People Always Ask... What Does a Social Science Major Do???

Good morning.  I thought I would start today on a positive note talking about my very exciting milestone approaching- my graduation from college!  Whew!  I am earning my degree in Social Science, focusing on Sociology and Psychology.  I am graduating with high honors (woohoo) and a 3.85 GPA.  


So on to the question I ALWAYS get asked..  What Does a Social Science Major Do??? First, we need to understand Social Science and how it affects us.  Social science encompasses a vast group of topics, so many that almost every area of our lives can somehow be touched by one of the sciences or another (or many at once).  

Social science, as a whole, deals with people and people fascinate me; from the decisions, how things manifest differently inside based on circumstances and also how resilient people can be. 


There are many areas we social scientists can go into: economics, anthropology, gerontology, sociology, education, geography, history, law, linguistics, psychology, communication studies, social work, informational science, criminology, business studies and political science (and still more to name!)...  


On top of that, there are MANY, MANY additional fields of study (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_science#Additional_fields_of_study).  




I am choosing to take the social work route and focus on families and children.  I am intrigued with the areas of sociology and psychology.  I couldn’t chose between which I enjoyed more, so I declared my degree in social science, as a whole, to get the best of both worlds (group vs. individual functionality). 

Sociologists study people and society, relationships, culture and behavior.  Individuals are highly influenced and impacted by society and groups (sociological); understanding the relationships can help us understand more on an individual level as well (psychological). 

With a Social Science background, I am looking forward to attending the University of Southern California’s Master of Social Work program.  I like this program because it offers various fields to specialize in such as families and children, health, community organization, planning and administration (COPA), and offer sub concentration areas in military social work and school settings. 

I am drawn to the families and children concentration.  I hope to initially begin work in the counseling/problem solving areas in schools, juvenile programs, or family settings.  Coming from an abusive, drug addicted home, I have and am still overcoming issues.  Growing up without a solid support system and without someone to talk to really hindered my interpersonal relationships as an adult and has degraded my sense of truly understanding childhood (since I didn’t have one).  This is something my family and I are working on and have been successful with the proper support.  I want to offer the support I never had to those who need it, whether it be in an office setting, school setting, urban areas, you name it- I want to be there.  

As some of you know, my goal in life is to run a homeless shelter.  This sounds daunting, but I have volunteered at many and there is one I particularly liked, St. Anne’s Center in Odgen, UT.  This center was not just a drug-free homeless shelter for individuals and families, but it also had a job training and placement program.  If you didn’t “pull your weight”, maintain sobriety and also maintain a job, you were asked to leave the program.  If you did your duties and job, they assisted you with understanding finances and even had connections with low income housing units in the area and would help place you in a home. 

This type of program offers much more than just a free meal and a roof; it engages people and helps them get back on their feet to become contributing members of society.  Being able to contribute to your family and society allows the individual to positively influence the economy, which in turn helps everyone.  These are the types of programs we need more of and I hope to one day be able a part of it.   

So, what can I do with my degree, you ask... The possibilities are endless...  Learning is constantly on-going...  People will always be people and society will always influence people...  There will always be a need to us to study ourselves!  

Cheers,

Katie