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Ask employers what they want in a new hire, and the focus is likely to be on writing, speaking, and analytical skills—especially when the new employee will be faced with complex problems. Other desired skills include the ability to cope with change; work effectively in diverse teams; gather and interpret quantitative information; and other “soft skills” such as leadership, communication, and collaboration (Beaton 2017). Indeed, having a combination of social skills and math and computer skills is the best predictor of landing a job that is unlikely to be replaced by technological automation and tends to do better than most other areas in pay (Deming 2015). The left column in Table 1.1 indicates what employers want from college graduates; the right column indicates the skills and competencies that are part of most sociological training. Compare the two, noting the high levels of overlap.

▼ Table 1.1

Source: American Sociological Association 2009; Hansen and Hansen 2003; WorldWideLearn 2007. See also Association of American Colleges and Universities and Hart Research Associates 2013.

We now have a general idea of what sociology is, what sociologists do, and what jobs students with sociology degrees tend to seek. It should be apparent that sociology is a broad field of interest; sociologists study all aspects of human social behavior. The next section of this chapter shows how the parts of the social world that sociologists study relate to each other, and it outlines the model you will follow as you continue to learn about sociology.

Thinking Sociologically

Imagine that you are a mayor, legislator, police chief, or government official. You must make many decisions each day. What method of decision-making will you use: your own intuition or assumptions, information gathered by social science research, or some other method? What are some advantages or disadvantages to each decision-making method?