Making the Case for Sociology: A Practical Guide for Students

Lisa Wade is a professor at Tulane University with appointments in sociology, the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, and the Newcomb Institute. She’s the author of Terrible Magnificent Sociology and American Hookup: The New Culture of Sex on Campus. https://lisa-wade.com/

Those of us who teach sociology know that our field is an inspiring one. Yet, even inspired students don’t necessarily know how sociology might fit into their educational plans or translate to jobs after graduation. Because I believe, wholeheartedly, that more sociology will make for a better world, I wrote a “Choose Your Own Sociology Adventure” for the Second Edition of my introduction to sociology textbook Terrible Magnificent Sociology. It joins the book’s two existing appendices on the history of sociology and research methods.  

This appendix has three aims: (1) to share some of the cultural capital useful for making decisions about classes, minors and majors, and graduate school; (2) to encourage students to take more sociology classes, while being respectful of their levels of interest, time constraints, and career goals; and (3) to teach them how to “sell” sociology to parents and potential employers. 

First, I try to level the playing field by giving readers, especially those who are first-generation college students, cultural capital they may not have already acquired. I discuss the pros and cons, for example, of career-specific and career-nonspecific majors (ones that prepare students to work a particular job versus ones that prepare students to work many jobs). I make a case for career-nonspecific majors, arguing that majors like sociology teach the core skills employers are looking for while allowing students to have wide-ranging job opportunities and flexibility over the course of their working lives. 

My second goal for the appendix is to encourage students to take more sociology classes. To this end, I offer four tiers of involvement: taking one or two more classes, minoring in sociology, majoring in sociology, and going to graduate school. For each, I offer pragmatic considerations.  

• For students interested in taking just one more class after introductory sociology, I discuss how to choose one given their overall goals.  

• For students interested in minoring, I include a table that highlights the value of a sociology minor as a complement to thirty common college majors, from physics to psychology.  

• For students interested in majoring, I discuss the World Economic Forum’s research on the core skills employers want (topping the list: analytical thinking) and make a case for sociology. I also include an “Is Sociology the Right Major for You?” checklist.  

• For students interested in graduate school, I pull back the curtain on the admissions process and provide tips on how they can make themselves competitive, while also preparing them for the realities of the job market. 

My final goal was to help students overcome any remaining anxiety about choosing a sociology minor or major by giving them concrete advice for selling the degree to employers. For example, in a table I list the core skills sociology students develop, including critical thinking, multicultural competence, and communication, and provide students with concrete language—bullet points!—to adapt for their cover letters and résumés. 

All told, I am confident that this is a unique and much-needed resource, and I’m proud to see it included in the Second Edition of Terrible Magnificent Sociology! 

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Inspire your students to pursue their own adventure in sociology with this free poster. Students who scan the QR code on the poster can access the full “Choose Your Own Sociology Adventure” appendix from Terrible Magnificent Sociology. 

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