<p>Why is it?Does it not require alot of intellect?</p>
<p>Whenever someone mentions that they major in a social science, subsequently they'll get asked what do they plan on doing with that degree.I understand that social science majors are known for not being lucrative, but all other majors as well aren't either.No degree guarantees a career, unless you're going to a prestigious university.</p>
<p>So, really what degree is really worth it?</p>
<p>Social science degrees can prepare you for many types of careers.</p>
<p>I've never heard of Sociology referred to as a waste. If a degree is a waste, it wouldn't be offered by colleges.</p>
<p>I've never noticed any contempt for sociology in academia. I've had two sociology classes (introductory and deviant behavior) and found them to be quite enjoyable.</p>
<p>"If a degree is a waste, it wouldn't be offered by colleges. "</p>
<p>Lol.</p>
<p>People think college is just a trade school for nerds. That said I wouldn't say you have the luxury of studying something you can't use unless you're getting a substantial scholarship or your parents are OK with it.</p>
<p>I'm on roughly 25% scholarship (plus financial aid) and my parents aren't providing any financial support (and I'm fine with that). I'm at a medium sized private and I'm paying decent money for a liberal arts degree. If you think you are studying you can't use, you will prone yourself to not finding something use for it.</p>
<p>edit *If you think you are majoring in a useless discipline, you will prone yourself to finding no use for it.</p>
<p>I find that sociology requires a lot of analysis/critical thinking. Majoring in sociology requires memorizing a c*load of theories, who said them, why they are applicable today, etc. Sometimes, it's just really boring. If it didn't require intellect, I think no sociology class would consist of theory analysis. One of my friends, who is doing a certificate in International Relations, **always puts me down for being a sociology major. If I tell her I have to do my reading for a class or something, she always asks things like "Now, honestly, does that class require any thinking at all?" Sometimes, it gets really annoying. Who's to say that just because she has a degree in International Relations, with 2 languages, and I have a degree in Sociology with 3 languages, that she is any more desirable than I am when it comes to jobs? I agree-- nothing guarantees a career. You can be a biochem major and end up with no job after graduate, whereas you can major in something like Philosophy and end up with a $60,000+ job. It's not about what you study -- it's about HOW you use it. </p>
<p>I completely disagree that you should only study what interests you if you can afford to. I cannot afford to study sociology. I know that the prospects of finding a job directly in the field as soon as I graduate are pretty slim, but I love it so much I can't bare to part. I particularly dislike when alums from the college come visit and ask me what year I am. Upon discovering I'm a junior sociology major, they ask "what are you going to do with that? how can you use that?". I don't let it get to me too much, though. I do what I like, not what yields money. It's as simple as that. </p>
<p>I also can't apply to graduate schools next year (my senior year), because I am taking years (!!!!) off to pay back my loans. I'm currently on a $35,000(ish) scholarship a year at a $48,000 dollar school. The burden is all on me...and I'm sticking with it.</p>
<p>"If a degree is a waste, it wouldn't be offered by colleges."</p>
<p>That's just completely false. There are plenty majors that are offered that are complete wastes. The college doesn't care if some kid is a moron and decides to throw away 6 figures on a worthless degree. They'll offer anything and everything they can if they have the teaching staff/classes behind it to make it a legitimate major.</p>
<p>Does that mean it'll be useful? No way. It could be a complete waste. </p>
<p>Yet, still, kids take colleges up on these majors and throw money away on things they could learn by going to the damn bookstore and reading/studying on their own time. </p>
<p>Not that sociology is really one of those degrees though. I'm talking about others.</p>
<p>People love to hate on sociology because it is considered one of the easiest if not the easiest major. I'm not a sociology major nor do I know anyone that is, so I can't say that for certain. It is pretty absurd because almost every major has another major that they like to make fun of. Physics majors make fun of the engineers. Industrial engineering is sometimes called "imaginary" engineering. Technical majors make fun of the humanities majors. The humanities majors make fun of the technical. Everyone has someone else that they rag on.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, what can you do with a BA in sociology? (I'm a psych major and have discovered there's not much I can do without a higher degree)</p>
<p>I recommend these sites below:</p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors/sociology.htm%5DUniversity">http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors/sociology.htm]University</a> of North Carolina Wilmington - The Career Center - Explore and Research Careers<a href="Sociology%20BA">/url</a></p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors/psychology.html%5DUniversity">http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors/psychology.html]University</a> of North Carolina Wilmington - The Career Center - Explore and Research Careers<a href="Psychology%20BA">/url</a></p>
<p>CollegeKid says:
[quote]
Not that sociology is really one of those degrees though. I'm talking about others.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And what would the other majors be?</p>
<p>To the OP. . .</p>
<p>Simple: if a major is not known to lead into a lucrative career or when mentioned one can't think of a job for it then it's considered useless. I bet about 95.5% of the people in the U.S. see college as a white collared vocational school. If the the major isn't technical or can be applied immediately out of college then it gets little to no respect. It's all about the almighty dollar. I'm a Sociology and Philosophy major, I'm used to answering these types of questions. All I say is that I enjoy what I'm learning and I would not trade the experience for anything. Can I learn each subject on it's own? Sure, but I love the subjects so much that I choose to spend a lot moolah in order to be with peers and professors that share the same interest. I can say the same thing with any subject about self learning, but who are we to judge on whether a major is worthwhile. Life is too short, you to have to take risks. On the other hand, I consider those who jump ship for money gold diggers, but that's strictly my opinion.</p>
<p>^it's true. completely agree. lots of people are solely interested in how much money a major can get you.</p>
