Sociologists build social perceptiveness, judgment and decision making and instructing skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary (89%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary | 89% | $98,070 | −8% | None |
| 2 | Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary | 87% | $84,290 | −21% | None |
| 3 | Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | 84% | $99,650 | −6% | None |
| 4 | Economics Teachers, Postsecondary | 82% | $123,920 | +17% | None |
| 5 | Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 80% | $85,020 | −20% | None |
| 6 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary | 78% | $128,500 | +21% | None |
| 7 | Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary | 78% | $77,570 | −27% | None |
| 8 | Geography Teachers, Postsecondary | 78% | $97,590 | −8% | None |
| 9 | Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | 77% | $80,340 | −24% | None |
| 10 | Business Teachers, Postsecondary | 76% | $99,080 | −7% | None |
Compared with Sociologists, median $106,030. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as sociologists (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
89% skill match · $98,070 · −8% pay
Instructing · Operations Analysis · Management of Financial Resources
87% skill match · $84,290 · −21% pay
Instructing · Time Management · Quality Control Analysis
84% skill match · $99,650 · −6% pay
Instructing · Time Management
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary (89% skill match, median $98,070), Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary (87% skill match, median $84,290) and Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary (84% skill match, median $99,650), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 2 pay more than sociologists at the median. The biggest increases: Law Teachers, Postsecondary (+21%, $128,500) and Economics Teachers, Postsecondary (+17%, $123,920).
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.