Opportunities with corporates

Rahat Bano interviews Tulsi Patel, professor of sociology, University of Delhi and secretary, Indian Sociological Society, Delhi.

What does the study of sociology encompass today?

In India, it includes the study of one’s own society as well as other societies – tribal, castes, religion and industrial society. You start with beliefs, customs, practices in religion, in areas of social structures, economy and politics. You study how  people live as members of a society and how these people think they live as members of their society. Sociologists try to understand what these people say and what compels them to say what they’re saying.

What kinds of job avenues are open to students of sociology?

There are a range of options today. To get into academics and research, they go for higher studies (MPhil, PhD). All social sciences and arts fields are open to them, and so is the MBA track. After graduation in sociology, they can also go for professional programmes such as social work and become medical or industrial social workers. For those completing MA, the industrial and corporate world these days offers opportunities in CSR (corporate social responsibility) and marketing divisions.

A very large number of our students — five to 15 per cent — go to non-governmental organisations, including Greenpeace, Oxfam, UN bodies and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Our students also get into publishing as copy editors and commissioning editors, as also journalists, for both print and audio-visual.

How many of your students on an average join corporate houses every year?

One or two are picked up every year by companies such as Wipro, Procter & Gamble and ICICI (CSR division).

What skills and traits are pre-requisites for one wishing to study sociology?

A sensitivity towards observing social life. You should should have a habit doing some general and wide-ranging reading on the functioning of societies. You should also have a flair for writing.

Tell us something about the development studies portion in your MA curriculum?

We have one course (i.e. one paper) on development studies. We cover economic society, gender and society, environment, and development, which open many possibilities for students.


Author: HT Horizons

Date: 7th April, 2010

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