Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in sociology. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Learning Strategies
- Instructing
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- History and Archeology
- Psychology
- Philosophy and Theology
- Law and Government
What the work involves
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as race and ethnic relations, measurement and data collection, and workplace social relations.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (76.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (37.2%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (28.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 62% of occupations compared | 60% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 74% of occupations compared | 27% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 89% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 96% of occupations compared | 88% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 62% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 55% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 58% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 90% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 2.28%
- Contact with others about half the time: 30.94%
- Contact with others most of the time: 6.99%
- Constant contact with others: 59.79%
n = 34, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 25.09%
- Fairly important: 26.97%
- Important: 16.02%
- Very important: 7.22%
- Extremely important: 24.71%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 8.01%
- Fairly important: 15.52%
- Important: 29.36%
- Very important: 11.07%
- Extremely important: 36.03%
n = 34, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 1.03%
- Limited freedom: 2.83%
- Some freedom: 7.88%
- A lot of freedom: 88.25%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 8.61%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 32.13%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 38.23%
- Every day: 21.03%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 0.33%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 38.65%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 46.76%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 13.33%
- Every day: 0.93%
n = 34, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 6.99%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 40.99%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 32.83%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.19%
- Every day: 0%
n = 34, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 43.54%
- Fairly serious: 20.83%
- Serious: 27.9%
- Very serious: 1.62%
- Extremely serious: 6.1%
n = 34, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 25-1067.00 · SOC 25-1067 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8