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1. Professional profile
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics website defines anthropologists/archaeologists as follows:
"They study the origin, development, and behavior of human beings. May study the way of life, language, or physical characteristics of people in various parts of the world. May engage in systematic recovery and examination of material evidence, such as tools or pottery remaining from past human cultures, in order to determine the history, customs, and living habits of earlier civilizations."
These professional activities, however, include many more, related to the specific anthropological specializations acquired through advanced academic training--which is the most typical requirement of the profession.
(see: What is anthropology?)
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2. Employment
The great majority of anthropologists are employed as instructors in colleges and universities, where they often combine a teaching career with research activities (supported by grants and fellowships).
An academic career in anthropology is usually linked to obtaining a permanent (tenure-track/tenured) faculty position. But an increasing number of anthropologists with advanced graduate training, and even a PhD, are now employed as lecturers--ie, as temporary, and often part-time, instructors in colleges and universities.
A small, but growing number of anthropologists are also additionally, or even solely, employed outside academia, in research centers, museums, agencies, and--sometimes--as staff consultants for the private or public sector, or as freelancers for nonprofits, nationally or internationally.
This applies to archaeologists, too, but they can more often find emplyment through "contracting" their services with state and local agencies concerned with historic preservation, urban planning, park & recreation services, and cultural resource management.
An employment opportunity for physical anthropologists--with forensics specialization--is related to assisting law enforcement agencies, but this is not as frequent--or as glamorous--as portrayed by the media.
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3. Required training
Becoming a professional anthropologist usually requires one of the longest types of academic training: the completion of a PhD (doctoral) degree.
In the context of the American educational system, which includes Primary, Secondary (the K-12 grade-school system), and Post-Secondary (college/university) levels, becoming an anthropologist may require high-school graduates to study for a total of additional ten to sixteen years (and some further post-doctoral study, through a fellowship or internship, may even be expected in some specializations).
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4. Graduate programs
After completing undergraduate studies, by obtaining a BA or BS degree, students interested in becoming a professional anthropologist must continue their studies at the graduate level.
The variety of graduate-level programs offered in the USA is very broad and can be confusing. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) publishes, and yearly updates, a Guide to Departments of Anthropology (http://www.aaanet.org/publications/guide.cfm), which may be a useful first source of exploration.
Factors to consider in selecting a graduate program include: cost, location, prestige, and, above all, a good match between a student's specialization and research interests and those of the faculty in the graduate program(s) of choice. The application process is costly and time-consuming, so it is worth investing into exploratory research--perhaps involving even a site visit--on any attractive programs in advance of embarking upon it.
Graduate programs can offer either a Graduate Certificate, or a Master's Degree, or a Doctoral (PhD) Degree (for which, usually, a Master's must be obtained first). Professional/academic employment in anthropology usually requires a PhD, but a Master's, or even a Graduate Certificate, may facilitate access to non-academic occupations, Community College teaching, or employment as part-time lecturer. Some graduate-level study experience may also strengthen one's application to doctoral programs.
With some exceptions, pursuing a graduate degree abroad, may actually hamper career options in the USA. However, some study/work abroad experience, obtained at the undergraduate level, or soon after graduation, may considerably strengthen an application to graduate-level programs.
The application for graduate programs usually requires documenting successful completion of an undergraduate degree (with a good GPA, and a record of academic engagement in areas of study related, or relevant, to the anthropological specialization a student wishes to pursue), and, often, acceptable scoring results in the Graduate Record Examinations (http://www.ets.org/gre/).
Further materials required for the application usually include a current Curriculum Vitae (CV)--ie, the academic version of a resume--a Statement of Purpose (SP) or Intent, describing a student's research and/or specialization interests, and identifying at least two referees willing to write letters of recommendation for the applicant.
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5. Professional expectations
Professional success as an anthropologist is measured by disciplinary contributions, as documented by the quality and amount of research done, the breadth and intensity of research results dissemination (in presentations and publications, and through academic teaching/training), and the overall impact of such dissemination on peers, students, and the general public.
The most successful anthropologists actually establish a whole "school of thought"--ie, a particular theoretical and/or methodological perspective (often with its own label, such as "functionalism" or "structuralism")--which may influence the entire discipline by being followed, applied, and further elaborated by an entire generation of other anthropologists.
The history of anthropology documents the succession of such "schools of thought" which have often been quite divergent, with the most dramatic alternation characterizing cultural anthropology, particularly in reference to definitions of culture.
