At first glance, you may not think there is a lot you can do, in terms of finding a career, with a degree in this field. But in fact, there are plenty of career options available to you.
We have career guides and job postings below that provide real-world examples of what you can do with a degree in Anthropology. But how does this degree actually help you get these jobs? Well, the short answer is, because of the skills it teaches you.
Employable Skills This Degree Will Teach You
The skills you can gain while pursuing your studies will help pave the way for a variety of directly related careers, such as anthropologist or ethno-historian. These skills include, but are not limited to:
• Performing minimally invasive participant observation and other “qualitative” research techniques
• Knowledge of the interaction of culture and environment
• Knowledge and methods in areas such as “race” relations
• Cultural sensitivity training and awareness
• May learn a foreign or ancient language
Career Guides Relevant to This Major:
The skills and knowledge base you can acquire by studying Anthropology can be applied, directly or indirectly, to any of the career fields listed below.
• Bilingual Client Care Representative
• Citizenship and Immigration Officer
• Community Involvement Animator
• Community Outreach Coordinator
• Historical Artifact Conservator
• Lawyer
• Linguist
• Mayor
• Multiculturalism Liaison Officer
Starting Salary for Graduates
The average salary for new anthropology graduates is $34,557 USD, according to a University of California, Berkeley survey.*
Anthropology graduates are almost as likely to be employed in education or nonprofit activities as in other forms of employment, according to the survey. Some other points of note regarding the survey:
• 58% of those employed were in the "for profit" sector
• 26% were working for non-profits
• 16% reported being employed in education
*2008 figures - University of California, Berkeley
What You'll Learn
Anthropology is the study of all aspects of human life, from our biological evolution to our modern societies, political systems, religions, and economies. Degree programs in this area are designed to look at the human experience from a holistic, cross-cultural perspective that considers culture as well as biology, the past as well as the present, as well as both small and large societies.
Anthropology students may be involved in studying a wade range of topics, from the language of specific African tribes, the ancient trading routes from Europe to Asia, or the evolution of bipedalism.
These programs typically provide:
• An understanding the structure and functioning of social groups
• Adoption of a humanistic understanding of society, and the way people solve their problems
• Cross-cultural awareness and appreciation - the ability to see the world from a variety of perspectives
• Ability to acquire a thorough knowledge of human social behaviour - why we do what we do in social situations
• Deconstruction of your cultural assumptions, and provides social ease in new and different situations
Relevant Scholarships
Are you an anthropology major looking for help paying for school? Search our scholarships database for Canadian and American scholarships that apply to anthropology majors.
Success Tip: Be sure to apply for any and all scholarships for which you qualify, as there are millions of dollars of scholarships in Canada and the United States that go unused every year due to a lack of applicants!
Professional Associations
Professional associations are collections of practitioners, organizations and agencies committed to the support, development and enhancement of the professions within the field of anthropology. The field of anthropology has a number of professional associations that support ethics in the profession, report current research findings, gather resources and foster partnerships among its members.
Students interested in anthropology careers should consult these websites for more information:
American Cultural Resources Association
American Anthropological Association
Association of Black Anthropologists
Council for Museum Anthropology
High Plains Society for Applied Anthropology
