I didn’t have to look at the article published in the Annals of Anthropological Practice (Cronin and Hawvermale) to tell you not every anthropology job will have “anthropologist” in the title. Here’s more information on the state of applied professional anthropology.
In a survey of 291 professional anthropologists, 75.5% identified as female. Furthermore, nearly half of respondents, 49%, reported their age to be between 30 and 39. But where’s the money, right? According to the survey conducted in 2019, 96% reported earnings in the range of $50,000 to $74,999 annually. Does that sound pretty good to you?
 |
|---|
| Olivia is a cultural resource specialist working full-time for a large business or corporation. |
Most of the jobs (62.2% according to the survey) for anthropologists are at academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, or large corporations. But if you’re hoping to land this type of sweet gig, then you’ll need training in:
- applied anthropology case studies and readings
- ethics competency training
- collaborative, participatory, community-based approaches to anthropology and archaeology
- project design, development, and management
- proposal and grant writing
- networking skills
What do you think? Can you see yourself in Olivia’s shoes?
References and Works Cited
- Cronin, Shannon, and Erica M. Hawvermale. “‘Applying’ Education: A Focused Review of the 2019 American Anthropology Master’s Career Survey Data.” Annals of Anthropological Practice, vol. 45, no. 1, May 2021, pp. 119–35. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1111/napa.12162.