I always hear jokes about how sociology is a useless major (like philosophy-- as many joke about), but tbh I really like sociology! I looked at some course offerings for specific schools and see that many sociology majors study criminology, sociology of terrorism, death and dying, etc. I love to write (originally wanted journalism) and I like social psych (not neuro) so this major seemed perfect!
Any advice? Especially from fellow sociology majors?
The demand for sociologists will increase as the USA declines.
I’m not really sure what the above comment means but if sociology is a subject that you are interested in consider pursuing it and just understand that you will need to have realistic expectations of job prospects. One of my husband’s relatives tried to major in a STEM field believing that he had to please his parents and get a good job after graduation. Did not work because he hated it and his GPA was plummeting. He switched majors to sociology and then his GPA increased because he was engaged in the material. He went to work for a mental health hospital then a non profit. Then applied to PhD programs and is now pursuing it hoping to become an academic. It will be difficult and he’s aware of it. His wife however is in business and is the breadwinner. Both are happy with that arrangement and her job is easily transferable to wherever he might get a start in academia.
^ It means not a useless major. 
@goingnutsmom I saw a lot of potential jobs and internship opportunities (criminology, consulting, social worker, etc)… is it really that hard in terms of job prospects? It seemed ideal in what I’ve read from my school, but your advice seems a bit different
Most students who major in sociology plan to go on to grad school. They go to get grad degrees in public policy, counseling, social work, law school, and of course sociology. It’s just that the undergrad degree does not prepare you for a specific job so you have to be realistic about job prospects and salary.
Oh, non profit administration, public health are other grad degrees I’ve seen sociology majors pursue and then get good jobs.
@goingnutsmom this is kind of a naive question (ps thanks for your responses!), but if I cannot afford grad school, should I not pursue sociology? I have younger siblings and don’t think I can afford grad school… is it easy to get a full ride/scholarship that is NOT need-based?
BTW, I’m a BS in psychology and social work who worked in mental health hospital setting, juvenile correctional settings and crisis counseling before going to grad school to become a licensed therapist. So yes, jobs were available but not paid well. And now I see a lot of jobs of what I could do with an undergrad degree now requiring grad degrees.
Are you asking if it’s easy to get a full ride scholarship to grad school in sociology?
@goingnutsmom yes, like do I just need to do well at undergrad school?
Grad school in STEM majors are much easier to obtain funding for. My husband has a Masters and PhD in a a STEM field that was well funded. My grad school in social work had to be entirely funded by me. IBy the time that I went to grad school I had worked and saved up for it so I knew what I was getting into. For majors in the humanities or soft sciences, yes it would be very difficult to get funding for your grad school. Those are just the breaks.
Understanding theories on how populations act and are affected is not useless.
One of my favorite classes was Demography.
If you can get the scholarships, then do sociology. However, if your financial situation is unstable, I would not recommend it.
I am all for encouraging people to do what makes them happy and I understand that if OP works hard enough, sociology will not be a bad degree.
However, OP could end up in a really bad situation if he doesn’t do well in school (and can’t get a scholarship for grad school). A straight up undergrad in sociology is pretty much useless and his employment opportunities would be very slim. OP mentioned that he was taking out student loans.
Ending up with only an undergrad in sociology and a heap of student debt is a big no-no.
What sort of job do you want? You can then start backtracking from there.
This is false. There are a lot of things one can do with a BA in sociology, and not all of them are low-paid human services jobs. Many, many college grads end up doing things that don’t seem directly related to their undergraduate degree. As I always say, I have some coworkers in my big tech company who majored in linguistics, theater, and women’s studies. These people are program managers and producers, and they don’t have graduate degrees.
People assume that college degrees neatly map onto a certain constellation of career opportunities, but that’s not true.
One field that sociology majors can be very successful in with a BA is my field, UX design/research. I have a PhD but most of the people who work in my field have BAs or MAs. There are also lots of think tanks, NGOs, government agencies and nonprofits that would hire a sociology major to do policy work, research, analysis, and other things. You could work in market research or in marketing/advertising. Social media is an exploding field and there’s a necessity to understand how people work in groups to make apps tailored to their needs and desires. Business management and consulting, too, benefits from an understanding of organizations. Particularly if you learn some marketable skills - like programming, and/or statistics, and/or technical writing, etc. - you could be well-positioned for a lot of roles.
Don’t worry about graduate school just yet, but do note that most people fund professional programs with student loans. Academic PhD programs in sociology are generally fully funded, but if you wanted an MPH or an MPA or an MBA, you’d typically borrow.