Jobs directly related to your degree

• Social researcher - conducts research for a local authority, charity/campaign organisation, trade union, political party or as a parliamentary researcher.
• Civil Service administrator - works closely with a team to ensure that high quality services are delivered to a government department.
• International aid/development worker - focuses on meeting the needs of people in communities in the developing world.
• Charity officer - involved in a range of activities that can include administration, fundraising, volunteer coordination, policy development and campaigning.
• Local government officer - undertakes a breadth of administrative roles. Organises and responds to the administrative needs of individual departments, assists in the development of policies and procedures, and helps coordinate their implementation. 
• Community development worker - works with particular communities in order to collectively bring about social change and improve quality of life.

Jobs where your degree would be useful

• Advice worker - responds to requests for help from members of the public and assists clients by providing information and confidential advice on a wide range of issues.
• Education administrator - works in further education colleges and universities in policy, data analysis and systems development roles.
• Housing manager/officer - interviews clients, gives advice, allocates houses and manages all aspects of rent collection and property maintenance on behalf of local authorities and housing associations.
• Probation officer - works to rehabilitate offenders by: enforcing the conditions of court orders and release licences; conducting offender risk assessments in order to protect the public; and ensuring offenders' awareness of the impact of their crime on their victims and the public.
• Youth worker - promotes the personal, educational and social development of young people. Workers are based in a range of environments including youth centres and youth offending teams.
• Trading standards officer - enforces a wide range of consumer legislation covering areas of quality, quantity, fair trading and safety in order to promote fair, safe and equitable trading.
• Health promotion specialist - helps people to improve and increase control over their health. Plans, ensures implementation of, and evaluates policies and strategies to promote health within a specialist setting, relating to a specific issue or within a particular population.

Other options

Work experience that involves supporting or helping members of the public will greatly improve your chances of finding employment after graduation. Many public sector organisations, volunteering organisations and charities offer employment positions or work experience opportunities so you can gain relevant experience and develop your skills.

It may prove useful to work shadow someone already doing your preferred role or arranging to do an information interview with a practitioner so you can find out more. This will also help you to start building a network of contacts. In addition, you may want to consider helping with voluntary projects or getting involved in local charity or community work. Try to look for opportunities linked to your field of interest.

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it’s not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. Look at your degree... what next? for informed advice on career planning and graduate employment, or login/register with My Prospects to find out what jobs would suit you, a helpful starting point for self-analysis.

Explore types of jobs to find out more about the above options and related jobs.