School is meant to prepare an individual for work. It is through the school environment that citizens learn how to go about their future tasks. Every individual in the jurisdiction understands the position of knowledge learned in school and how it translates to the work environment. The transition from school to work remains a major challenge for most citizens because the theory and the practical differ to a larger percentage. The majority of the population understands their place in the economy as employees. Most students come through knowing that they will later transform into employees. There are important lessons in Part II of class, majorly being how to prepare for further education or seek employment. How one moves from class to employment depends on the skills gained, the level of education, the amount of money targeted to be earned, and understanding one's career in the economy. I chose I readings because they explain the journey of a sociologist. I would like to be the very best in the industry and these readings explain just what one needs to do to get there
Issues in the Readings
The future of a sociologist
The fate of a Bachelors of Sociology Degree holder often hangs on the thread after school. Most of them fail to understand their place in the economy, thereby being rendered unwanted by the current economy ( Guppy et al. 2017) . As a professional, it is first important to know the relevance of the career to the public. After knowing how it translates to the public, the individual can see it achieve reality ( Forret 2018). There are numerous Canadians with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology but do not know their place in the economy. Such a position worries a lot because it deems them illogical and inappropriate to work. The economy needs people who know their place and are willing to take up the mantle and fight to the core.
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Few sociologists attain the high-profile standard they imagine of while in school. After school, the reality hits them that they might not be as highly demanded as they imagined while in school and thus must work out mechanisms that place them accurately in the industry (Knoblock 2008). The more an individual understands the industry's demands, the earlier it is for them to adapt and be relevant. Staying with the experience raises the chances of success in the industry (Payne et al. 1993). There is no chance for any individual to succeed, especially where they do not feel relevant (Knoblock 2008). Sociologists are advised to take it upon themselves to realize their place first before they make a move within the market. How fast they understand their place determines their relevance and ultimate success within the business environment in the long run.
Selecting a Career Major
A career major mostly entails an area that one feels they are most comfortable with. As a future career person, it is important that one looks at the existing areas and pick out one that best interests them. These are often dependent on what the individual wants to achieve in life as they work their way to the top ( Jackson & Wilton 2017) . Not every individual has the same interests as the other, and thus, there is not so much one could copy from the other. It could be more of an emotional decision than a sober one because it determines what kind of sociologist the person may be. While looking at the comfortability, it should also be coupled with an interest in that area and knowledge (Knoblock 2008). Often, humans would be comfortable with something they know the most, and as such, it can be more important for one to choose an area they are sure of in terms of knowledge.
Focusing on the major is the next step. Once a person understands and highlights their career major, they then highlight it and try to work within that specific area. As a professional, one needs to look out for their professional brand and grow their name best in the industry. Before picking out one area as a major, they have to show that they are truly good in the subject (Lambert 2009). By being good, it would mean that the person has the requisite expertise to be the best in the specific field and can deliver the best quality in the said field (Lambert 2009). A major need to be an area where one has adequate knowledge and expertise. Thus, any decisions made lying in that area should strictly be concerning the information the person holds closely ( Guppy et al. 2017) . The information would occasionally be attached to something the person loves the most to have extra motivation even as they pursue their strength. An inquest for fitting in society would be better for the individual to investigate placing themselves well in a specific niche that they believe they are better (Senter 2015). Being a professional, most concentration should be in one's major such that they become so good to attract clients. Most clients want expertise and skill, and the best way such can be achieved is through constant and consistent updates within the specific area of concern ( Jackson & Wilton 2017) . These areas are often backed up by the general knowledge gained about the specific area and the additional one gained in the street environment. Essentially, the way out in a career is placing focus on a career major.
Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction entails calmness, composure, and a natural sense of love towards a specific job. In the same way, someone could fall in love with a spouse, so can one fall in love with a job. Through job satisfaction, individuals can deliver higher quality than expected because they are more motivated to work and come in with an extra drive to keep pushing for the economy to grow. The predominant issue that has been discussed is whether most graduates are happy and satisfied with their job (Senter 2015). The measuring parameters are on how many jobs one has held since they graduated from school as sociologists. A reasonable percentage of people are satisfied with their jobs, an average rate of 40% of the new graduates ( Wyant et al. 2018) . However, the vast majority are yet to find places that are convenient for them to work. The biggest challenge for a young graduate is to find a place and settle down as an employee or a business that would satisfy one’s soul. Essentially, not so many graduates are happy with their jobs.
Some of the reasons why graduates are not happy about their jobs are they lack interest in the job, are underpaid, or are being bullied while at work. Any person needs to work at a place where they best feel appreciated. For the graduate, knowing what they want should come first because it then shows their area of interest and can comfortably adjust (Payne et al. 1993). When it misses, the graduate will likely check out for possible solutions to their challenges and sort themselves out. In trying to fit into the new lifestyle, a graduate would have to adjust to the change in lifestyle and make reasonable and seasonal changes that might match what interests them ( Jackson & Wilton 2017) . Interest determines the level of motivation in an individual. When it lacks, there are often high chances of being demotivated with works and starting to look out for options out of an organization ( Tholen 2017) . The role of a graduate is to ensure they climb their career graph in the easiest way possible.
