Sociology - Anthropology Career Advice

Anthropology as a Career

Many of the areas anthropologists study intersect with numerous career possibilities: e.g., forensics, international business and marketing, sustainable agriculture, eco-tourism, cross-cultural health and nutrition, artificial intelligence, cross-cultural communication styles, historic preservation, and museum studies. Most anthropologically-related positions come to those with an advanced degree, but even a Minor in Anthropology offers a new way of looking at human behavior.

According to several recent USA Today articles, “as companies go global and crave leaders for a diverse workforce, a new hot degree is emerging for aspiring executives: anthropology.” Anthropologists “are finding jobs with high-tech companies, using their highly developed skills as observers to study how people live, work, and use technology.”

Career Opportunities

Here are just a few of the careers undertaken by Anthropology Minor graduates of this department:

Peace Corps Volunteer
State Park Ranger
Primate Research Lab Assistant
Chamber of Commerce Manager
Personnel Management
State Highway Department Archaeologist
International Business Translator
High School Social Studies Teacher
Social Science Reference Librarian
Halfway House Supervisor
Early Childhood Interventionist
Forensic Psychologist

Alumni Using Anthropology

Amy Giles Livingston
Middle School Social Studies Teacher

"I continue to teach Global Studies (anthro/geography)at Seneca High School, now. . . . . I begin the year with the Horace Miner article [on the Nacirema] and the students think they are so cool, "doing" college level work! (I show them all my anthro books and many actually read them). They are stunned to see the slide show and I still see students years later who stop me and say that the Nacirema project changed them inside. It's great to be an educator."

Resources

Books at the bottom of the list are for people who have very little idea about the career that is right for them. Books at the top are for people looking for very specific information about careers in anthropology.

Careers in Anthropology by John T. Omohundro (Mayfield Publishing, 2000)

Great Jobs for Anthropology Majors by Blythe Camenson (VGM Career Horizons, 1999)

Anthropology Career Resources Handbook by Margaret A. Gwynne (Pearson Education, Inc., 2003)

Anthropology in Practice: Building a Career Outside of the Academy by Riall Nolan (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003)

Websites