What Types of Different Jobs Derive from Anthropology?

Archaeologists are anthropologists who uncover ancient artifacts.

Anthropology is an exciting and rewarding career field. Many companies and businesses hire anthropologists, with the federal government being one of the largest. Different jobs derive from anthropology, including environmental, museum, business, visual and forensic anthropologists. Anthropology jobs are available at schools, companies and excavation sites throughout the world.

Education

Most anthropology jobs require a master's or doctorate degree, preferably in anthropology, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many positions also require at least one to six years of experience in a related field. Some anthropology jobs accept people with bachelor's degrees, but they are usually positions helping an anthropologist and require years of experience in a related field, such as project support or management.

Jobs

Specific anthropology jobs include sociocultural anthropologists, who study the general mindset of cultures and societies, and archaeologists, who study cultures through the artifacts they left behind. Physical anthropologists study the origins and evolutionary development of human beings, while linguistic anthropologists investigate the role of language in cultures and societies. Biophysical or medical anthropologists analyze the influence that culture and physical biology have on each other.

Duties

Sociocultural anthropologists compare research findings from different geographical regions and observe the social structure of groups in different economical and cultural settings. Archaeologists retrieve and analyze artifacts, determine the customs and structure of ancient civilizations, and document research findings for future analysis and interpretation.

Physical anthropologists interpret how ancient civilizations lived, based on research findings regarding nutrition, disease and population density. Linguistic anthropologists explain the evolution of language over time and how it differs among various cultures and societies. Biophysical or medical anthropologists investigate the relationship between illness and disease in various cultural groups and analyze medical factors that may influence human health.

Skills

Anthropologists need to have excellent communication skills because they are responsible for documenting and conveying their research findings in written and oral form. They should also be able to think in a logical and methodical way. This is because they must be able to analyze complicated issues, such as the purpose and meaning of different cultural practices and languages, as well as interpret various aspects of their research findings.

Anthropologists should also have an open mind because many of them work among people who may have different social beliefs and customs. They should also be able to work on their own with little direction, since they may have to spend time working alone in remote regions of the world.

Salary

As of 2008, the average salary of anthropologists and archaeologists in the United States was between about $54,000 and about $57,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

References

• Social Scientist Careers
• What Anthropologists Do
• Anthropologist Pay