You ever just look around and wonder what makes us who we are? All around us are people with different beliefs, values, ideals, and cultures. Even you grew up in a specific culture, and you know a great deal about it. However, you may be wondering how you can best learn about the other types of cultures. Anthropology is the field that offers the most insight into not only different cultures, but what makes us human overall. In this post, we’ll be going over how you can get a career in anthropology.
Find the Necessary Funding
The best way for anyone to learn more about anthropology is to participate in a degree program. However, one thing that needs to be pointed out is many positions in the field require a master’s degree or higher. There are jobs you can get with a bachelor’s, but you won’t get as much experience or pay. A master’s degree in anthropology can be a hefty investment, but despite the high price, you can easily pay for it by taking out a student loan.
Student loans can be used for most educational expenses. How much you get depends on what you’re qualified for. You’ll have to fill out your FAFSA form for a rough estimate. And if you want to keep your interest payments low, you can opt for going to a private lender. Alternatively, you don’t have to pay anything if you decided to apply for a scholarship online.
Decide on a Niche
Anthropology is a field that has many categories and each one is different from the last. These are the niches of anthropology you can choose from:
- Social
- Cultural
- Linguistic
- Biological
- Physical
- Visual
Social anthropology focuses on the studies of human societies, cultural anthropology prioritizes the different cultures of humans and linguistic anthropology goes over the many languages. Biological and physical anthropology are more science-based as they focus on the evolution of humans and their ancestors. Visual anthropology is a little different as it focuses on the representation of humans through media, like films. Take your time when choosing a category to study in.
Look for a Suitable Career
Once you’ve studied everything and you figured out what niche you want to work in, now’s the time to start looking for jobs. Many who participate in anthropology work in areas like museums and universities. However, that’s not all there is to the career choices. It’s also possible to branch off a little bit and become a sociologist. Sociology is actually heavily intertwined with anthropology, so it’s possible to get a career in this field with the credentials you get.
Becoming a professor is one of the most common career choices as it’s surprisingly easy to acquire. This is one of those careers where you need to have at least a master’s degree or higher, and for good reason. Professors are individuals who are supposed to pass down the information and personal findings to the next generation of anthropologists. To be successful in this role you will have to learn how to handle stress as the element and responsibility of teaching your students can create moments of stress throughout your workday.
