What's it like being an anthropologist?

Question

I'm thirteen and I've always been interested in social behaviour and I would like to be an anthropologist when I'm older. Any anthropologists out there who would like to share with me what it's like?

Answer 1

I have only a BA in Anthropology, but I do hope this share some light...:


Anthropology is the study of human behavior. That exploration of what it means to be human ranges from the study of culture and social relations, to human biology and evolution, to languages, to music, art and architecture, and to vestiges of human habitation. It considers such fascinating questions as how peoples' behavior changes over time, how people move about the world, why and how people from distant parts of the world and dissimilar cultures are different and the same, how the human species has evolved over millions of years, and how individuals understand and operate successfully in distinct cultural settings. Anthropology includes four broad fields--cultural anthropology, linguistics, physical anthropology and archaeology. Each of the four fields teaches distinctive skills, such as applying theories, employing research methodologies, formulating and testing hypotheses, and developing extensive sets of data.

Anthropologists often specialize in one or more geographic areas of the world--for example, West Africa, Latin America, the British Isles, Eastern Europe, North America and Oceania. In addition, anthropology studies focus on particular populations in a locale or region. Some anthropologists study cultural practices, such as Pyrennes' Basques use of cooperatives in their economic system, which must be modified to fit the overarching Spanish or French legal structures. Other examples of cultural practices studied by anthropologists include marriage rituals among Scots-Irish Americans in a suburban North Carolina community, Morris dancing on May Day among southwestern English village inhabitants, and aesthetic and linguistic aspects of Trinidadian calypso and "road songs." Physical anthropologists observe biological behavior, attempting to understand ongoing human evolution and the human adaptations to particular environments, such as maternal physiological response to pregnancy, the effects of altitude on maternal and fetal well-being, perhaps performing comparative studies of physiological responses to short-term high altitude residence (e.g., Euro-Americans and African Americans in Colorado) versus longer-term high altitude residence (e.g., indigenous Quechua-speakers in Peru or Sherpas in Nepal). Historical archaeologists help preserve aspects of the recent past, such as settlement patterns in the western U.S. plains. Archaeological studies generally involve teams of specialists who work with domesticated plant remains, indicators of animal life, and the manmade artifacts produced or imported into a particular area.

Anthropologists are careful observers of humans and their behavior, maintaining an intense curiosity: What does it mean to be human? Why do people behave in particular ways? What are the historical and environmental pressures that helped shape the experience and behavior of a specific group of people? What are universal facts of human life?

Careful record-keeping, attention to details, analytical reading, and clear thinking are taught by anthropological courses. Social ease in strange situations, critical thinking, and strong skills in oral and written expression are cultivated by anthropological training. Using a range of social, behavioral, biological and other scientific research methods, anthropology majors learn to supplement statistical findings with descriptive data gathered through participant observation, interviewing, and ethnographic study. An anthropologist is a trained observer who knows the importance of collecting data, in listening and watching what others are doing, in reflecting on what has actually as well as apparently occurred, in researching the context, in applying various explanatory models, and in adopting a broad perspective for framing an understanding. Whatever the topic of research, anthropologists share a particular holistic vision that requires using a repertoire of methods in order to forge a deeper understanding of situations. This holism characterizes the best anthropology and imparts the perspective for which the profession is valued.

While the job market for academic anthropologists is relatively steady, demand for anthropologists is increasing in other areas, stimulated by a growing need for analysts and researchers with sharp thinking skills who can manage, evaluate, and interpret the large volume of data on human behavior. The extent of occupational flexibility reflects the emphasis on breadth, diversity, and independence of thought. What we know about the future marketplace indicates the type of global, holistic knowledge which an anthropological perspective brings.

Most of America's professional anthropologists have traditionally worked in higher educational institutions, teaching and researching, but today there are many other career options for trained anthropologists. Many anthropologists with master's degrees or bachelor's degrees work for contract archaeology firms at archaeological sites, in physical anthropology laboratories, and in museums in a wide range of areas. Similarly, there are many opportunities as social science researchers and in other areas available to anthropologists at every level of training. A doctorate is required for most academic jobs. The nonacademic employment of cultural anthropologists is greatly expanding as the demand for research on humans and their behavior increases. Since 1985, over half of all new PhDs in anthropology have taken nonacademic positions in research institutes, nonprofit associations, government agencies, world organizations, and private corporations. While the job market for academic anthropologists is relatively steady, demand for anthropologists is increasing in other areas, stimulated by a growing need for analysts and researchers with sharp thinking skills who can manage, evaluate and interpret the large volume of data on human behavior.

Academic. On campuses, in departments of anthropology, and in research laboratories, anthropologists teach and conduct research. They spend a great deal of time preparing for classes, writing lectures, grading papers, working with individual students, composing scholarly articles, and writing longer monographs and books. A number of academic anthropologists find careers in other departments or university programs, such as schools of medicine, epidemiology, public health, ethnic studies, cultural studies, community or area studies, linguistics, education, ecology, cognitive psychology and neural science.

Answer 2

Gee, only one answer in all this time; and not from an anthropologist (and not really answering the question, either).

I hope you leave this up and even extend it so you get answers.

In the meantime, here are things you can do: go to the websites of some universities and poke around in their anthropology section. They probably have a lot of material on-line that would give you an idea.

Also, if there's a college town near you, go to some used book stores and browse around in the anthropology section.

I can't imagine knowing what I'd want to do so young.

You should also educate yourself in other social sciences, such as sociology, psychology, even economics. That will deepen and broaden your view of human behavior and sociality, and make you a better anthropologist.

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

im a second year arts student majoring in sociology and anthropology, and i want to do my bachelor of social sciences majoring in anthropology as well...
its pretty interesting tho, i dont know how you know about it...i seriously had no clue these disciplines even existed b4 last year..
and fun, its fun
and hard, its hard!!!
but it depends wat ur interested in...if u like behaviour study, anthropology is the study of culture, so depending on the college/uni u go to will determine wat u study...seriously: subject selection, altho that pbly 2 far ahead in future...
gl
ps the essay writing in uni is painful, but..like i said, its hard, but if its what u want...............

Answer 5

They all drive Ferraris and have beautiful blonde girlfriends.