Does anyone have any advice for a college student in Anthropology?

Answer 1

Contrary to what previous posters have said, there are good careers available in anthropology. If you want to pursue a career in anthropology you will need to make good contacts and probably also need to do at least a masters. With a degree in antrhropology you can pursue an academic career in research or teaching. However, there are many other opportunities.

Non-governmental organizations, such as international health organizations and development banks employ anthropologists to help design and implement a wide variety of programs, worldwide and nationwide. State and local governmental organizations use anthropologists in planning, research and managerial capacities. Many corporations look explicitly for anthropologists, recognizing the utility of their perspective on a corporate team. Contract archaeology has been a growth occupation with state and federal legislative mandates to assess cultural resources affected by government funded projects. Forensic anthropologists, in careers glamorized by Hollywood and popular novels, not only work with police departments to help identify mysterious or unknown remains but work in university and museum settings. A corporate anthropologist working in market research might conduct targeted focus groups to examine consumer preference patterns not readily apparent through statistical or survey methods.

These links will give you many more ideas. Best of luck with your plans.

Answer 2

I was an Anthropology major but I specialized in Archaeology. Don't do it!!! I found it very interesting so that was my main reason for that area. It's very difficult to get a full-time in that area. It goes mostly by contracts and after the contracts are up, you will be left without a job until the next contract.

I would highly recommend that if you go into Anthropology, you go into linguistics especially if you are great at learning other languages. You can go into communications or become a speech pathologists. Speech Pathologists was listed by Yahoo as one of the top jobs in the future.

The other area of Anthropology that is great is physical anthropology. Many classes are related to the medical field so it's a good transition. You can go into the medical field or go into forensic anthropology.

Cultural Anthropology is good if you deal with other cultures on a regular basis or live in another country. You will have more of an understanding of others. But this area is vague.

Good luck with your studies!

Answer 3

Tough to find a job in that profession although quite interesting. Make as many connections as you can while you are in college. Once you graduate, connections are going to be a lot tougher to make unless you have started to work in the field. I knew someone who was going for her Phd in Antropology either at NYU or UC Berkeley. She dropped out to write for the Wall Street Journal. Interesting field, good luck in finding a job.

Answer 4

No offense but consider a major that is more likely to get you a job.