<p>So, I’m taking a year off between finishing undergrad and applying into Ph.D. programs in sociology. I’d planned to use the gap year to strengthen my application with additional research–however, I’m going to have to work to support myself, as well (obviously). While I do have a job right now, it’s a cruddy retail job: not anything that would boost my application.</p>
<p>The U where I did my undergrad, unfortunately, doesn’t offer very many paid research positions (particularly within the social sciences). While I intend to pursue research independently, I’m curious–is there any class of work OUTSIDE of research that graduate adcoms tend to view favorably? What types of positions should I be looking into? Where can these jobs be found?</p>
<p>Any advice would be appreciated!</p>
<p>You can turn a retail job into little sociological observations. </p>
<p>How men vs women (young/old, black/white) react to different types of displays or buying habits of the different groups, tendency to try things on/fold clothes after trying them on, etc…
Whether people take longer to move out of a parking spot if someone is waiting or not. How long people take to try things on - is there a difference by group.
Who pays with credit cards vs cash - division by groups?
Spending of persons by perceived “socio-economic standing” (appearance of relative wealth.)
Behavior, class, race, etc of “mallrats.”
Lots of things to look at related to retail theft.</p>
<p>I know those aren’t ideal, but if you can turn your year of retail into a paper with some sort of sociological perspective, that could look pretty good if done right. I’m thinking you could use your observations along with research to write a paper from a social constructionism point of view might be quite workable…</p>
<p>Try Idealist.org to see if there’s anything but most likely you’ll need a masters for those kind of research jobs.</p>
<p>I would spend time working on polishing your writing sample and acing the GRE. Grad programs understand that students need a year off after undergraduate to take a mental break. They won’t penalize you if you don’t do anything.</p>
<p>As the poster above suggested, you can just use your retail job as an opportunity to observe from a sociological perspective. You can keep a notebook for a future project or reference.</p>
<p>Have you considered supplementing your retail job with meaningful volunteer work? At least then you will be able to support your self financially and add substance to your CV.</p>
<p>All great suggestions, guys. Thanks a lot!</p>