is doing a sociology degree useless?

hi, i take sociology at a-level and i LOVE it! i was thinking about taking sociology at university to study for passion and because im interested. then i was thinking about going travelling afterwards to have a break from studying. then, after i would either work somewhere or get a masters in social work when im more ready and that i know i want that career.
is it too expensive and a waste?

Hi! Thought I would answer your question as I did a Politics and Sociology degree so have some experience of this at least. First of all, I will say that I loved the sociology side of my degree and would choose this again if asked. For me, the most important part of my degree was enjoying and being interested in the subject I was doing. I know some people will probably dismiss sociology as a subject as it doesn't specifically tie to a career/ because it isn't a classic degree. I also knew that I want to work in the public sector so this provided a strong foundation for that. I think it would be really interesting for you if you later wanted to go into social work. So many people go to university nowadays and do all kinds of subjects so I think the main thing is how you apply what you've learned and how you present this to employers. I know that I sometimes wondered why I was doing it- but then remember that I have genuinely developed lots of useful skills such as my critical thinking and research skills. The only thing I would be wary of is that if you want to do social work at Master's level, the current student loans provided for Masters in England barely cover the cost of courses so you need to be able to pay for your own accommodation and living costs for that year. Unless they provide bursaries for social work specifically? I don't know what the funding is like for social work sorry!

hi, oh wow did you like politics too? sociology is so interesting though and i never thought id love it so much. i also am unsure about career paths atm, so taking sociology at university would be great for me to enjoy the subject and also figure out what i want to do as a job. can you be a youth worker with the degree do you think? and what orher jobs do people usually get afterwards as ik its not a specific degree for a specific job. if i went to hertfordshire uni in hatfield to study social work, it’s a 30 min drive so i could just travel as i wont need another uni experience anyway. i think they provide bursaries for nursing which is also a choice of mine but more so social work and im not sure if it covers social work too but i should look into that as there may be an NHS bursary im not too sure

Yeah I really liked Politics too- especially in 2nd and 3rd year when I could choose the majority of the modules I was taking. One option you could consider if you're not sure what you want to do for your degree yet is choosing a uni which allows you to do minors in first year- so I went to uni just to do Politics and took Sociology as one of my minors (but you did the exact same content as sociology students) and ended up changing my degree to the joint honours going into second year. Not an expert but I think you could definitely be a youth worker- you may need relevant experience but I would recommend getting this whatever degree you do. There are a whole range of things that people I know who did sociology went into- from librarians to the NHS grad scheme. As you may see on other threads on here, unless you are going into a science degree like Biochem or something, people end up doing careers completely different to their degree. Even then some people completely switch what they want to do after university. This is why I just took subjects/modules I was interested in- a lot of entry level jobs and grad schemes only require something like a 2:1 degree but don't specify what this degree has to be in (unless of course it is something that requires a computing degree or specific skills like that). My main advice would be to trust your own decisions and know that choosing your degree subject does not determine your future (as much as people make it out to be the biggest decision you will ever make!)

what university did you go to if you don’t mind me asking? it doesn’t really matter where you go does it? as long as you like the modules that’s all that matters right? i have visited Aru in cambridge for an open day and just looked around not fully because i had something going on in the day so it was a quick visit. i really loved it there and i love the city as well as the modules ive looked at for sociology online as it includes ones id love. however, im looking at other unis too just in case. did you do exams or just assignments or a mixture of both? ik im asking too many questions sorry, but did you go on any trips or abroad trips?

i have done some research into youth work, i really do like the look of it and it does definitely interest me. i think it would give me more of a feel for social work as they’re similar in a way but ofc social work is much more work i suppose and a better wage but ofc im not bothered with the wage as im more motivated by helping people instead of being motivated for money.

what sort of experience do you recommend and ik ur not an expert so im sorry if its too much ahaha

thank you soooo much for ur help 😊😊😊

hi, i take sociology at a-level and i LOVE it! i was thinking about taking sociology at university to study for passion and because im interested. then i was thinking about going travelling afterwards to have a break from studying. then, after i would either work somewhere or get a masters in social work when im more ready and that i know i want that career.
is it too expensive and a waste?

ps. was thinking of studying sociology at ARU because i love the university there and then do a masters in herts because it’s got a good reputation for social work.

Hiii sorry for my late response! I went to Lancaster. I would agree as long as you like the university from what you've seen of it and the course it provides then it doesn't matter where you go. Just be aware of boring things like what the student accommodation is like/teaching standard is like etc. too!

For sociology, I only ever did coursework and the only exams I had to do were in politics modules. I think most unis talk about what their course assessments would be like on their websites. The coursework for me was usually essays on topics we'd covered in a module (with the essay length increasing every year of uni) but I also had a couple of modules that had groupwork/presentations or different essay types like reflection essays. I didn't go on any trips and I don't think it's super common with subjects like sociology. Although for me it may partially have been down to doing my degree during the peak of Covid too ahaha.

I would just recommend getting any experience that improves the skills you would need in a social work or youth work role- this could be volunteering with charities, working in a school as a school assistant, or basically any role that involves working with people as that is a key part of social work. Lots of unis will have internships you can do alongside terms too so definitely have a look out for these!

hi, i take sociology at a-level and i LOVE it! i was thinking about taking sociology at university to study for passion and because im interested. then i was thinking about going travelling afterwards to have a break from studying. then, after i would either work somewhere or get a masters in social work when im more ready and that i know i want that career.
is it too expensive and a waste?