Sociology - scope, careers, colleges, skills, jobs, salary

Definition

“The task for sociology is to come to the help of the individual. We have to be in service of freedom. It is something we have lost sight of.” ~Zygmunt Bauman

Sociology is the scientific study of society, including patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture. It is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order, acceptance, and change. Many sociologists aim to conduct research that may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, while others focus primarily on refining the theoretical understanding of social processes. Subject matter ranges from the micro-sociology level of individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and the social structure.

The traditional focuses of sociology include social stratification, social class, social mobility, religion, secularization, law, sexuality and deviance. As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to other subjects, such as health, medical, economy, military and penal institutions, the Internet, education, social capital and the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge.

There are some MA and PhD sociologists which can obtain specialized training to become counselors, therapists, or program directors in social service agencies.

They usually carry out the following functions:

• Market and Quality studies.
• Social-economic studies, Demographics and opinions.
• Planning of services
• Organizational management
• Design of project evaluation
• Human Resources management
• Grant management and public agreements
• Satisfaction: marketing, communication and publicity
• Regional planning
• Local development
• Social and occupational guidance
• Analysis and evaluation of posts
• Institutional relationships
• Negotiation and conflict resolution
• Advice in the creation of businesses