ASA report advises new PhDs in sociology: look at research, applied, and policy positions outside academia

A 2010 American Sociological Association report indicates more declines in job listings and projected jobs for the coming year.

The report says that the discipline is experiencing "the most challenging job market in memory." But it also holds out hope of improvement: "[I]t is possible that the sociology job market hit bottom in 2009 and we can expect some recovery in 2010 and 2011. . . We expect that after the recession, universities will open lines that have been canceled and senior faculty members that are deferring their retirements may retire from the academy."

The report also advises new PhDs to consider broadening their job searches to "research, applied and policy positions outside the academy," noting an apparent uptick in hiring PhDs for these types of jobs. The report also notes that these jobs typically pay better than academic jobs, and that many sociology PhDs are happy in such positions.