<p>I am currently a sophomore in a liberal arts college. I am a Sociology major, and Math minor. Right now, I'm trying to plan my future, but I am torn between Sociology PhD, Accounting M.A and Human Resources Management M.A. I am very sure that I will apply for graduate school right after my college graduation, but which major should I choose? How is the job market like for Accounting and HRM M.A and Sociology PhDs graduates? PhD seems to take a very long time, and many people say that college professors are not paid very well, because their long-term education investment definitely deserves more. But I also have the understanding that they are millions of people pursuing Accounting and HRM degrees, so it seems like the job market has a huge surplus. Can someone please offer me some suggestions and recommendations, and your understanding of the future prospects of these three degrees? Thank you so much in advance!</p>
<p>Nobody can tell you what graduate degree you are interested in.</p>
<p>You need to think about your future career path, your interests, whether you even want to go to graduate school.</p>
<p>I’m currently working as a human resources manager. I do not suggest going for a master’s degree immediately after undergrad if you choose this field - I have a BA in psychology and from my experience in the field, it is better to gain 2-5 years of HR experience before going back for an advanced degree. I don’t think having an MA/MS degree in HRM would have helped me find a better job with 0 work experience in the field. I think real world experience also adds more substance to the master-level courses, as you can apply your personal experiences to the concepts you’re learning.</p>
<p>The HR field is steadily growing and has good prospects, but HR is not for everyone. You have a fairly wide variety of possibilities, so you need to narrow down which will be fulfilling for you personally, fit in to your financial budget and income expectations, and matches your personal qualities and skill set. A PhD is not a decision to be made lightly either, as you already know it requires 4-6+ years of dedication on average, and then a hard road to finding a tenured position if academia is your goal. A path like that requires sincere interest in the subject you’re studying. </p>
<p>You still have at least another year or so to explore these options, and there is nothing wrong with taking time off after undergrad to work for a while before going back to graduate school, especially if you remain unsure of what direction to go in. In the meantime, try to get in touch with profs in those areas, look for internships, gain research experience (in case you decide to try the PhD route), etc. You do not need all of the answers now.</p>
<p>-- As a side note, when I was in undergrad I thought I’d pursue a PhD in social psychology or consumer behavior/marketing - but after “falling” into my HR role, I find it to be a much more suitable path. Sometimes you don’t know what you want until you’re out of school and in the working world.</p>
<p>I’m not in grad school, but I have friends who are (one is in her 6th year). She tells me that you have to really WANT it. It’s not something you shrug your shoulders about and say “might as well” about.</p>
<p>If you even have to ask that question, you aren’t ready- at least not yet.</p>
<p>If you are choosing between three degree as disparate as sociology, accounting, and human resources, then you shouldn’t be very definite about attending graduate school right after college. You should definitely take some time off and decide what it is you really want to do before you jump into a graduate program.</p>
<p>The job market is pretty good for accountants. College professors are paid well, they’re just not paid what people would expect based on the PhD. New sociology professors can expect to make between $45-65K depending on where they work (although there are definitely places that start at less), and if you climb to full professor at a well-respected place you can easily make $85-105K or more depending (a well-respected sociologist at Harvard can make more than that).</p>
<p>I 100% agree with the “you have to really want it” about the PhD. I’m in my 5th year and once you get to this point, it all boils down to perseverance, grit, and determination. Also, let’s be real, it’s extremely unlikely for anyone to get out of a sociology PhD in 4 years. More than likely, it will take you 5-7 years.</p>
<p>Hi, thank you so much for your reply! I would really love to work for a while after college, but due to some unusual family issues, I have to go on staight to graduate school right after college or stop at a B.A degree. I personally would love to persue a higher education, so I’m definitely applying for graduate school in my senior year. Based on what you said, it would be really difficult to get admitted by a top-notch graduate program for HR M.A without work experience? And I’ve talked to some people who said that HR is not a very specialized subject (no offence), because people who don’t major in HR can be human resources workers too, so this major doesn’t have that much value as purely professional subjects (e.g. Accounting and Social Work) do. Do you feel the same way? Thank you so much for your time!</p>
<p>Hi, thank you so much for your reply! I know that Accouting is a very job-oriented, professional subject, but my concern is that too many people are learning it now. I’m wondering whether the job market will have a huge surplus by the time I graduate. And because my college education is in Sociology, I would prefer a more social science type of M.A. Is there any other subjects other than HR that you would recommend to me? Thank you so much!</p>
<p>HR is not that specialized at the entry-level stage, such as an HR assistant. However, HR generalists and consultants typically look for 5+ years HR experience, and higher up HR managers and directors require more, and often want an advanced degree or certification in HR. It requires a lot of knowledge about labor laws (which vary from state to state), as well as compensation and benefits. You also have to have experience dealing with a variety of bizarre situations, because HR is not a field you should be stumbling through as you learn from your mistakes at the management level. Mistakes like that can lead to lawsuits and high turnover and other things that lead to hefty costs for the business. At the HR assistant level, mistakes aren’t often that influential, as there is a manager present to watch for those things.</p>
<p>You could get into an HR program, but, as I stated, the higher degree will not likely get you a better job than you would get with a bachelor’s degree because the HR generalist, manager, director, etc. roles require a few years of experience. You’d most likely be starting at the same place with a masters degree as you would a BA/BS, only you would be somewhat overqualified for the position and underpaid given your advanced degree.</p>
<p>HR (business management) is quite different than a career in academia (sociology PhD), which is quite different than accounting. It sounds to me like you’re very unsure of what you’d like, and you need some real-world experience in at least one of two of these areas either by finding an internship, or job shadowing someone to get a feel for what you do and don’t like. </p>
