Getting Your Career Started
According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' , projected job growth for anthropologists and archaeologists is anticipated to be 28% (compared to the employment growth of geographers at 26%, sociologists at 21%, and historians at 11%) "driven by growth in the management, scientific, and technical consulting services industry."
Anthropologists who work as consultants will be needed to apply their analytical skills and knowledge to problems ranging from economic development to forensics.
The in 2013-2014 for anyone who majored in anthropology is $36,200. That's good, but is there anything you can do now to improve your chances for making even more money and for getting the anthropology career you want? Long before graduation, you should begin to build your resume with important items, and the more research skills and experience you have the better. For example:
- Collecting careers info from NKU Anthropology.
- Attending the annual NKU Anthropology Grad School Workshop in October.
- On-campus experience with part-time work as an anthropology tutor or an archaeology lab assistant.
- Volunteering at museums and with other anthropology-related organizations.
- Participating in local professional groups like .
- Taking a leadership role in NKU's
- Working summer jobs with contract archaeology companies, museums, or human services agencies, such as, Travelers' Aid International.
- Writing and delivering research papers at professional meetings such as ASK, KAS or CSAS.
- Taking part in student paper competitions.
- Participating in NKU's
- Publishing in an online undergraduate anthropology journal, such as or .
- Taking as many as possible, such as, ethnographic methods, quantitative methods, archaeological field school, laboratory methods, museum methods, linguistics, writing, critical thinking, logic, public speaking, photography, mapping skills, computer skills, statistics, sociological methods, archival research methods, foreign languages, library research skills, geological skills, human anatomy, etc.
The and can assist you in adding these skills and experiences to your . Send your resume to prospective employers at least three months before you graduate.
To maximize your success, be prepared to update and expand your skills and experiences throughout the length of your career. Obtaining a Master's degree further enhances your career opportunities. If applying to graduate school, send your resume and other materials to prospective universities at least nine months before you graduate.
Most non-teaching jobs in anthropology are in the areas of archaeology, applied anthropology, public anthropology, environmental anthropology, and medical anthropology. To view an outstanding PowerPoint presentation on anthropology careers prepared by the University of South Florida in Tampa, .
Additional Information
- by Texas A & M University's Dr. David L. Carlson
- by Marshall University's Dr. Brian A. Hoey
- by the Career Development Committee of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists
- by WorldWideLearn
- Anthropologists at Work: Responses to Student Questions 51AV Anthropology Careers developed by the National Association for the Practice of Anthropology and American Anthropological Association
- This site explains what anthropologists do, how their skills may be used, and lists various career fields one could enter into.
- Answers all the basic questions, including what anthropology teaches that can be used outside the college setting
- This is Princeton’s view of a day in the life of an Anthropologist.
- The majority of people who earn terminal master's degrees in anthropology identify themselves as professional anthropologists and credit their degrees with playing a big part in their career satisfaction, according to a study commissioned by the American Anthropological Association.
- A general overview of career paths in anthropology.
