What Can You Do With a Degree in Anthropology?
There are many career paths in anthropology, including teaching, museum curating, zoos, social services, nature conservation, government, forensic pathology, and international development, to name a few.
In the major, you develop skills and abilities that make you very marketable in a wide variety of jobs from emergency management to science education. Cultural competence鈥攖he ability to understand and communicate about and across cultural differences鈥攊s a key skill anthropology majors learn that prepares them for many jobs in today’s global world.
可乐视频 alumni with a degree in anthropology work in health care services, education, social work, cultural resource management, and many other fields. Some of these career paths in anthropology require you to have a minimum degree of a master’s.
Top Employers
- Private Colleges/Universities
There is a lot of information available on LinkedIn, including who graduated with a degree in anthropology. Join the 可乐视频 Alumni group and see where alumni are currently working, their skill sets, and their career progression. You can filter further based on employer, class year, etc.
Keep in mind, this list isn’t inclusive of all the opportunities available to anthropology students. Use the Magner Career Center resources to your advantage to find opportunities that align with your interests!
Selected Alumni Profiles
Forensic Anthropologist
Guatemalan Forensic Anthro Foundation
Medical Student
Downstate Medical School
Special Events Coordinator
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Spanish Teacher
Parkside Preparatory Academy
Career Guides and Articles
Here are some career guides and articles that share information on career options open to anthropology majors:
What is the average salary in the anthropology field?
There are several different aspects of anthropology that affect the average salary, such as education level, industry type, experience, and location.
The best approach to determining possible salaries is to research them on websites like and .
What skills will I build during my studies?
As anthropology majors, students learn vital skills that are applicable to any job. Anthropology majors learn to analyze data, communicate effectively, write persuasively, and think critically. Students will gain skills in interviewing, conducting original research, cataloguing objects, evaluating published data, and working in teams.
See the following resources for information on these skills:
On-Campus Resources
There are a number of resources on campus that will help you learn more about anthropology career options. Attend events and keep current on the resources available to you.
Magner Career Center
The Magner Career Center has a wealth of information on everything you need to get started in your career, help with r茅sum茅s, an internships database, job fairs, etc.
- The center hosts frequent career events that may be of interest to you, which include the Museum Careers Panel and Careers with Social Impact.
- You can get matched with alumni who majored in anthropology at 可乐视频 to learn about their experiences, get career advice, and develop a professional relationship.
- Miriam Loyd is the liaison to the School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences and someone you can meet with for career guidance. For more information or to set up appointments, visit the center’s website, call 718.951.5696, or visit 1303 James Hall.
Department of Anthropology Resources
- Professor Patricia Antoniello is the department chair and is a contact when applying for graduate school, and can advise pre-med students and those interested in health-related fields. Associate Professor Naomi Schiller is the director of undergraduate anthropology majors and is available to help.
- The department regularly hosts workshops, including “So You’re Thinking About Grad School” and “What Can You Do With an Anthropology Degree?”
Off-Campus Resources
American Anthropological Association
The provides detailed information for those interested in going into the field of anthropology. The association has a search engine for careers in the field and internships.
Occupational Network (O*NET)
offers occupational statistics such as salaries and growth potential for all occupations. Additionally, you can search occupations by name or by your own interests, skills, abilities, etc.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
gives you information on the training and education needed for the job, earning potential, expected job prospects, what you would be doing on the job, and what the working conditions are like.
Organizations
Students interested in pursuing a career in anthropological or archaeological science would be well served in joining at least one of the many existing anthropology and archaeology organizations:
- 鈥擳he most prominent professional organization for anthropologists in the world.
- 鈥擜n educational organization dedicated to the gathering and exchanging of information about the primate species. Interests range from ecology and behavior to captive management, conservation, and virology.
- 鈥擴seful as a general overview of activity in this discipline in Canada. An index to the publication series of the association, beginning in 1969, is included.
- 鈥擱esearchers will find two sections of interest on this page: “Physical Anthropology in Canada” and “Net Resources to Physical Anthropology.”
- 鈥擳he mission of the Council for British Archaeology is to inform the public “of issues and events” within its field. Links to the full text of British Archaeology (with a two-month time lag for each issue) and CBA Briefing and a list of current council projects are provided.
- 鈥擜 nonprofit organization founded in 1972 to defend the human rights and cultural autonomy of indigenous peoples and oppressed ethnic minorities. A new online journal, Active Voices, may be reached from this page.
- 鈥擳his site covers laws, procedures, educational programs, current research, and a directory of professionals for the Untied States, Puerto Rico, America Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
- 鈥擳he oldest anthropological organization in the world, founded in 1843. Notable features include content pages to the institute’s Journal and access to Anthropological Index from the late 1960s to date.
- 鈥擜n intercultural organization funded in 1934 and dedicated to the protection, interpretation, and research of the archaeological heritage of the Americas. The full text of the Principles of Archaeological Ethics is available here.
- 鈥擣ounded in 1941 “to promote the investigation of the principles of human behavior and the application of these principles to contemporary issues and problems.” News from the field and reports from the American Indian Issues Committee are among the features of this page.
- 鈥擜 forum for communication among scholars applying methods from the physical sciences to archaeology and the assessment by the archaeological community of the problems and potential offered by its approach. A special feature is the links to sites on archaeometry.
- 鈥擜n excellent example of the type of site mounted by archaeological societies.
- 鈥擳his organization takes as its field of study “understanding diversity and change in the economic system of the world.” Extracts from the society newsletters are included.
- 鈥擣ormed in 1967, the Society for Historical Archaeology聽is the largest scholarly group concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (A.D. 1400鈥損resent). The main focus of the society is the era since the beginning of European exploration. Geographically, the society emphasizes the New World but also includes European exploration and settlement in Africa, Asia, and Oceania.