Prose_社会学与职场屌丝:九十年代的英文世界

社会学专业毕业的学生出路如何呢?我们看九十年代英文世界的情况,很不乐观。

一、社会学的就业现状:较差

Three out of four respondents agreed that their educational background in sociology had been beneficial in their work experience. Two complaints characterize the majority of negative statements. One criticism was that the curriculum had been too general; the second, that the degree did not help in finding a job.(Stevens R A & Todd C, 1977)

1.社会学的就业去向:市场>学术

Discusses the Internship in New York City Government program initiated by City University of New York (Lehman College) to provide sociology majors with insight into the workings of a profession. Emphasizes that such programs are necessary because a large number of sociology majors choose business and professional careers over academic ones. (GEA)(Danzger M H, 1988)

对于研究生而言,需要最多的则是学术道路信息的介绍,但这种介绍需要社会学教师减少社会学科的自命不凡。(Spalter-Roth R, 2007)

2.社会学的市场任职:本科生>研究生; 人力资源>专业研究;但另一方面,社会学本科与最后的就业去向无必然联系。

Potential employers in business and industry most frequently indicated that they could envision using sociology majors in people-management areas such as personnel, labor relations, and employee training. Little support was found for the need for research-related skills by employers. Most entry-level positions described were at the Bachelor’s level.(Watson J M, 1982)

Net of other factors, the type of undergraduate sociology degree had no impact on the occupational status of the person’s current job or on the complexity of the person’s current job in regards to involvement with data, persons, or things.(Szafran R F, 1983)

3.社会学的就业薪资:社科类垫底 (Scelza J & Spalter-Roth R, 2011)

4.社会学的就业问题:象牙塔与市场的代沟

Using survey data from 1,194 alumni in the social sciences, we obtained ratings of each major regarding the development of basic employment skills. We found that, in relation to other social science majors, the sociology major received mediocre ratings in developing such skills.(Velasco S C etc., 1992)

Existing studies show that: (1) most sociologists agree that sociological theory has much relevance to nonacademic employment; (2) nonacademic employers are somewhat skeptical and suspicious of the relevance of theoretical skills on the job; and (3) former sociology students have ambivalent opinions regarding the usefulness of theory to their careers. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the origins of employer suspicions concerning sociology and a call for “truth in advertising” when sociologists discuss the marketability of sociology degrees with students.(Wright R A, 1987)

社会学学术训练同其他社会科学相较,对于基本职业技能的培养平庸,就业的专业技能匮乏;同时,对于社会学理论用处的争论,学者、雇主和学生观点各不相同,如Wright所言,社会学界需要对坦诚面对市场需求。

二、社会学的改革需要:了解市场

Undergraduate sociology departments need to examine ways to strengthen their political positions on campus, such as developing service courses and cooperative arrangements with other programs; generating activities that are associated with public constituencies; and most important of all, learning to do something that university administrations need and perceive to be essential.(Fabianic D, 1991)

参考文献

Danzger M H. Undergraduate Education in Sociology as Career Training: The Case for an Internship Program[J]. Teaching Sociology, 1988: 41-48.
Fabianic D. Declining enrollments of sociology majors: Department responses[J]. The American Sociologist, 1991, 22(1): 25-36.
Scelza J, Spalter-Roth R. Falling Behind: Sociology and Other Social Science Faculty Salaries, AY 2010-2011[J]. 2011.
Spalter-Roth R. Beyond the Ivory Tower: Professionalism, Skills Match, and Job Satisfaction in Sociology[J]. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association, 2007.
Stevens R A, Todd C. Employment Patterns Among Sociology Majors and Their Implications for Career Planning at Winona State University[J]. 1977.
Szafran R F. Adding Math and Statistics to the Undergraduate Curriculum: Career Consequences for Sociology Majors[J]. Teaching Sociology, 1983: 517-528.
Velasco S C, Stockdale S E, Scrams D J. Sociology and other social sciences: California State University alumni ratings of the BA degree for development of employment skills[J]. Teaching Sociology, 1992: 60-70.
Watson J M. Would you employ sociology majors?: a survey of employers[J]. Teaching Sociology, 1982: 127-135.
Wright R A. Is Sociological Theory Useful in Nonacademic Employment? The Views of Sociologists, Employers, and Former Students[J]. Mid-American Review of Sociology, 1987: 39-49.