Using Sociology in the Workplace Tracy Schirmers Senior Vocational Counselor Minnesota Workforce Center - Anoka County I am a Senior Vocational Counselor with the Minnesota Workforce Center - Anoka County. The most basic definition of my job is that I help people learn skills needed to find employment and become self-sufficient. However, it sounds easier than it is. My clientele consists of families receiving MFIP, a public assistance program. Many of them face multiple barriers such as child care, transportation, mental health or chemical dependency issues, and generational poverty to name a few. I work with participants to assess their current needs, abilities and interests by looking at their goals, experience and case histories, and by using outside agency resources. The plan we develop is a social contract, meaning that persons may be required to look for work or attend school but in doing so, they receive support services to complete their goals and plan. Although I am a believer in personal responsibility, sociology allows me to step back and remember there are influences beyond everyone's control that may cause people to be in a particular situation. Naming specific courses that help me at work would belie the underlying theme of sociology itself. True understanding of how systems work, bureaucracies, family interactions, race and gender issues, poverty and social institutions comes after you experience them firsthand. Sociology classes allow a person to look at the broader picture of what is happening in society. An education in sociology prepares you for a lifelong journey to learn more about yourself and society.