Academic Sociologists

Academic Sociologists

A. Academic Sociologists — more sociologists are employed as teachers than in any other capacity.

1. Most teaching sociologists also serve as researchers, administrators or social critics.

2. Most of these researchers engage in basic or pure research.

B. Professional Sociologists in the Workplace - According to Peter Rossi and William Foote Whyte, two prominent applied sociologists, sociology can be applied to the workplace in three major ways.

1. Through APPLIED SOCIAL RESEARCH, which utilizes the use of sociological knowledge and research skills to obtain information for various groups and organizations. Most of this research uses three specific types: DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES, ANALYTICAL, and EVALUATIVE STUDIES.

2. Through SOCIAL ENGINEERING, which attempts to change the way a society, community, organization, institution, or group is arranged so that a particular goal may be achieved.

3. Through CLINICAL SOCIOLOGY, which utilizes sociological perspectives, theories, concepts, research and methods for consulting and providing technical assistance to individuals, groups, or organizations.

C. Nonsociologists in the Workplace

1. The study of sociology offers valuable preparation for other types of careers.

2. Sociology is useful in developing research skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, interpersonal skills, and communication skills. All of these skills are important in most occupations.

D. Nonsociologists in Society and Other Social Environments

1. The understanding of sociological principles should interest every social being.

a. Sociology concentrates on an enormous range of topics and events.

b. Sociology teaches us to consider perspectives other than our own and to look beyond the individual in our efforts to understand individual behavior.

c. Sociology helps us to understand ourselves.

2. C. Wright Mills wrote that the “sociological imagination” enables one to distinguish between personal troubles and public issues. By understanding how our own personal problems are generated by social forces, we are better able to deal with the problem.

3. Sociology can help us with most of our important personal decisions, such as whether to get married, whether to have children, whether to buy a home, what type of career to pursue and when to retire.

4. In summary, sociology is certainly relevant to a college education; it can provide a tool for improving the quality of one’s own life and the lives of others as well.