Social Science studies the impact of humanity on the world. Many disciplines like communication, history or anthropology were once considered elements of the humanities, and gained their social sciences categorization in the early Twentieth Century. After World War I, scholars challenged themselves to apply statistical data and arithmetic quantifications to areas they had until that time studied by inspection alone. Social science majors in this day and age analyze how our individual activities create ripple effects in everything from economics to the environment.

Top Social Science Career Paths

In earlier decades, Social Science majors worked almost entirely through the academic ranks in order to land permanent track positions at colleges institutions of higher learning. The business community has only just started creating regular and stimulating new breaks for social science majors to use their expertise and develop the lives of our nation’s people.

Market Researcher

Professional market researchers evaluate how consumers understand and perceive products and ideas and refine that data into informative and well-interpreted material that organizations can use to create stronger, more useful products and services for the consumer base.

Manufacturers depend on market research to outline the plan of novel products long before they get to store shelves. Politicians learn to appreciate what strategy and speeches can do to produce victory during elections with the help of market researchers. Troops of market researchers are paid by entertainment companies to gauge audience reaction to the latest films, television shows, and radio formats.

In the face of technological advances allowing market researchers to sample vast quantities of people simultaneously by telephone or Internet, many companies still depend on qualitative focus groups consisting of small groups interviewed face to face by a competent individual. Significant suggestions and quantifiable metrics are then extracted from these conversations, with facts and figures then being used to directly advance sales. Accomplished social science majors should look forward to satisfying careers in research firms, government agencies or with corporate employers.

Social Worker

Social science majors with common interest to directly revolutionize people’s lives can find fantastic recompense in careers as social workers. Social workers are more often than not connected to cases involving children, but the U.S. Labor Department expects to see remarkable demand for social workers to work with America’s rapidly growing elderly population. Experts similarly point to an amplified need for substance abuse and weight loss therapists as managed care companies endeavor to reallocate resources towards prevention of illness instead of treatment.

Public Relations Strategist

Companies, governments and politicians all rely on the social sciences for performance evaluation, and all these units call for ever-increasing amounts of assistance to communicate the value of their work to the general public. In the dynamic world of public relations, social sciences majors who merge journalistic formation with study in specific fields like sociology or economics can thus both find themselves profitable ventures while contributing towards social development.

These interactions specialists facilitate employer reaction to exterior events. Further, they work within teams to predict possible reactions to new creations, policies or programs and can thus contribute to integrated media plans within organizational and individual development cycles.

Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL)

Globalization has brought about the twin forces of immigration and world trade, effectively revolutionizing the way we converse as a country. Consequently, foreign personnel and new inhabitants in the United States clamor for advanced tutoring in English.

Social science majors focusing in linguistics can serve this population well due to their versatility and their firm communication skills. ESL teachers can expect high demand for their proficiency in the near future, whether within formal institutions, community center settings, or even at private companies providing training as an employee benefit.

Why Should You Consider a College Major in Social Science?

At any rate, whether they pursue a tenure track through the academic world or follow the explorer’s path through the jungles interacting with native tribes, social scientists breathe and labor on the cutting edge of appreciating what makes us human beings. No longer reduced to the backdrop of the humanities pack, social science graduates now work hard to better society through innovative advancement in business, politics, and communication.

Additionally, students who desire to travel the world can throw themselves into numerous cultural and academic exchanges. The usual study abroad opportunities available to most students are but one alternative for the social science major, who can partake in far more interesting programs. Psychology students, for example, can find out more in relation to the roots of their discipline in Germany and Austria. Anthropology majors can study land exploitation and its ecological effects in places like Chile, Costa Rica, and Argentina.

Notwithstanding their focal point, social science majors enjoy a wonderful gift to enhance themselves by personally experiencing global cultures.

What Candidates Make the Best Social Science Majors?

Prejudiced thinkers who enjoy crunching numbers while they find ways to progress civilization make some of the strongest social science majors. Although most students tend to decide on a specific area of attention, the arts and humanities legacy of the social sciences permits majors to expand their spotlight in a wide range of disciplines.

Prospective social science majors can also gain from guiding principles that permit various establishments to give credit for coursework done in high school or for career know-how:

• By and large, high school students can decrease their workload by as many as three classes over the course of their degree curriculum purely by attaining high scores on higher placement exams.
• Many institutions offer the option to earn course credits in substitution for well-researched and scientifically verifiable independent study, seeing as social science programs lay on the framework of field research. Subsequently, keep a diary and draw attention to events in your experience that could ignite discussion with a professor.

What Can You Expect from our Guide to Social Science Majors?

Social Science encompasses various fields. Only after having taken your time to explore our summaries of particular Social Science majors can you give your career the early and informed boost that choosing a specialty affords a scholar. Each one of our profiles shows you some ways that Social Science majors can revolve a specialty into a momentous profession.

In appraising the profile for all the majors, our insight about the benefits of choosing that major will be distinctly provided, emphasizing some of the likely career paths you can trail, any of the provisions necessary to initiate a career in that field, and how you can make the most of e-learning programs to study from anywhere, frequently on your own schedule.

Find Your Social Science Major:

• Behavioral Science
• Economics
• History
• Human Services
• Journalism
• Linguistics
• Political Science
• Social Work
• Sociology
• Women’s Studies