Career outlook for sociology profs improves
The slow recovery from the Great Recession has left many new grads and even current college students in a lurch. Many are considering their future careers based on the job growth outlook in their areas of interest. One job sector that is seeing growth, according to a new study, is the field of sociology. According to a new report by the American Sociological Association, the job market for new sociology PhDs is improving with the number of jobs nearing the level it was at prior to the recession, reaching just 4 percent under what was seen in 2008.
In 2009, the number of academic sociology positions being advertised plummeted by 32 percent. By the end of 2011, the job market in the field was recovering, with the growth rate for assistant and open rank academic sociology positions trending up at a rate of 12 percent after seeing a 31 percent growth in job advertisements in 2010.
“The job growth in sociology and related disciplines is good news for those seeking positions as assistant professors,” explains the report. “However, the ‘overhang’ of unplaced or under-placed scholars from the Great Recession years will likely continue to make the job market challenging for newly-minted PhDs for several years to come.”
As a result, the report’s authors recommend that sociologists looking to stay in the field should ponder the idea of embarking on postdoctoral degree work, extend their stay in graduate school, consider non-research or jobs outside of academia, or be open to accepting temporary work.
When it comes to non-academic jobs, 255 of the 806 sociology jobs advertised in 2011 were outside of the education field. According to the report, most of those positions were likely available to new PhD holders and would equate to one job per new doctoral degree holder. But, the report’s authors warn, that although this is good news, it does not include previous graduates who could not find work or who took temporary positions to ride out the recession.
