Is Sociology a wasted degree?

So I'm in year 12 currently, and the university course that I'm interested in the most is sociology, however, all I seem to hear from people is that it's a wasted degree. My A Level subjects are Maths, Geography and History. It's causing me so much stress. For about 3 years I was certain I wanted to study law, but after a terrible experience with my mental health during GCSE's I realised that I no longer wanted to do that. Sociology degrees are linked to the careers that I think I might want to do after university, and I am very interested in it, but I don't want to end up wasting 3 years of my life

Reply 1

thatcooldude2.0

The biggest mistake is that people don't think about the career they want.
Everyone says do something you enjoy at university but what I recommend is that you do something for a career that you will enjoy.
Sure 3 years can be tough in something you don't really enjoy but if it gets you somewhere you want to be, you'll be motivated and likely to succeed.
What career do you want after sociology? Would you be happy there? Think about it carefully because you only get funding for 1 degree!
In some careers it's easier to progress in some it's harder, think about what you want! Some are also very competitive! Think if you finish sociology and you don't get your first choice career, would you be happy in the other careers?
Make a list of careers you're interested in and the requirements for them and explore the factors - competition, pay rates, progression, likelihood of positions being available etc :smile:

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

It's as good as any other degree for generalist grad roles, which is what the majority of graduates end up applying for and going into. Business, media, finance, law, investment banking, the civil service (most roles)...none of those sectors care what your first degree is in (albeit with law there are some additional steps involved if your first degree isn't in law; but recruiters don't care whether your had an LLB or a degree in some other subject plus did a GDL or took the SQE), and they make up by far and away the majority of grad roles available.

Sure, you couldn't go into an engineering job with a sociology degree...but if you wanted to work as an engineer you would be planning to do an engineering degree. Likewise with e.g. clinical psychologists, biomedical scientists, civil service economist roles, etc. So it really doesn't matter. School leavers, and consequently the majority of TSR users, seem to have this delusion that recruiters have a list of "preferred" subjects and if your degree isn't in one of them your application gets shredded.

The reality is most recruiters are probably going to pay little if any attention to your degree subject, and really the extent of their interest in your degree is going to be what classification you got. What they actually care about is seeing a good deal of relevant work experience that you have undertaken during your degree, and otherwise how well you can communicate the usefulness of the transferable skills you gained from your degree (which are broadly similar across all degrees, regardless of subject) to the workplace.

So...if you want to do a sociology degree, do it! Just make sure you get work experience and spend time reflecting on what skills you are picking up during your degree.