American Sociological Association Research on job market prospects for Sociology PhD's and Masters?

[mmelkhatib]

I am a long-time lurker/first time poster here!

Has anyone been to the ASA research website? Is their research sound? They have a very interesting take on the career-related prospects for sociology PhD's (I am applying to 7 programs for Fall '13), and I wanted to know if any folks out there applying to sociology (or other social science programs for that matter!) have used their resources at all.

Any thoughts?

[MashaMashaMasha]

I have perused their resources a bit. I think whether their research is adequate depends on what you're going for.

If you are looking for a snapshot of the job market for Sociology PhDs, then it's right up your alley, and it doesn't matter as much if it's been peer-reviewed. I think they primarily look at job listings, and possibly even just from their own job bank.

If you are looking to incorporate the research into something you are working on, I'd avoid it and look for peer-reviewed sources. The ASA has been super helpful to me, but not anything I'd bank on for accuracy and unbiased research. I consider their research to be market reports the way that any other industry organization analyzes its own profession.

If you have specific questions, I know that the folks at ASA are pretty good about fielding questions. You might also look at the Chronicle of Higher Education which has a lot of career/salary data for faculty and administrators at universities in the U.S.