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What can I do with my degree in Social Sciences? |
Social Science careers
The occupations listed below are a selection of those which may interest Social Sciences students and graduates from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research.
Advice Worker
Advice Workers provide information, advice and guidance on a range of topics depending on the role. These topics may include housing, employment, welfare, education, finance and law.
Job profile of an Advice Worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of an Advice Worker from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of an Adult Guidance Worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Debt/Finance Adviser from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Welfare Rights Adviser from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Careers Adviser from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Higher Education Careers Adviser from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Homeless Worker from the TARGET Jobs website
Civil Service Careers
The Civil Service delivers public services according to government policies. There are a large number of different departments and so a huge variety of different roles.
Job profile of a Civil Service Fast Streamer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Civil Service Administrator from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Civil Service Administrator from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Civil Service Executive Officer from the National Careers Service website
Charity Officer
There are a variety of different roles within charities including project management, volunteer co-ordination and fundraising.
Job profile of a Charity Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Charity Fundraiser from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Charities Administrator from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Charities Fundraiser from the TARGET Jobs website
Community Development Worker
Working in communities and liaising with different agencies to bring about change and improvements. Some work may be targeted towards certain groups of people e.g. the unemployed or the homeless.
Job profile of a Community Development Worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Community Worker from the TARGET Jobs website
Community Education Officer
Promoting and co-ordinating a range of educational options to members of a local community.
Job profile of a Community Education Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Community Education Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Equality and Diversity Officer
Equality Officers promote diversity and work to ensure that people are treated fairly and not discriminated against for characteristics including race, gender, age or disability.
Job profile of an Equality and Diversity Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of an Equal Opportunities Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Race Relations Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Family Support Worker
Working with families facing a variety of difficulties and helping them to solve problems and move forward.
Job profile of a Family Support Worker from the National Careers Service website
Housing Officer
Housing Officers work for local authorities or housing associations to manage rented accommodation including solving problems raised by tenants, organising maintenance, allocating properties and dealing with payment issues. Housing Policy Officers develop policies for local authorities or housing associations.
Job profile of a Housing Manager/Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Housing Adviser from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Housing Policy Officer from the National Careers Service website
Human Resources Officer
Human Resources Officers aim to ensure that organisations have a skilled and efficient workforce. They are involved in recruitment and selection, training and development, grievance and discipline and provide advice on employment law.
Job profile of a Human Resources Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Personnel Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Training and Development Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Training and Development Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Immigration, Customs and Border Roles
There are a variety of roles involving monitoring people, banned substances and other goods leaving and entering the country to ensure safety and security and to maintain the law.
Job profile of a Customs Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of an Immigration Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Border Force Officer from the National Careers Service website
Intelligence Analyst
Analysing and assessing intelligence data largely for the purposes of security and crime prevention.
Job profile of an Intelligence Analyst from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Criminal Intelligence Analyst from the National Careers Service website
International Aid/Development Worker
Working to improve the lives of people in developing countries.
Job profile of an International Aid/Development Worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of an Aid/Humanitarian Worker from the TARGET Jobs website
Legal Careers
Providing legal services to clients.
Job profile of a Solicitor from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Solicitor from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Barrister from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Barrister from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Barrister’s Clerk from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Government Lawyer from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Chartered Legal Executive from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Paralegal from the National Careers Service website
Local Government Careers
Developing policies and delivering local services. There are a huge variety of roles within local government including roles in social care, housing and education to name just a few.
Job profile of a Local Government Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Local Government Administrator from the TARGET Jobs website
Mediator
Working with people to help them solve conflicts and disagreements.
Job profile of a Family Mediator from the National Careers Service website
Police Officer
Police Officers work to make communities safer by maintaining the law and preventing crime.
Job profile of a Police Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Police Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Prison Officer
Prison Officers are responsible for maintaining security in prisons and supporting the rehabilitation of prisoners.
Job profile of a Prison Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Prison Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Prison Governor from the National Careers Service website
Probation Officer
Probation Officers work with offenders and aim to reduce rates of re-offending and protect the public.
Job profile of a Probation Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Probation Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Psychologist
There are a range of different psychologist roles but broadly they help clients to improve their psychological wellbeing.
Job profile of a Clinical Psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Counselling Psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile of an Educational Psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Forensic Psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile of an Occupational Psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Clinical Psychologist from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of an Educational Psychologist from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Psychologist from the National Careers Service website
Psychotherapy, Counselling and Mental Health Roles
Supporting people to overcome a range of psychological or emotional difficulties.
Job profile of a Psychotherapist from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Psychotherapist from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Child Psychotherapist from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Child Psychotherapist from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Counsellor from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Counsellor from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Primary Care Graduate Mental Health Worker from the National Careers Service website
Social Researcher
Social Researchers could work for universities or research/market research organisations. Social research covers a wide range of topics including crime, transport and education. Social Researchers manage research projects including collecting and analysing data and presenting the results.
Job profile of a Social Researcher from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Social Researcher from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Government Social Research Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Government Research Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Market Researcher from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Market Research Executive from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Trade Union Research Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Trade Union Research Officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Social Worker
Social Workers work with people in the community who need support, for example, the elderly, children who are at risk, people with disabilities or mental health difficulties.
Job profile of a Social Worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Social Worker from the TARGET Jobs website
Substance Misuse Worker
Supporting clients to overcome their problems with drug, alcohol or solvent misuse.
Job profile of a Drug and Alcohol Worker from the National Careers Service website
Job profile of a Substance Misuse Outreach Worker from the National Careers Service website
Teacher/Lecturer/Education Roles
There are a variety of opportunities within education from primary schools to universities.
Graduate jobs in teaching and education from the Prospects website
Get Into Teaching website from the Department for Education - explains the various routes into teaching
Victim Care Officer
Providing help to people who have been victims of crime, including supporting them during court proceedings.
Job profile of a Victim Care Officer on the National Careers Service website
Volunteer Co-ordinator
Managing the recruitment, training, placement and retention of volunteers.
Job profile of a Volunteer Co-ordinator from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Volunteer Work Organiser from the TARGET Jobs website
Youth Offending Team Officer
Working with young offenders with the aim of reducing rates of re-offending and supporting young people to achieve positive outcomes.
Job profile of a Youth Offending Team Officer from the National Careers Service website
Youth Worker
Working with young people to provide support, raise aspirations and break down barriers to achieving. This is done in a variety of ways including through recreational activities, organising projects, mentoring and liaising with other agencies.
Job profile of a Youth Worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Youth Worker from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Youth and Community Worker from the National Careers Service website
Please note that some of these careers may require further study.
For further information on these careers, see also:
- I Want To Work In
- Information on types of jobs from Prospects
- Information on career sectors from TargetJobs
People in some Social Science roles may be self-employed.
You may be interested in graduate roles outside of Social Sciences. There are many employers who are looking for graduates with good degrees but that don’t have a preference for the subject studied. To explore different career options see:
- Path to Employment
- I Want To Work In
- Information on types of jobs from Prospects
- Information on career sectors from TargetJobs
People in some Social Sciences roles may be self-employed
Thank you to Prospects for the content on these pages.
Visit the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research Employability webpage.
The degree programme pages also include career information.