Disciplinary contributions (often measured by publications) are expected from anthropologists on the faculty of academic programs in colleges and universities, and they constitute the core factor being considered in assessing their eligibility for tenure (ie, permanent employment), and for professional advancement (usually through promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor, and, ultimately to the top rank of Full Professor).
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6. Professional organizations
Professional organization, by sponsoring meetings, conferences, and congresses, and often by supporting the publication of professional journals, provide useful outlets for scholarly dissemination.
Furthermore, joining professional organizations gives access to a rich network of peers with similar interests, and involvement in such organizations' activities provides opportunities for service to the discipline, as well as the ability to stay up-to-date in disciplinary developments. Some of the most relevant professional anthropology organizations include:
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7. Anthropological knowledge
Anthropological knowledge includes a thorough understanding of what anthropology is, in terms of its disciplinary characteristics, its theoretical and methodological foundations, its history, and its current practice.
Undergraduate training, in an Anthropology Major, provides the foundations for such thorough understanding, and even a chance to explore some more specialistic interests, either in reference to particular topics (such as, for example, by taking classes in "Medical Anthropology" or "Language and Culture"), or in reference to particular cultures or culture areas (such as, for example, by taking a class on "Peoples and Cultures of Africa" or on "Culture of Japan").
At the graduate level, this knowledge foundation is expanded upon through further study, and especially through its application in actual research, of which the work leading to the writing of a doctoral dissertation constitutes the culminating experience, attesting to the attainment of advanced professional expertise.
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8. Anthropological skills
A successful professional career in anthropology requires both a mastery of anthropological knowledge, and the possession of anthropological skills, which seem to be mainly correlated to certain personality characteristics--such as, for example, those designated as INTJ and INFJ in the Myers-Briggs temperament typology (http;//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator).
A brief summary of these skills include:
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Mindfulness (capacity for sustained attention, good pattern recognition, good memory)
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Reflexivity (capacity for self-analysis, comparative skills, cross-cultural imagination)
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Empathy (capacity for rapport, tolerance for ambiguity, cognitive/behavioral adaptability)
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9. Uses of undergraduate training
An undergraduate degree in anthropology is not indispensable to enter American graduate-level programs in anthropology. Conversely, earning a Bachelor's Degree (which is variously designated as being in Arts--BA--or in Science--BS, depending on institution-specific choices), demonstrating good anthropological knowledge, and even having outstanding anthropological skills, does not necessarily require that students pursue graduate-level training in anthropology and a career as professional anthropologists.
The majority of students graduating with an Anthropology Major do not go on to become professional anthropologists (just as the majority of students with a Psychology Major--one of the most popular majors in the USA--do not go on to become professional psychologists).
Undergraduate training in academic disciplines such as anthropology (or psychology) provides students with general basic skills in the areas of reasoning, comprehending, interacting, as well as and more specific ones in research design, analysis, assessment, time-management, and teamwork. These skills, usually called "transferable" can then be usefully applied in a variety of occupations.
When applying for employment such skills should be described and documented in a well-crafted resume, which should highlight their use, ideally achieved through undergraduate-level experiences such as study or work abroad, practicum/service-learning/field courses, internships, and independent-study projects.
The areas in which students with a BA or BS in anthropology have found employment in the last decade include:
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Business (sales, public relations, technical writing, market research, consulting, import-export)
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Health & Human Services (social welfare, animal welfare, lab and medical assistance, birthing, counseling,, gyms, sport organizations, clinics, NPOs)
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Government (law enforcement, public education, cultural resource management, museums, parks, zoos, development agencies)
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Media (journalism, screen-writing, electronic media management, libraries, advertising, mapping, illustrating)
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Tourism & International (tour leading, hotels, travel consulting, agencies, NPOs, NGOs)
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10. Interdisciplinary perspectives
Because anthropology is such a broad discipline, an Anthropology Major can be usefully combined with a second Major, or with a Minor, which ideally complements and gives focus to the specialistic and/or vocational interests a student may have.
The reference chart provided below summarizes some of the connections linking up the three main areas of anthropological specialization (cultural anthropology subsumes the linguistic anthropology "field" in the chart) with other disciplinary areas. Courses in any of these areas can be taken as part of General Education requirements, and, if found attractive, may lead to selecting a minor, or a second major, that fits in well within the interdisciplinary framework of anthropology.
Interdisciplinarity is the hottest trend in anthropology now. Engaging with it at the undergraduate level can set the foundations for a brilliant professional career.
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End of Primer (Professional)
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Careers in Anthropology - A Reference Chart Link to  the PDF
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