social science degree and no job

laurad91

Can anyone help.. I have a social science degree but have very little experience... COuld anyone even start to help me on where to look for a job????

kennethsmyth

Please excuse my ignorance but I'm sure a few of us would like to know the main elements of a social science degree to evaluate what type of employment would suit

tenifan

laurad91 wrote: »

Can anyone help.. I have a social science degree but have very little experience... COuld anyone even start to help me on where to look for a job????

Apply to the call centres?

homemadecider

What line of work do you want to get into? I have a social science degree and work in humanitarian aid.

Mr. Loverman

laurad91 wrote: »

Can anyone help.. I have a social science degree but have very little experience... COuld anyone even start to help me on where to look for a job????

Volunteer abroad to get experience?

They normally provide you with food and shelter...

bisset

If you are interested in social care/youth work you could approach a local family resource centre or disability group and ask about voluntary work.

Clearlier

bisset wrote: »

If you are interested in social care/youth work you could approach a local family resource centre or disability group and ask about voluntary work.

Careers advice centre in your university?

bisset

http://www.activelink.ie/content/vacancies/community/16527

How about a Job bridge position with an established organisation like Simon?

The_Conductor

If you gave us some indication of your skillset- we might be able to point you in appropriate directions.....?

fatedtopretend

The Simon Community and Focus Ireland have graduate schemes. I had a number of friends working with Dublin Simon gaining experience in areas such as addiction and rehabilitation. They loved it and it has provided much needed experience. A couple then became permanent.

Voluntary work is always beneficial and will stand to you no matter where you end up working. If you have little experience it may be difficult to acquire a full time, decent paying position.

Personally I'd stay away from Jobsbridge. However it's another option and may suit you.

All of the main charities are always looking for people to give their spare time. You could work on the helplines, such as Childline?

Publicjobs.ie is a good website to look. It's hard to know where to direct you without more info on your areas of interest and degree subjects. You could always speak to a careers advisor if you're really stuck. Good luck!

Mrs OBumble

OP, if your degree is social care, then the hands-on suggestions above are good - assuming that's the field you want to get into.

But if it's more general BA in social sciences (sociology, anthropology, philosophy, etc) then you are likely looking at either government jobs, with a hope of getting into policy / ministerial-servicing stuff after serviing your time in front-line roles somewhere - or minimum wage jobs where you can hopefully get into general business management. Either that, or you need to go back to college and get a professional qualification of some sort.

Capt Picard

I'm in a similar boat as OP having just completed a social science degree. I know a lot of my classmates are going for masters in various fields and some are doing the social work cert, others are set on youth work, social care and community based work. I think it leaves us open to many options although not having a specific goal is so frustrating.

There seems to be 4 main options open to us:
1 - go into the policy/research end (seems impossible to get into at entry level!)
2 - go into the hands on social professions side, social work, youth work, community and care (volunteering might be your door opener)
3 - Go on to masters or professional qualification and specialise!
4 - Find an unrelated area that interest you and go for it. (It is a broad discipline that can lead to many areas from advertising/marketing to management consultancy to retail and sales)

This degree should instill strong research, ICT and analytically skills, great report writing, critical thinking and a solid understanding of social policies giving you a vast awareness of issues surrounding equality, diversity and social inclusion - NGOs and Public Sector jobs seem to be the most suited to our degree.

My issue is picking one area/field and going for it because I have little experience in many of the areas possibly open to me. I do have management experience of a construction company during the boom and volunteering experience in youth work. The youth work has left me with a cause for concern in terms of sustainable career prospects - it seems to be largely held together with volunteers with little career development prospects and as such is more a hobby for me right now. My construction experience has instilled a truly solid work ethic that has aided me throughout my transition back to education and throughout my degree and I know what ever I do go for I WILL stick at wholeheartedly! So, I'm cautious and skeptical as I stand at this crossroad but completely open to suggestions from anybody...

Paulajzq

I am in second year of social science and am hoping to work in the area of child welfare and protection. Any suggestions in terms of suitable organization that I could gain experience through volunteering (Kildare area)? All greatly appreciated

dixiefly

Probably too late for the OP and too early for the student but this might suit some social science graduates.

http://www.publicjobs.ie/publicjobs/campaignAdvert/27253.htm