• K-12 teacher
  • College professor
  • Educational policy-maker

* * * * * * * *

It’s important to note the difference between sociology and social work. Social work is an applied science, since it is designed to solve a specific problem in a particular setting. Social work takes the principles found in sociology and applies them to a particular issue. For example, current sociological research indicates that men are more likely than women to commit suicide and that white people are more likely to take their own lives than black people. A social worker might take that knowledge and apply it to the real world by tailoring suicide-prevention programs to focus on the needs of white males.

This list covers just a handful of the possible directions your studies in sociology may take you. As you’ll learn throughout your sociology course, a thorough understanding of the workings of society is applicable to an endless number of career paths.