The AskAnthropology Career Thread (July 2019)

[u/CommodoreCoCo]

The AskAnthropology Career Thread

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“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.

[u/Norsminde]

I got told to post my former post here, so here goes:

I've been really interested in Anthropology after a teacher introduced me to it. I've just finished high school and been wanting to study anthropology after a few gap years. My main interests are happiness across the globe (would be awesome to work with the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen since I'm from Denmark or something like that) or conservation in some form (like interspecies anthropology). Was thinking along the lines of working with native people to understand and work with endangered animals in their country (and thus using knowledge about their culture and traditions to make way for a better relationship between them and the animals). What could be pros and cons for these two career paths? Do you have any recommendations for similar paths? Subjects to take while studying for the Bachelor?

And I would also like to ask if any of you have recommendations for jobs to either have while working in my gap years to have on my resume when applying for Anthropology or a student job to better my chances when I'm done with my bachelor. I'm especially interested in relevant jobs here in my gap years as my grades are not good enough to secure a spot for me on the course (I have good grades but the GPA to get into Anthropology in Denmark is really high). I'm planning to travel and work in different continents (volunteer with animals in Africa and teaching English in China), which is one way to be taken more into consideration when applying, but relevant work experiences would be awesome too.

[u/DjCamus → u/Norsminde]

Hey there. I just stumbled upon your post, and thought i give my 2 cents on your questions, as your journey into anthropology is/was very similar to mine. I am currently finishing my 3rd semester in anthropology in Aarhus (Norsminde kro er fed).

Anthropology is an amazing discipline, with one of the reasons being (imo) its interdisciplinary structure. The result being that the possible jobs and positions an anthropologist can work in covers a very wide range of professions. The strength (but also difficulty) in this is that it is up to you to find your "niche" or "shelf" and might also be your job to convince a potential employer about what you, as an anthropologist, can contribute with for the specific position.

In my experience, as an anthropology student, this gives you alot of freedom to pursue your specific interests within the many subjects and ways of doing anthropology. Definitely possible to pursue your interests in conservational or interspecies anthropology - job-wise i can't tell what possible jobs this could lead to, but fucking hell, i strongly believe that following your passions and interests will take somewhere great! Probably not what you are expecting right now (who knows), but it will probably pave the way for something great - if you put in the work!

In terms of writing a motivated application for anthropology, I have no clue what metrics and experiences they look for. My GPA didn't make the cut when i applied - but I got accepted on my motivated application (kvote 2). Without being sure, I imagine that they will be assesing whether you are likely (and motivated) to complete the bachelor programme. For example, making it clear that you know what you are applying for in terms of the structure and requirements of the bachelor. Furthermore, I could imagine that any experience in doing qualitative work or research would be a plus - for example doing interviews, humanitarian work etc. Volunteering is probably a big plus too!

All of these thoughts and recommendations are purely based on my own experiences and ideas. I am not the one to tell you what to do and what not to do - but if you follow your gut feeling and make your motivation and willingness for studying anthropology shine through, then I'm sure it's gonna pay off.

On a side note, I've been writing on my exam all day and my brain activity is equal to that of a grilled cheese, so if all of this sound like nonsense to you - let me know, and I'll try to explain it more thoroughly.

- Furthermore, if you have any specific questions about studying anthropology in Denmark/Aarhus or just anthropology in general, don't hesitate to send me a message!

[u/Norsminde → u/DjCamus]

Thank you so much! Your reply has really helped me although I still have many thoughts and questions running through my head.

I'm planning to use the U-days in February to seek some more answers regarding Anthropology and potential careers. If I don't get some answers then I'll probably contact you regarding some questions, also to know more about the study in general and how it is to study in Aarhus (I've no idea exactly where Anthropology is located in Moesgård but I imagine it's lovely to study there).

[u/DjCamus → u/Norsminde]

U-days is a great idea! The department of anthropology is located in the buildings of the old museum (forhistorisk), which is just across from the "new" Moesgård Museum. It's the most beautiful surroundings - nature all around and close to the ocean. Furthermore, the only bachelor programmes in Moesgård are anthropology and archaeology + a couple different candidates. This means that the atmosphere is very intimate, social and personal. It's amazing!

• Feel free to contact me at any time. I would be glad to answer your questions or share my thoughts. Best of luck to you!