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Career Exploration

Sociologists

Also called: Demographer, Medical Sociologist, Social Scientist, Sociologist

What they do:

Study human society and social behavior by examining the groups and social institutions that people form, as well as various social, religious, political, and business organizations. May study the behavior and interaction of groups, trace their origin and growth, and analyze the influence of group activities on individual members.

On the job, you would:
  • Analyze and interpret data to increase the understanding of human social behavior.
  • Prepare publications and reports containing research findings.
  • Develop, implement, and evaluate methods of data collection, such as questionnaires or interviews.
On the job, you'll need:

Math and Science

  • sociology and anthropology
  • arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics

Arts and Humanities

  • English language
  • history and archeology

Education and Training

  • teaching and course design

Engineering and Technology

  • computers and electronics

Basic Skills

  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • talking to others

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Verbal

  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  • use rules to solve problems

Investigative

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

  • Analytical Thinking
  • Initiative
  • Persistence
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Independence
  • Integrity

Analytical or scientific software

  • IBM SPSS Statistics
  • SAS

Presentation software

  • Microsoft PowerPoint

Data base user interface and query software

  • Microsoft Access
  • QSR International NVivo

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Median Annual Salary: $98,590

Education

Doctoral degree or master's degree is usually needed.