h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I finished my degree some 15 years ago. I took my BSc. at Kingston (not Jamaica or Hull) and cannot complain that it has had a detrimental affect upon my life. I might even go so far as to say, that I'm doing pretty well. Okay, I'm living in Germany, and at least here, a piece of paper, stating that you have learned something is paramount (even if you can't in practise, very annoying!)
I remember the old jokes ... the first about the university itself (then polytechnic) - it didn't quite match being a student at Royal Holloway or one of the English Ivy league universities (Oxford, Cambridge, etc.).
The second joke was: "What did the sociologist with work, say to a sociologist without work? Did you want fries with the BigMac?"
So here I am ... with a great job (working with all sorts of people - mainly pensioners and young children in a Internet Café (sponsored by the local council). I've got a good team of people - some voluntary and the other get a small reimbursement for their time. I've only got a part-time contract, which is fine, as I would much rather sit in my garden to read and write (I wanted to spell that "rite", but some people might take me seriously, and complain about my poor writing skills).
I did apply for a job last month ... another part-time job. But I didn't get ... okay, I was a little bit disappointed, but that's life (can't speak French, so I won't try to spell Say Lavive). But I really felt qualified, even though they wanted a woman. It's rather complicated ... the job description was formally called "Woman's Officer" (translated Frauenbeauftragter) but they had to change the job description to be more politically correct, to "Equal Opportunity Officer" (Gliechstellungsbeauftragter) which was right up my street, as my father and grandfather, would have said. Still, I'm not going to go on long about it ... they (the polititions) wanted a woman, and they got a woman (I was the only male, 10 women applied for the position). I wasn't even invited for a job interview ... now, if that ain't discrimination, I don't know what is! But I've decided to send all the homosexuals, the transsexuals, the foreigners and the handicapped men in the town to her. See what she does with that!
Still, if I had got (gotten - for the American readers) the job, I would not be sitting here in the garden, watch the summer rain coming down and explaining my woes.

Any other sociologists would like to comment, feel free!

Okay ... there aren't any other sociologist around ... have to carry on this tread by myself ...

Why has sociology got such a bad reputation? It mixes all the major social sciences - mainly psychology. One of my favourite words at that time was ethnomethodologist and the work by Garfinkel . Perhaps I should call myself that, on my next cv.

A brief explanation of this type of sociology can be seen by those that criticise the methods used by the ethnomethodologists:

Garfinkel goes with his team to a busy street in a city at midday and releases hundreds of chickens. He then looks at the various reactions of the pedestrians and drivers - and later police.

Great fun ... and all in the name of science.