Doing a double major in French & Disability Studies I try to work part-time, or full-time in the summer, jobs that are oriented towards those fields. I have been fortunate enough to teach a French introductory and conversation class for Spectrum for the City of London. Looking at the current openings on the City of London’s website is a great start for students to find a part-time or full-time job. Typically, they offer a lot of recreation-type jobs, which are great if you are looking to work with children.
The past few summers I also worked for City of London summer day camps by which I applied through the same server. After my first summer working as a I as a 1:1 inclusion worker, I realized that it was one of my passions and discovered the disability studies module at Kings University College. It’s amazing how much a job you love can inspire you and further enabled me to utilize concepts and skills I learned within my disability studies module. But I haven’t always worked within my field of study; I have spent many summers working as a server or at the movie theatre. It’s through trial and error that eventually you find a summer job that both aids your career development and that you’re passionate about.
Another great idea for finding a job within your field of study is talking to your professors! One of my French profs is always sure to send her students any job opportunities that come up within the French community. She usually will post them on the faculty bulletin board as well, another great resource.
I will admit student jobs can be hard work, but just because you’re working hard doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy what you do as well. I’ve had jobs that I hate and, although a good learning opportunity, I think that when you do what you love you ultimately perform a lot better than you would doing something you aren’t interested in. It’s all trial and error, so don’t give up and keep applying to different opportunities!!!!!
The American Sociological Association surveyed a cohort of sociology graduates about their post-graduation careers and the results were published in a research briefing titled Jobs, Careers & Sociological Skills: The Early Employment experiences of 2012 Sociology Majors. I found that the information in the report was relevant to me as a soon to be sociology graduate because it gave me ideas for my own career. So what were the most interesting facts from the report?
Most sociology graduates worked in these top four categories: social services (21.9%), followed by administrative support services (16.7%), sales/marketing (12.6%), and educators (11.7%). Other less common job sectors for sociology majors were service, management, and sociology research. Something else cool from the report was that they included examples of job titles of the graduates. For example, from the social services sector people surveyed had job titles such as ‘Domestic Violence Victims Advocate’ and ‘Teen Court Case Manager’.
I hope that you found this helpful. Remember that every career journey is different and not to get down on yourself if yours is different from someone else. Good luck on your search!