In most cases, the motivation is the salary such that when it is lower, the person lacks the motivation to keep going and may not feel the urgent need to keep pressing and achieve what they would be in pole position to get (Senter 2015). The job changes are also brought about by business layoffs when the graduates underperform at their workstations, and the companies have no option but to lay them off. In such instances, they must adjust and come back stronger with a will to compete. The job will be satisfying where the person doing it selected it willingly (Lambert 2009). Willingness sets up a person to put in effort in their job. Generally, a young graduate needs a place that keeps them motivated to work. In that way, they are easily satisfied with the job.
Utilizing the Readings
The readings touch on important factors that a person should be looking out for a while, getting into a career. After graduating as a sociologist, there are important decisions that one has to make, and they are mostly in the career path. The person needs to draw a clear pattern and path they would like to follow ( Forret 2018) . The apex varies for different people, and in career people, every person has their ambition of where they want to get to at the end of the day. As a result, each person must analyze their career and make a favorable decision of how they would prefer to have their careers look. In the long run, the best one can do career-shaping is to guide the individual because the main decisions lie on the student's former student.
Choice of place of work
Satisfaction as an employee is a particularly important ingredient for motivation. Before starting a career, the student should first identify their best place and achieve that place. Understanding one’s personality is the first step towards choosing a place of work. As a future employee, one should look at places that match their personalities first before deciding whether to join them or not (Knoblock 2008). Energy matches are a key feature in workplaces and any form of relationship. The individual would need to look at whether the organization matches their energy and ambition and vice versa. There are some cases where people fail because they do not have a good grasp of what they want to achieve and how they want to get to the next stage of life. In such instances, the failure is attributed to poor understanding between two entities in an employment relationship. In as much as the employer calls in for the interview, the employee should equally analyze and interview the chances of the organization matching their dreams. Essentially, a person should be more confident about their choice of place of work first before they start their career.
Sternheimer (2013) looks at some of the challenges that the average sociologist goes through. One is the failure to identify a work environment that they plan to move into. Next is failure to know their strengths before finishing school. Her idea is that students need to be empowered enough about how to grow in the industry. The essence of schooling is to gain knowledge and transmit it to the society (Miller & Morgan 2006). It is generally supposed to show the person the best direction to take as professionals.
Understanding the market needs
The market has various needs. Thus every sociologist needs first to understand how they are relevant so far as these needs are concerned. Therefore, as a graduate, one needs to look at what they can best offer to the market before proceeding to the next level. Where one is certain that they may not deliver top-quality to the market, they should shy away from such a market area. Good careers are shaped on strengths and not weaknesses. An individual should be more than willing to work on their strengths. Perfecting in strength areas is likely to bring in more clients and grow one's career to the next level. Such can be done by making a good analysis of the market needs and finding out what one can offer and whether it fits within the areas of interest. Essentially, making the market happy belongs to the professional, and to get there, and they must first analyze their purpose in the field and go for what they are stronger at. It is equally important to know the main market needs. They are often very specific and accurate to the specific issues at hand and therefore, every individual would have to work hard to secure their future through knowing their value in any proposition.
Conclusion
The transition from being a student to a potential professional is one of the biggest decisions one has to make. However, the worst comes in when it comes to having a stable and renowned career in the population. Most sociologists fail to pick it up because they do not take the time to analyze their place in the market. It is easier to look at the top sociologist and think of fame but achieving the same is the main task. To get to the top as per the class readings, it is important that they develop a target area and focus on it, analyze the market needs and finally make the perfect choice of the place of work. These decisions are moved by what the person wants to achieve in their career life in the long run. Essentially, one's career is utterly shaped by the decision they make while still going through school, and the earlier one is decided on where they want to be and what they want to do, the better it is for them.
References
Forret, M. L. (2018). Networking as a job-search behavior and career management strategy. The Oxford handbook of job loss and job search , 275.
Guppy, N., Greer, K., Malette, N., & Frank, K. (2017). The future lives of sociology graduates. Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue Canadienne de Sociologie , 54 (2), 237-252.
Jackson, D., & Wilton, N. (2017). Career choice status among undergraduates and the influence of career management competencies and perceived employability. Journal of Education and Work , 30 (5), 552-569.
Knoblock, J. (2008). ScholarWorks at UMass Boston | University of Massachusetts Boston Research. https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1236&context=humanarchitecture
Lambert. (2009). The Self Assessment. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Miller, N., & Morgan, D. (1993). CALLED TO ACCOUNT: THE CV AS AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PRACTICE. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42855047?refreqid=excelsior%3Ab47ba053f875caaf41fd73ceedf58f8e&seq=1
Payne, B. K., Appel, J., Donald, S. H., & Kara, H. (2006). "Students' perceptions of reference letters" by Payne, Brian K.; Appel, Jonathan; Smith, Donald H.; Hoofnagle, Kara - College student journal, Vol. 40, issue 4, December 2006 | Online research library: Questia. Write better papers, faster! |Online Research Library: Questia. https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-156364414/students-perceptions-of-reference-letters
Senter, M. S. (2015). American Sociological Association |. https://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/files/pdf/early_employment.pdf
Sternheimer, K. (2013, February 18). Everyday sociology blog: Impression management and letters of recommendation. Everyday Sociology Blog. https://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2013/02/impression-management-and-letters-of-recommendation.html
