Careers & Outcomes
Social work emerged as a profession in the early 20th century to promote the well-being and quality of life for all persons in society. Today, social workers continue to advocate in the public arena for the needs of their clients.
Career resources
You will receive information about sociology and social work careers in various courses throughout your major. Consider meeting with your advisor to discuss your career options in more detail.f
A listing of open positions in social work is available from the Career Center.
Careers in Sociology
Studying sociology will prepare you for a broad range of careers, from law and Christian ministry to education and social work.
Courses in sociology will help you develop the following marketable skills:
- Investigative skills
- Understanding of diverse groups and cultures
- Oral and written communication
- Interpersonal skills
- Poblem-solving and critical-thinking skills
You might study sociology at Calvin and go directly into the workforce. Career opportunities available to sociology graduates with a BA degree include (but are by no means limited to):
- Criminal justice (corrections or law enforcement)
- Community activism
- Missions
- Teaching
- International or community development
- Social work
- Social research
- Personnel work in business (human resources)
Learn more about internships that could help you find employment after graduation.
See what some recent Calvin sociology graduates are doing with their degrees.
Because an undergraduate degree in sociology is so versatile, the career options open to you are many. To increase the number of options available to you, consider further education in your area of interest.
You will likely need an advanced degree (MA, PhD or similar degree) to work in the following areas:
- Urban planning
- School administration
- Law
- Church ministry
- Social work
- Academia (college teaching)
- Non-profit administration
- Counseling/therapy
Consult with your advisor or other professors in the sociology department to learn more about graduate school and what you should to prepare for further education.
Careers in Social Work
Social work emerged as a profession in the early 20th century to promote the well-being and quality of life for all persons in society. Today, social workers continue to advocate in the public arena for the needs of their clients.
Calvin's social work program equips you with the skills to take on a life of:
- working to strengthen vulnerable families
- counseling patients and families experiencing serious illnesses
- rehabilitating emotionally and physically impaired persons
- organizing to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods
- developing and evaluating public policy
- assisting older adults to make new life adjustments
Opportunities at Calvin
Center for Social Research
Calvin's own internal research center. The CSR engages the community by providing both scholarly and contract research services.
Service Learning Center
Calvin's campus office that coordinates a myriad of service-learning involvement with the local community.
Non-Calvin opportunities
Council on Social Work Education
Contains useful information about social work education and many links to other social work sites.
The National Association of Social Workers
The home page for NASW contains information about ethics, local chapters, social work credentials, educational opportunities, practice, advocacy, and much more.
Canadian Association of Social Workers
Includes information about jobs, legislation, conferences, publications, projects, and news affecting Canadian social workers and their clients.
North American Association of Christians in Social Work
Membership information, issues of faith and practice, communication with other Christian social workers, books, jobs, member services and much more are all here.
Information for Practice
IP is a free resource for social service professionals that focuses on professionally relevant stories in the world's news outlets; new articles in scholarly journals; and new resources appearing in the grey literature (e.g. scientific and technical reports primarily from governments and organizations).
Human Services Careers Network
Brings together Human Service agencies and professionals across the country to meet employment needs, provide useful tools, share "best practices", and communicate trends for the advancement of our clients.
The New Social Worker Online
This online resource offers job listings, discussion forum, books, and articles.
Social Work Job Bank
This website offers information about job postings and job searches for the Social Work graduate.
The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics
JSWVE examines the ethical and values issues that impact and are interwoven with social work practice, research and theory development. The journal provides the necessary historical perspectives on the development of social work values and ethics, as well as present articles providing value and ethical dilemmas stemming from state-of-the-art developments.