What began as a project to showcase the many ways sociologists put their training into practice has grown into something larger than we originally imagined.
Since launching the Profiles of Applied & Clinical Sociologists series, Applied Worldwide has featured sociologists working across sectors, countries, and areas of practice. Together, their stories have created a growing record of what it means to build a career with sociology—and a resource for students and emerging professionals looking for examples of where sociology can take them.
Now, we are beginning the next chapter of the project.
A Living Archive of Sociology Careers
Careers do not stand still, and neither should the Profiles project.
Many of the sociologists we first interviewed several years ago have changed positions, entered new fields, launched organizations, developed new areas of expertise, or gained new perspectives on their careers.
As part of the next chapter, our Featured Sociologists will have opportunities to update their profiles so the archive reflects not only where their careers began, but where sociology has taken them over time.
A New Generation of Profiles
We are also redesigning the Profiles interview to better capture the realities of building an applied sociology career.
The new interview will continue exploring how sociologists use theory, research methods, and the sociological imagination in practice, while placing greater emphasis on career pathways, professional skills, turning points, lessons learned, and advice for the next generation.
We want each profile to answer not only “What does this sociologist do?” but also “How did they get there, how does sociology help them do it, and what can the next generation learn from their experience?”
A Growing Community of Featured Sociologists
Being featured should not mark the end of someone’s participation in the project.
We want the sociologists who have helped build Profiles to remain connected to its future—through career updates, new conversations, referrals, collaborative opportunities, and occasional opportunities to share their expertise with students and other sociologists.
Featured Sociologists will also help us identify others whose work deserves greater visibility, allowing the project to grow through the professional relationships that already sustain applied sociology.
Expanding Where We Look for Sociology
The next chapter will intentionally broaden the range of careers represented in the project.
We will continue working closely with professional sociology organizations while also looking beyond traditional disciplinary spaces for sociologists working in government, healthcare, business, technology, research and evaluation, nonprofits, consulting, community organizations, public policy, workforce development, and other professional settings.
Some of the most important examples of applied sociology may come from people whose job titles do not include the word sociologist at all.
Our goal is to make those career possibilities visible.
Connecting Profiles to the Next Generation
Profiles will increasingly become part of Applied Worldwide’s broader work helping students and early-career professionals understand where sociologists work and how sociological training translates into professional practice.
Profiles will connect with career resources, our Where Sociologists Work series, educational content, and other Applied Worldwide projects to help students move from asking:
“What can I do with sociology?”
to seeing real people who are already doing it.
From Featured Sociologists to Handbook Authors
The growth of the project is already visible in another exciting way.
Several sociologists previously featured through the Profiles project are now contributing chapters to the forthcoming Handbook of Applied Sociology.
What began with documenting their careers is expanding into another opportunity to showcase their expertise and help define the field for future applied sociologists.
That connection captures much of what we hope this next chapter will accomplish: not simply documenting applied sociology, but creating opportunities for the people doing this work to share what they know with the next generation.
Continuing the Project Together
The next chapter of Profiles will be built with the same people and organizations that helped make the project meaningful in the first place—alongside new voices, new partners, and new career pathways.
For our existing Featured Sociologists, this means an invitation to revisit and refresh their stories.
For our organizational partners, it means continuing to help us identify members whose work deserves to be seen.
For new participants, it means joining a growing collection of sociologists demonstrating what sociology looks like in practice.
And for students and emerging sociologists, it means a richer and more useful answer to one of the questions that inspired this project from the beginning:
What does it actually look like to build a career using sociology?
Next Chapter Interview Guide
About You
- How would you like your name displayed on your profile?
- What pronouns do you use?
- What is the best email address for us to use for correspondence related to your profile?
This email address will not be published. - What is your educational and professional training background?
Please include any degrees, certificates, majors, institutions, internships, professional credentials, or other training that has been important to your career. - What is your current professional title or role, and what organization, company, institution, or practice are you affiliated with?
- Where are you currently based?
City, state/province/region, and country are sufficient. - Please share any professional links you would like included with your profile.
This may include a professional website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, X, Instagram, or other relevant professional pages. - How did you first hear about the Profiles of Applied & Clinical Sociologists project?
Your Career Path
- Tell us about the work you do today. What are you responsible for, and what kinds of problems are you helping to solve?
- How did you get from your sociology education or training to the work you do now?
- Was the career you have today something you planned, or did it emerge over time? What were some of the most important turning points along the way?
- What experiences, relationships, opportunities, or decisions were especially important in helping you establish yourself professionally?
Sociology in Practice
- Where does sociology show up most clearly in your work? What does your sociological training allow you to see, understand, or do differently?
- Which sociological skills have proven most valuable in your career?
These might include research, data analysis, interviewing, theory, systems thinking, writing, facilitation, program evaluation, communication, project management, community engagement, or other skills. - How do sociological research methods inform your work?
If research methods are not a major part of your current role, how has your methods training shaped the way you approach evidence, problems, or decision-making? - Are there sociological theories, concepts, or perspectives that meaningfully shape how you approach your work? If so, which ones and how?
- Do you identify professionally as a sociologist? Why or why not?
Building a Career
- What skills, experiences, or forms of preparation made the biggest difference in helping you become employable and successful in your field?
- What do you wish your sociology education had better prepared you for?
- What should students and emerging sociologists do now if they are interested in pursuing work similar to yours?
This might include coursework, internships, research experience, volunteering, networking, technical skills, professional organizations, or other experiences. - Where do you currently see promising or emerging opportunities for applied, clinical, public, or practicing sociologists?
Advice to the Next Generation
- What is the most important advice you would give to the next generation of applied sociologists?
If a student remembers only one thing from your profile, what would you want it to be?
