I was very early so availed myself of the opportunity to wander around the campus to keep warm if nothing else as it was pretty chilly! I registered for the conference and picked up my "showbag" that included the conference program, a coffee cup, some lollies and a torch (!) to name a few of the delights to be found inside.
The program then began!
We had 7 sessions throughout the day with a range of speakers talking about being sociologists outside the academic setting:
1. The Executive Director of the Australian Research Council
2. A working sociologist who works for the DSTO - Defence Science & Technology Organsation
3. A panel of employers who employ sociologists - Govt, NGO & private sector
4. A commentary on "doing sociology in the Big Wide World"
5. A director of an employment agency
6. Writing for work-based sociology
7. A panel of working sociologists who shared their experiences
It was a very interesting day - with maybe 100 or so predominantly post-grad students looking at their options for coming employment. Delegates were from universities all over Australia so it was a varied lot. As an undergraduate I felt somewhat of an interloper but was very grateful of the opportunity to be here. I also felt I was coming at the topic from the other direction as they are academics looking to work on projects whereas I work on projects and am looking at gaining academic skills to complement that work!
Tonight we have welcome drinks between 6-8 pm and then I will be back on the train (with my trusty Myki card). The main conference begins tomorrow.
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