Sociologist
Also called sociologists, gerontologist, law sociologist
Sociologists focus their research on explaining social behaviour and the way people have organised themselves as a society. They research and explain the way societies have evolved by describing their legal, political, and economic systems and their cultural expressions.
What you'd do
Sociologists, anthropologists and related professionals · ILO- Conducting research on the origin, development, structure, social patterns, organizations and interrelationships of human society
- Tracing the origin and evolution of humanity through the study of changing characteristics and cultural and social institutions
- Tracing the development of humanity through the material remains of its past, such as dwellings, temples, tools, pottery, coins, weapons or sculpture
- Studying physical and climatic aspects of areas and regions, and correlating these findings with economic, social and cultural activities
- Developing theories, models and methods to interpret and describe social phenomena
- Evaluating the outcome of political decisions concerning social policy
- Analysing and evaluating social data
- Advising on the practical application of findings in the formulation of economic and social policies for population groups and regions, and for the development of markets
- Preparing scholarly papers and reports
- Indoors
- Sitting most of the day
- Lots of contact with people
- Good freedom to decide
- Often more than 40 hours a week
- Deadlines now and then
- Varied tasks, little repetition
Will there be jobs?
Average prospectsA typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
Above averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,800 a month (Bulgaria) to €8,800 (Luxembourg), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among professionals in the EU, women earn 21% less per hour than men. Professionals · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Usually a degreeA degree in sociology and cultural studies is the usual route.
927 institutions in the EU offer social science bachelor's degrees. Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
ModeratelyAI could take on part of most tasks, but none fully.
Average task score 0.48 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 9 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for sociologists, anthropologists and related professionals. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).