Research Findings

THE SOCIOLOGY MAJORS PROJECT

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

What Are Our Sociology Alumni doing?

2018 Findings

According to results, sociology alumni who used the Career Development Center, had a job, or an internship while they attended West Chester University reported less difficulty finding work after graduation.

In other words, it’s in current students’ professional work interest to get an internship or work-related experience while matriculating at West Chester University! While at WCU, they should also use the Career Development Center to prepare and practice for job interviews, search for internships and jobs, participate in on-campus recruiting events, and get feedback on their resumes!

Sociology alumni overwhelmingly use(d) the following skills in jobs 1 – 4 post-graduation.

90% of alumni’s jobs required the following skills:

Organization skills
Work with people who differ in race, ethnicity, gender, or social class
Work with others in teams
Use computer resources to locate information
Search for existing statistics

60-80% of alumni’s jobs required the following skills post-graduation. Importantly, the percentage increases as alumni move from job 1 through job 4, underscoring that these represent higher-level skills:

Gather information to make evidence-based arguments
Summarize information in tables and graphs
Write a report
Make presentations using software such as powerpoint

Graph 1

Graph 2

It’s in current students’ best interest to develop organization skills, work in teams with people who differ from them, use computer resources to find reliable information on social facts, be able to summarize information in tables, graphs, and reports, and make presentations to others!