Sociologists in Research, Applied, and Policy Settings: Bringing Professionals in from the Cold

Abstract

Historically, U.S. sociologists employed outside the professoriate had lower status and were less likely to be considered professionals than those inside. Academic restructuring may result in a closing of the status gap. This article, based on the responses of 600 PhD sociologists employed in applied, research, and policy positions, focuses on whether historically agreed upon professional characteristics, such as use of specialized knowledge, autonomy, ethical norms, and basic research, are related to overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with economic security. We expected that professional characteristics were significantly related to overall satisfaction, but not to satisfaction with economic security. Our expectations were generally met. Respondents used sociological theories, methods, and concepts to analyze social issues, design interventions, and evaluate solutions. Professional job characteristics result in higher job satisfaction, when other factors are held constant. In contrast, professional characteristics do not significantly increase satisfaction with economic security; rather sector; occupation, and age cohort appear to do so.

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