Skills
Sociologist Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in sociologists, and how to build and show them.
What skills do sociologists need?
Sociologists need technical skills such as research design, survey methods, and qualitative analysis, plus people skills like curiosity and empathy. They also use tools such as R or Stata and NVivo.
Technical (hard) skills
- Research design
- Survey methods
- Qualitative analysis
- Statistics
- Writing
- Data visualization
People (soft) skills
- Curiosity
- Empathy
- Objectivity
- Communication
Tools, equipment and technology
- R or Stata
- NVivo
- Survey platforms
- Census data
- Excel
- Tableau
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how sociologists put their skills to work:
- How to design a mixed-methods study
- How to write a policy brief from research
- How to use census data for research
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Research design” and “Survey methods.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “curiosity,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as Master’s or Ph.D. near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our sociologist glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Sociologist training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.