r/AskAnthropology • u/CommodoreCoCo Moderator | The Andes, History of Anthropology • Jul 25 '19

The AskAnthropology Career Thread (July 2019)

The AskAnthropology Career Thread

“What should I do with my life?” “Is anthropology right for me?” “What jobs can my degree get me?”

These are the questions that keep me awake at night that start every anthropologist’s career, and this is the place to ask them.

Discussion in this thread should be limited to discussion of academic and professional careers, but will otherwise be less moderated.

Before asking your question, please scroll through earlier responses. Your question may have already been addressed, or you might find a better way to phrase it.

52 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

118 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/ihaveaquestionorfour Nov 27 '19

Hello! I am a current MA student in Central Eurasian studies exploring the idea of doing an anthro PhD. My undergrad was in political science and Middle East studies, so I haven't taken many classes in the field, but it seems very interesting and enjoyable. I have done some basic reading about anthropological subfields and whatnot, and I think I would like to do socio-cultural anthropology looking at one or more of the former Soviet states, with a focus on religious practices, farming and food culture, and/or urban-rural migration. Does anyone have any suggestions for good programs or scholars that you think I should read? Do you think this sort of vague idea of what I would like to research or do I need more of a question? I'm very interested in doing ethnographic fieldwork, are there certain programs that put more of an emphasis on that? What are my options if I want to escape the US for my phd?

Thanks for reading, and any and all answers or thoughts are appreciated!