What is gerontology?

Gerontology is the study of the aging process. However it is the physical, emotional and social aspects of aging as opposed to diseases or other issues related to growing older. One of the biggest aims of the gerontology field is to find ways to improve the quality of life a person experiences as they grow older.

If you want to study gerontology, you must love people because this field is very hands-on and interactive. While working toward a gerontology degree, you will not only study age-related issues, but how to help people cope with the aging process and make the best of the years they have left.

What careers will a gerontology degree prepare me for?

Although have a gerontology degree will mean that you will most likely be working with elderly or aging people, you will actually have a lot of career options to choose from. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, people who have a gerontology degree often take jobs as social workers, counselors or service assistants.

As a social worker, you will interact with a wide variety of people and you will make sure they are getting the treatment and services they need. As a gerontology counselor, you will listen to aging people discuss issues they are facing and you will help the solve problems and deal with the facts of growing older. A service assistant, you will be a helper or aid to aging people - running errands, reading, playing, talking, caring for and being a companion.

The Gerontological Society of American says that people who work in the gerontology field are typically very well paid and have a high lever of job satisfaction.