What Kind of Jobs Can Cultural Anthropologists Get?
Cultural anthropologists study human behavior in the form of the customs, cultures and social lives of groups, including social control, socialization, political organization, class, gender, ethnicity and religion. Becoming a cultural anthropologist typically requires at least a master's degree, and often a Ph.D., in cultural anthropology. Nonacademic jobs for cultural anthropologists have increased as the demand for research on human behavior has increased.
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Industry Trends
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Traditionally, most professional anthropologists have worked in academic settings, teaching and researching. However, since 1985, more than half of anthropologists with new doctoral degrees have found jobs in research institutes, government agencies, world organizations, nonprofit associations and private corporations, according to the American Anthropological Society. Of the 5,100 anthropologists and archeologists employed as of May 2010, 1,780 worked in scientific research and development services and 1,360 worked for the federal government, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another 700 worked in management, scientific and technical consulting services, with 350 working at colleges, universities and professional schools.
Academic Jobs
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In academic settings, cultural anthropologists teach and conduct research. They write lectures, grade papers, work with individual students and write scholarly articles, monographs and books. Research anthropologists often work in the field, observing and interviewing groups and their individual members.
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Corporate and Nonprofit Jobs
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Nongovernmental organizations, such as international health organizations and development banks, have jobs for anthropologists to help design and implement programs that require cultural understanding. Issues might include cross-cultural views on domestic violence and criminal justice, birth technology, education, environmental resource management and so forth. Corporations, especially those with a global perspective, look for anthropologists to fill positions that require an understanding of human behavior. For example, a corporate anthropologist might work in market research to conduct targeted focus groups to examine consumer preferences.
Considerations
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Even though you can get a bachelor's degree in cultural anthropology, it typically doesn't qualify you for a job as a cultural anthropologist, although the degree can be useful for any job that requires understanding cultural understanding or that emphasizes diversity. Such jobs might include cross-cultural trainer, consultant, housing administrator, market analyst, planner, program director, social worker, survey researcher or coordinator of refugee services, according to faculty at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
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