<p>What drew you to major in sociology in the first place? Were you ever interested in social work?</p>
<p>I’m not really sure what your unusual family issues are, and I’ve noticed a trend a people coming into CC and thinking that their situation is “unique” when it’s actually not all that unique. Not that it’s not important or an obstacle, but that many other people have had similar experiences and overcome them. I know that there are graduate students (MA and PhD level) who have children, taken care of elders, been sick themselves, and had a host of other problems and still managed to complete their degrees. You, of course, are the best judge of your own life - but I think they would have to be very unusual indeed for you to have to choose either to go straight to graduate school or <em>never</em> be able to get a graduate degree.</p>
<p>If you are concerned that too many people are learning <em>accounting</em>, then you definitely shouldn’t choose sociology. First of all, most social science MAs (sociology, psychology, political science) won’t really give you better job prospects, not over and above other kinds of professional degrees. Second of all, I actually don’t think there are as many people competing for accounting jobs or graduate training as you think. Accounting is a field that, for better or for worse, has a reputation as a boring, tedious job that only eggheads do. Job prospects for master’s trained accountants are actually pretty good. However, a problem that you’ll run into is most MS programs in accounting (as opposed to MBAs with a concentration in accounting) require an undergraduate major in accounting at an AASCB-accredited program.</p>
<p>If you are interested in a more social science degree that leads to professional work, I second the suggestion of social work - an MSW will allow you to do work in a variety of settings and will require your sociology background. You can take specialized classes in management of social organizations and cross-register for analysis classes if you want that background. I was also going to suggest an MPA with a concentration in social policy or economic analysis, since you have the math background. The caveat is that most MPA programs prefer students with some work experience.</p>
<p>Hi, thank you so much for your advice! I’ve thought about MSW too, but despite my interest in volunteering and community service, I’m not planning to make a life out of it. This may seem like a very narrow way to interpret the profession of social worker, but I’m not sure I can directly deal with people’s problems every day. That’s how I abandoned the option of becoming a social worker. I chose Sociology as my major in college, because I enjoy studying social issues and phenomenon theoretically, and I thought understanding them is the first step towards change making. Now I’m having second thoughts of whether I really love Sociology that much to basically devote my life researching and teaching it. I guess my answer is no, despite the fact that I still like to interact with people. I completely agree with NovaLynnx’s idea about finding an internship or externship with people working in these fields, and it is what I’m trying to do now with the alumni networks. Is there any peopel interaction component in Accounting as well, or does Accounting lead to jobs dealing solely with numbers? And second, without any Accounting background, will it be very difficult for me to get into a top Accounting graduate program? Thank you!</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your answer! From what you are saying, it seems like HRM can’t take you anywhere without enough work experience. It will be very difficult for me to get into a top graduate program for HRM, or for me to get a job after I achieve my HRM education, right? Since I’m positive that I won’t be able to have any time between my college graduation and graduate school, I’m sure that I won’t have much work experience in HRM before graduate school. Considering all, it really sounds like I should forget about HRM…</p>
<p>I’m thinking of doing a bridge business program for undergraduate students, and hopefully being exposed to different branch subjects in business can help me make up my mind. What are generally fields that guarantee more possibility of a stable and okay-paid job in business? Accounting or marketing?</p>
<p>If you’re interested in business, you really, really need to drop this idea of going straight into graduate school, because it won’t help you at all and, if anything, will hurt you. Being “over-educated” is a thing, and having six straight years of college with no real-world work experience is not what employers are looking for.</p>
<p>There is no “guarantee” of a stable job anywhere. You should look to find a career field that fits your long-term interests, goals and values.</p>
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<p>There’s always some human interaction in every job, but the whole point of accounting is, well, counting numbers - so if you’re not comfortable with doing that all day, then you probably shouldn’t go that direction.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of going to graduate schools that offer business-related courses, like HRM and Accouting. Are there lots of graduate programs of this kind offered outside of business school?</p>
<p>…no. Why would there be? Those are business-related fields which are effectively always part of a given college or university’s business school.</p>
<p>Amelia, I really, really think you need to sit down and think about your career path. Talk with your adviser, your parents, stop by your college’s career center, things like that. You aren’t going about this the right way. Graduate school is not a thing you dabble in while trying to figure out what to do with your life - it’s something you do with a very specific goal in mind. Going in with the mindset of “I must go to graduate school now or never” simply isn’t a good way to think about it.</p>
<p>I agree with polarscribe - talk to people who know /you/, and who know /your/ specific situation. Unless I missed it, you did not tell us why you cannot take a few gap years between graduation and graduate school. Many people find after graduation that their interests and opportunities change, and they never need to return to graduate school anyway to change fields or move up in their profession.</p>
<p>If you don’t like dealing with people’s problems, you probably won’t like HR. The HR manager is the one who everyone goes to when they have problems with their own managers, or other employees. We handle ethics complaints, harassment, etc. I personally love helping people when I can, and I am upset when I am unable to help them. But it is a rewarding job. </p>
<p>Talk to your professors and gain some more volunteer and internship experience. Maybe even get a part-time job off campus in an office setting or some other place that will allow you to get an idea of what different types of jobs are like. You have too many very different ideas when all you really need is to explore and find your focus. It may seem like whatever you major in now will be your career - but it is now very common for people to change careers several times in one’s life (which does not always require going back to school), so you are NOT trapped in sociology after graduation, even if you don’t go to graduate school.</p>