a bit demotivated with my degree

first year at Cardiff doing sociology and social policy, love it but hear too much of people suggesting that it's a pointless degree that doesn't have a career path. truthfully, is it?

Reply 1

Talia23567

Please don’t listen to them that is not true at all! You can do any corporate job with this degree!

Reply 2

10Joyce!

absolutely not! would argue that your degree opens up a lot of career options for you to choose from!

Reply 3

University of Suffolk student

Official Rep

Hi telecoms8,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience in others' feedback about your potential employability with your course.

As an important thing to consider, I'd suggest think about who gives you this feedback. Are they knowlegable/relevant in your area of study/career interest(s), are they a reliable source in knowing what career paths this degree opens up to you? 🤔

You have probably had an idea in mind when selecting the course you're studying at, and even if you didn't have a specific job in mind, studying something you're really interested in means you have a higher chance of doing a job with that degree you actually like - and that's a rare treasure! 😊

I'm not an expert in your area of study (however I'm doing sociology for one half of my degree, and I'm also not sure of what work I'll be doing afterwards, which does not worry me as I know there are a lot of options with my degree), but just doing a quick google with your degree I've seen at least 10-15 career options, all related to your degree.

You gain valuable knowledge and understanding about policies, how they work and how they are made, also with your sociology studies, you get a good understanding of how this works in a broader societal context. These (together with all the skills you attain by attending uni - such as ability to handle pressure, doing work for a deadline, cooperation and applying theoretical knowledge through group work and potentially placements, gaining the ability to work and carry out research on your own, and so on) make up for important employability skills, as you'll know more sides of an area you'll be working in.

I encourage you to also have a look online about potential employment, and if your university has a careers/employability team, to reach out to them for some guidance on what you could and/or want to do after finishing your studies. I'm sure they'll come up with multiple options for you, and you'll be the one to pick the employment path you're most interested in!

I hope I managed to help, even if it was just a little bit, and please don't get such hopeless-sounding comments break down your confidence and devotion to what you're doing! 😊

I'd love to hear your feedback and how you're getting on! 🙂

Viki
University of Suffolk
BSc Psychology and Sociology Student

Reply 4

Liverpool Hope Academic

Official Rep

Hi!

Viki gave you a lot of good information in the comment above, especially about the transferrable skills that all degrees have, so I'm just going to piggyback off that!

I studied Sociology and Politics and I had some concerns about my career choices as well. I would recommend booking an appointment with your universities careers team and having a chat with them about the different opportunities you can pursue after studying but also there may be a chance for you to get some experience while studying. There are so many jobs you can do with different types of organisations with this degree ranging from local community groups, charities, civil service jobs etc. You could also pursue an MA such as Social Research which might give you a more vocational direction.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask!
Michael

Reply 5

Arden University

Original post by telecoms80

first year at Cardiff doing sociology and social policy, love it but hear too much of people suggesting that it's a pointless degree that doesn't have a career path. truthfully, is it?

@telecoms80
Hi, I got my 1st BA (Hons) Sociology degree in 2011 and have had a good career in education and travelled to about 15 different countries on the back of it - obviously had to do a years teacher training too. Lots of career opportunities

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local / central government

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Social work *

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Education *

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Graduate schemes for private companies

*requires additional study

With a social science degree you will get people who 'went to the university of life' telling you how worthless it is - ask them what the degree involves, they usually have no idea

Enjoy yourself, you'll do amazing!

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador