Graduates of UVM’s sociology department mostly work in human service agencies, but also go on to masters in social work programs, law school or other graduate level education. One former student drew on her sociology training in gerontology to start her own business. Another became an investment advisor. Sociology majors generally leave with excellent people skills and presentation skills, which prepares them for any field of work.
At UVM, sociology is similar to other liberal arts degrees: the skills you acquire are transferrable to many fields. A liberal arts degree equips you to do research, write and read critically and analytically so they can be trained for any kind of work. That said, many public or nonprofit agencies, governmental bureaus, and community programs hire students with specifically sociological training, as do organizations that need people with skills in sociological methodology and social statistics.
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Social Entrepreneur
Rachel Lee Cummings believes that people should live at home and take part in their communities for as long as they can. She was a 22-year-old senior at the University of Vermont in September 1999 when she started Armistead Inc. Assisted Living Services of Williston—named after her grandfather—with two part-time employees. By the time she graduated in June, she had a staff of eight full-time people. “I was one of the first private-pay agencies, and word spread fast,” she says. “People liked the care they received and they liked the caregivers.” A scant five years later she was named Vermont’s 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.