Sociology: A Rare But Well-Paying Job?

Forbes magazine brings students and other would-be sociologists welcome news in an April 17 online photo feature: It pays to study sociology.

Using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data from the “Occupational Employment Statistics” survey, Forbes ranks sociology as one of the top-ten highest-paying rare jobs in the United States.

Rare? High-paying? The magazine loosely defines rare as “a relatively small employment total” and considers jobs with annual salaries higher than the national average of $42,535 to be high-paying.

Forbes cites BLS data claiming only 3,440 sociologists with an average annual salary of $68,300.

On a closer examination of BLS classifications, “sociologist” is categorized separately from “sociology teachers, postsecondary” (16,110 employed with average annual salaries of $63,160) and “social sciences teachers, postsecondary, all other” (5,750 employed with average annual salaries at $69,640).

According to data compiled in ASA’s 2007 “Beyond the Ivory Tower” report, approximately a quarter of PhD sociologists work in non-academic sectors. For those in academia, an April 2008 ASA research brief puts average sociology faculty salaries for the 2007/2008 academic year at $68,857, ranging from assistant professors making $53,844 to full professor earnings of $87,938.

While the Forbes story may not have told readers the complete story, there’s no denying that, as the article claims, “This is the kind of information undergraduates should show their parents, the same parents who might need to be convinced that being a sociologist for a living could actually pay the bills.”