Social Science Careers in Today's Job Market

The range of academic disciplines that fall within theteach. Students with a baccalaureate in political
social science classification includes anthropologists,science might find a job opportunity within a municipal,
archaeologists, psychologists, geographers, historians,county or state agency handling constituent work or
political scientists, economists, and urban or regionaldealing with active civic organizations. Some cut their
planners. That's a wide range of expertise; it includesteeth doing campaign work and eventually become
looking at cultures present and past, studying theirpolitical consultants.
behavior, their economies and the ground beneath- Archaeologists who work for the government often
them.survey proposed development sites to ascertain what,
Many of these positions are primarily researchif any evidence may be found there that relates to
oriented. According to the Department of Labor, overhistorical use of the property. Many anthropologists
40% of all social scientists exclusive of psychologistshave found a niche working with businesses that have
and urban planners work for the federal government.product development divisions and that want
It's a good guess that another large group of theminformation on how a product may be perceived and
teach. The social sciences comprise a number ofused by the public based cultural, physical or
fascinating fields; but the number of professionals whosociological factors. Geographers are generally
have gotten a social science education and are able toemployed by governments for the purpose of studying
utilize it in a commercial or business environment isthe physical impact of proposed development on a
limited.piece of real estate.
- Psychologists are an exception to that rule. Clinical- Graduates with a degree in economics have a lot of
psychologists must hold a doctorate and maintain strictoptions, both in business and in government. Budget
licensure. However there are a number of careerdevelopment is a major government function that
options for graduates form a bachelors or mastersoccurs on an annual basis. Government agencies also
program in psychology. Human resource departmentslook at the economic impact of many things, from
in medium and large businesses hire psychologyproposed legislation to the closure of military bases to
majors to work as interviewers, trainers or recruiters.the economic model of a foreign nation. At the local
Any sort of job that involves extensive human contactlevel, city or county administrators employ economic
and interaction - sales, account management,professionals to manage finances and revenue. The
counseling jobs that don't require special licensure,same is true of businesses, where you may find a
probation and parole workers - all of these professionsformer economics student working as a risk manager,
have psychology graduates in their ranks.financial officer or budget analyst.
- Urban and regional planners engage in research, butIf you are interested in studying one of the social
for very specific purposes with clear objectives insciences you should consider speaking with a career
mind. They work with statistics, economic data andcounselor at your (potential) school. Many colleges
demographics in order to produce recommendationstoday have placement offices and career
on development questions or plans for a givenprofessionals who work in them. With persistence, you
geographic or political entity.should be able to find a job opportunity that will allow
- Political scientists who do graduate work usuallyyou to utilize your education in the social sciences.