Social science is the study of society and the manner in which people behave and impact the world. Social scientists have different careers depending on their respective degrees and specialization. Each field of the social sciences focus on a specific way of society. These seven different fields are: Economics, Anthropology, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Geography.

1. Professions in
the Social
Sciences
A report by Kate Borlasa

2. Professions in the Social Sciences
– Social science is the study of society and the manner in
which people behave and impact the world.
– Social scientists have different careers depending on
their respective degrees and specialization. Each field of
the social sciences focus on a specific way of society.
– These seven different fields are: Economics,
Anthropology, History, Political Science, Psychology,
Sociology, and Geography

3. ECONOMICS
• Economists study the optimum allocation of scarce resources and
how individuals interact within the social structure to address
issues on production, distribution, and consumption of goods
and services.
• Economists use economic concepts, theories and analytical
techniques to provide advice and practical information that will
aid managerial planning and decision-making tasks.
• POSSIBLE CAREERS: economist, financial analyst, bank officer,
investment analyst, business consultant, business auditor,
academic career (teaching and research)

4. ANTHROPOLOGY
• Anthropologists study culture in the past and present time. A major
concern of anthropologists is the application of knowledge to solve
human problems.
• Anthropologists use different methods to study human culture and
behavior. These methods are:
1. Indirect observation
2. Direct observation
3. Participant observation
• POSSIBLE CAREERS: archaeologist, cultural anthropologist, physical
anthropologist, ethnologist, cultural specialist, museum curator,
academic career (teaching and research)

5. HISTORY
• Historians study past human events in order to understand
the meaning, dynamics and relationship of the causes and
effects of events as they happen through time.
• Historians ask about what happened, why the event
happened, and what lessons can people learn from the event.
• POSSIBLE CAREERS: Law, teaching, biographers, researchers,
museum curators, foreign service officer, academic career
(teaching and research)

6. POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Political scientists study the different forms and processes of
government and the concepts of state, power, ideology, and
politics and the effects of these concepts to individuals and
groups in society.
• Fields of study: domestic politics, comparative politics,
international relations, political theory, public administration,
and public law.
• POSSIBLE CAREERS: researcher, law, labor relation specialist,
foreign service officer, politician, public administrators,
political consultant, academic career (teaching and research)

7. • Psychologists study how the human mind works in consonance with
the body to produce thoughts that lead to individual actions.
• When conducting physiological research, psychologists use
observational skills (watching human behavior and writing down
what is seen) and analytical skills (determining the meaning of the
different patterns and reasons for pattern exceptions).
• POSSIBLE CAREERS: guidance counselor, behavior analyst, life coach,
social educator, experimental psychologist, social psychologist,
environmental psychologist, population psychologist, physiological
psychologist, comparative psychologist, clinical psychologist, school
psychologist, industrial psychologist, and consumer psychologist.
PSYCHOLOGY

8. SOCIOLOGY
• Sociologist study people’s behavior in groups rather than in
individuals. They investigate how and why people interact with
each other and how they function as a society or social
subgroups.
• Subfields: applied sociology, urban sociology, cultural sociology,
rural sociology, medical sociology, sociological theory, sociology
of education, political sociology, and military sociology.
• POSSIBLE CAREERS: criminologist, market research analyst,
industrial sociologist, academic career (teaching and research)

9. • Geographers study of the interaction between people and
their environments.
• Main branches: Physical Geography and Human
Geography
• Five themes: location (position on the Earth’s surface), place
(physical and human characteristics), human-environment
interaction (how people use the Earth’s resources), movement
(how humans are connected with each other), and regions (basic units
of study used to divide and understand the Earth and its people).
GEOGRAPHY

10. • POSSIBLE CAREERS: cartographer, urban geographer,
researchers, academic careers (teaching and research)
GEOGRAPHY

11. The End
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