Postgraduate Opportunities
As with most undergraduate degrees, a major in sociology does not provide automatic access to any specific career. Most sociologists do some combination of three basic activities: teaching, research, and managing people or programs.
What students can do with a B.A. in sociology depends upon a combination of factors including the ever-changing job market and the student's specific qualifications - courses, skills, work experience, and professional contacts.
A major in sociology provides good preparation for students going into many areas, including law, social work, and social policy planning.
Internships
Recent internships completed by sociology students include:
- Caseworker Intern—Thistledew Camp
- Child Safety Education Assistant—American Red Cross
- Community Corrections Intern Officer
- Community Researcher—United Food and Commercial Workers
- JDC Admissions Intern
- Medicaid Policy Research Intern—MN Coalition for the Homeless
- Probation Officer
- Women’s Prison Book Project Intern
- Women’s Retreat Coordinator
- Youth – VOICE
- Youth Advocate Intern—Lutheran Social Services
Meet a Graduate
Christina
While most of my career search was conducted on my own, the faculty at
Hamline helped me by being supportive and making sure that I was
focusing on finding a career that would fit my personality and
lifestyle. Sociology professor, Maggie Jensen, required all of her
Senior Seminar students to participate in Career Development Center
activities. I honestly don’t know if I would have known about all of the
services the CDC has to offer had it not been for Maggie’s class. When I
was having doubts about social work as a career, Criminal Justice
professor, Jerry Krause, encouraged me to pursue a career I felt was
right for me and to not let other people discourage me from doing
something I wanted to do.
Since I was a full-time student, wife, mother, and part-time Hamline
employee, I honestly didn’t have time to get involved in any
extra-curricular activities. Being that I’m not a big science person, it
is surprising that my two favorite Hamline Plan classes outside of my
majors were “Energy, Economy, and the Environment” with Jerry Artz and
“Biology of Women” with Cynthia Bauerle. They were probably two of my
most stressful classes, but I really enjoyed the way in which they were
taught and I really loved both of the professors.
My career search has been full of exciting discoveries as well as
disappointments. At first, I wanted to be a child protection worker,
but I discovered through my internship with the Ramsey County Guardian
Ad Lethem Program that due to personal reasons, it wasn’t the best
career choice for me. I recently started volunteering as a Rape Crisis
Advocate with the Sexual Offense Services program in St. Paul. Though
I’m just beginning, I know that I would like to pursue a career working
with crime victims. Within the next couple of years, I plan to go to
grad school and obtain a Masters in Social Work.
Of the services offered by the CDC, I found the practice interviews to
be the most beneficial for me. I am a terrible interviewee, so it really
helped me to build some confidence in my interviewing skills. I
definitely recommend visiting the CDC and/or its website to help you
find the kinds of jobs that are available and appealing to you. I think
it is definitely important to get some experience in the field you are
interested in before you fully commit to a specific career path. Get at
least one internship under your belt. t looks great on the resume and
it provides you with some great experience and excellent references.