Sociology Teachers build instructing, social perceptiveness and time management 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 Sociologists (87%).
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 | Sociologists | 87% | $106,030 | +26% | None |
| 2 | Instructional Coordinators | 79% | $77,440 | −8% | None |
| 3 | Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | 78% | $72,040 | −15% | None |
| 4 | Political Scientists | 78% | $142,080 | +69% | None |
| 5 | Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | 77% | $74,260 | −12% | None |
| 6 | Speech-Language Pathologists | 77% | $97,870 | +16% | None |
| 7 | Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses | 75% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | None |
| 8 | Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | 72% | $64,370 | −24% | None |
| 9 | Genetic Counselors | 72% | $100,040 | +19% | None |
| 10 | Anthropologists and Archeologists | 72% | $70,770 | −16% | None |
Compared with Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary, median $84,290. 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 sociology teachers (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.
87% skill match · $106,030 · +26% pay
Complex Problem Solving · Judgment and Decision Making · Social Perceptiveness
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
79% skill match · $77,440 · −8% pay
Coordination · Complex Problem Solving · Management of Material Resources
78% skill match · $72,040 · −15% pay
Coordination · Judgment and Decision Making · Quality Control Analysis
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 Sociologists (87% skill match, median $106,030), Instructional Coordinators (79% skill match, median $77,440) and Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education (78% skill match, median $72,040), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 8 pay more than sociology teachers at the median. The biggest increases: Industrial-Organizational Psychologists (+130%, $193,950), Political Scientists (+69%, $142,080) and Sociologists (+26%, $106,030).
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.