<p>As an anthropology major (which is kind of a sister-major to sociology, they look at alot of the same concepts and are often in the same department), I get this all the time. "...what are you going to do with that?" It's always, WHEN are you, not just are you, going to grad school? And it's from everyone, even my own mother who, since I'm graduating in May, has been nagging me to DEATH over what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I know what I'm interested in (non-human primate behavior, primate/human evolution, and human paleontology--physical/biological anthropology) but people aren't usually interested in it when I try to tell them about it (or, since I'm in Alabama, they'll get all huffy and religious with me) so I usually just shrug and go "I'll figure something out."</p>
<p>For some reason people consider anthropology, psychology, and especially sociology, to be the blow-off "athlete" majors where you don't have to do any work and can ride by easily, but they're not. If you're not gifted in writing papers, you're basically f---ed in those majors because there are MAJOR writing components to all the upper level classes I've taken. Also, there is a crapload of reading that is necessary too. Engineers would probably keel over from the lack of specific mathematical answers. </p>
<p>But every sociologist or anthropologist I've ever met is a gifted public speaker and writer. They are very personable although somewhat odd but have had really cool life experiences due to their research (who wouldn't want to go traveling the world and such all the time, even if it is researching signs of disease in 18th century slave remains, it's in Barbados!) I've met very few engineers and scientists who were as interesting and sociable. (they are quite often very strange, awkward people in my experience)</p>
<p>I agree it is not a wasteful major. I find it very interesting as I have taken a few sociology courses myself. It entails tons of writing, so it definitely sharpens your communication skills in that area. The job opportunities are not as clear cut though. You have to work a million times harder than a business, engineering, or computer science major to find a position that pays a decent wage. I suggest if you want to study the liberal arts, make sure you don't have tons of loans after graduating. Or make sure your school has great recruiters that come because it may take you a while to find that first job to prove yourself.</p>
<p>Going off AUlostchick – </p>
<p>There are essentially two types of undergraduate degrees. The vocational, cut and dry type such as engineering, accounting, nursing, and education which lead to skill-specific careers. And the less career-oriented arts, humanities, and/or social sciences, etc. which give you an introductory understanding of a subject while building career skills such as research, writing, critical thinking, and interpretation and analysis of information. Now technically you can learn all those skills from the vocational degrees. The vocational degrees give you the skills needed to perform a service and make contribute to an industry. </p>
<p>With the humanities you learn and understand humans, societies, and civilization. The jobs/careers are definitely there, but often do not directly make use of the topics learned. They may also be more difficult to come by and pay less on average. But it shouldn’t be overly discouraging. Top students often are just as competitive for business positions. I also recently saw a Forbes article which had the median starting salary of history majors one spot below accounting and one above business management. Forbes</a> Ranks College Majors by Average Starting Salary | career, education, Forbes | SavvySugar - Career and Money </p>
<p>With a master’s degree in a more specialized sub-field, many find career paths such as social work, public administration, or library science. And of course, there is also graduate school (which actually can make you a sociologist!). Many take arts and humanities degrees to the private sector out of necessity. You need a bachelor's degree to be an engineer, accountant, etc., whereas you need a Ph.D to be a psychologist, sociologist, etc. People view sociology and other humanities/social sciences as worthless simply because there is no cut and dry, instant career opportunity with only bachelor's degree. But those who study them know that they are interesting and enjoyable, and they do allow you to earn a living.</p>
<p>The reason is simple.</p>
<p>We live in a society (at least north America) where little value is placed on any classical sense of education. People believe the lie that they created: that kids nowadays should be majoring in such things as engineering, business, poli sci, econ, hard sciences, and psychology. They say "it's useful for getting a good job". They degrade university to simply being a place to prepare you for a job, instead of a place traditionally, in interpretation, was supposed to teach you to think critically for the sake of being better at life.</p>
<p>The problem with the idea these people hold is that of all those majors I listed, the only applied major is engineering. You won't become and engineer if you don't have specific engineering training. An engineering degree is for all purposes a career pathway, a professionalized degree.</p>
<p>The stigmas attached to the others is complete BS!
A political science degree will land you a wonderful 40k a year govt job with red tape and no hopes of rising to the top, ever. Business, ahhh dont get me started.
Unless you have a crazy wharton or stern degree in finance or accounting, it wont help you in any specific way, and certainly not in life.</p>
<p>Society (or at least most of it) calls educated people fools. You major in something great like classics or philosophy, the uneducated laugh at what they see as a wasted education. Ridiculous if you ask me.</p>
<p>Of course, generally a lot of the people who are like this are the people who go to poop-state university, which is essentially high school with more people. The workload is the same, if not barely more. And these people graduate from their college and they think "ohhhh, that was so much harder than high school", but really the reason why it was hard is because they messed around all high school so they never really learned enough to take on greater challenges.</p>
<p>HA! so foolish. There's tons of people out there who seriously think work at different schools is equally difficult. Can you believe that?</p>
<p>BIGTWIX says:
[quote]
Society (or at least most of it) calls educated people fools. You major in something great like classics or philosophy, the uneducated laugh at what they see as a wasted education. Ridiculous if you ask me.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Most notably the western culture. Money centric.</p>