3 answers
zackary
Student
Charleston, Missouri
1
Question
Asked
610 views
what is your daily career life like in anthropology?
I've been looking a bit into anthropology and it seemed to peak my interest. I just want to know what is your life like in your career? what challenges do you face in your work? what kind of area do you work in? is it a career you enjoy? how did you get to the point where you are at now? what kind of education did you need? #anthropology
Login to comment
3 answers
Nathaniel Wander
anthropology/psychotherapy/writing
35
Answers
Portland, Oregon
Updated
Nathaniel’s Answer
I retired from the University of Edinburgh in what appears to me to have been an unusual academic role. I spent the last dozen years of my career at UC San Francisco and U Edinburgh in a research position. When I taught at the former, it was to medical students about dealing with social/cultural issues (e.g., diet, non-Western-professional medical beliefs, family relationships) in medical practice. In the latter position, I taught internet-based research techniques and supervised masters theses in public health. My UC appointment was in the Behavioral Science Dept of the School of Nursing, while at Edinburgh I was appointed in the Global Public Health Unit, but at both schools I had links to the anthropology departments and to anthropology doctoral students.
I started my anthropology career with research on rice agriculture, land-holdings and family structure in West Bengal, India and ended it studying how the tobacco industry has tried to control the global discussion of cigarette smoking on public health. Over the course of thirty-five years, I studied how high school students were trained to peer counsel junior high students on alcohol abuse in NYC, how shamans diagnose possession and practice exorcism in rural India, how psychiatrists diagnose and assign treatments for mental illness in southern California, how American women with an HIV+ diagnosis make decisions about child-bearing, how the tobacco industry fights tobacco control advocates, how tobacco agriculture damages tropical ecosystems. That's a pretty broad swath and I can't say I was ever bored at it.
My last dozen years were mostly spent at a computer, studying tobacco industry documents, financial documents regarding tobacco companies and the literature on tobacco agriculture and ecology. Though I didn't get into the field much, both my San Francisco and Edinburgh positions required me to report my findings at national and international conferences. Between 2002 and 2007 I travelled throughout the U.S. from San Francisco to Chicago, Santa Fe and Philadelphia. While at Edinburgh I travelled to conferences in England and Holland and to the U.S.. Between the two positions combined, I attended meetings in Helsinki, Mumbai and Mexico City.
I enjoyed the balance, especially in Edinburgh, between working one on one with grad students on their masters theses and shutting myself up in my home office to work on my own research. In addition to working with the millions of pages of tobacco industry documents 'discovered in the 1990s U.S. State Attorneys-General lawsuits, I also developed skills in areas not usually accessed by anthropologists, like reading and interpreting Security & Exchange Commission documents, tracking the finances of tobacco industry executives and investors and doing both online and microfilm based searches of newspaper archives.
I especially enjoyed learning to work with graphics and producing slide-illustrated talks for conference presentations. The interactions with and critiques of slide talks by fellow team members from a host of disciplines--history, political science, pharmacology, medicine--was also a new process for me to take in.
In addition to producing papers and presentations for academic journals and conferences. I also worked with numerous community organizations, e.g., school curriculum builders, transnational political organizations, public health non-profits. The Edinburgh position was a particular treat for an anthropologist. While I attended conferences in Mexico and India, I also got to work on tobacco-related agricultural issues in those countries from behind a computer, as well as on problems in tobacco agriculture and ecology in East Africa and on tobacco industry investing in Norway.
I started my anthropology career with research on rice agriculture, land-holdings and family structure in West Bengal, India and ended it studying how the tobacco industry has tried to control the global discussion of cigarette smoking on public health. Over the course of thirty-five years, I studied how high school students were trained to peer counsel junior high students on alcohol abuse in NYC, how shamans diagnose possession and practice exorcism in rural India, how psychiatrists diagnose and assign treatments for mental illness in southern California, how American women with an HIV+ diagnosis make decisions about child-bearing, how the tobacco industry fights tobacco control advocates, how tobacco agriculture damages tropical ecosystems. That's a pretty broad swath and I can't say I was ever bored at it.
My last dozen years were mostly spent at a computer, studying tobacco industry documents, financial documents regarding tobacco companies and the literature on tobacco agriculture and ecology. Though I didn't get into the field much, both my San Francisco and Edinburgh positions required me to report my findings at national and international conferences. Between 2002 and 2007 I travelled throughout the U.S. from San Francisco to Chicago, Santa Fe and Philadelphia. While at Edinburgh I travelled to conferences in England and Holland and to the U.S.. Between the two positions combined, I attended meetings in Helsinki, Mumbai and Mexico City.
I enjoyed the balance, especially in Edinburgh, between working one on one with grad students on their masters theses and shutting myself up in my home office to work on my own research. In addition to working with the millions of pages of tobacco industry documents 'discovered in the 1990s U.S. State Attorneys-General lawsuits, I also developed skills in areas not usually accessed by anthropologists, like reading and interpreting Security & Exchange Commission documents, tracking the finances of tobacco industry executives and investors and doing both online and microfilm based searches of newspaper archives.
I especially enjoyed learning to work with graphics and producing slide-illustrated talks for conference presentations. The interactions with and critiques of slide talks by fellow team members from a host of disciplines--history, political science, pharmacology, medicine--was also a new process for me to take in.
In addition to producing papers and presentations for academic journals and conferences. I also worked with numerous community organizations, e.g., school curriculum builders, transnational political organizations, public health non-profits. The Edinburgh position was a particular treat for an anthropologist. While I attended conferences in Mexico and India, I also got to work on tobacco-related agricultural issues in those countries from behind a computer, as well as on problems in tobacco agriculture and ecology in East Africa and on tobacco industry investing in Norway.
Katrina Honer
Career Coach, Employer Branding & Recruitment Marketing Program Specialist
6
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Katrina’s Answer
Hi Zackary! I double majored in Psychology and Anthro in college. I actually entered uni with this belief that I would be a psychiatrist (and why I chose Psych) and I quickly realized that's not what I wanted to do. However, since high school, all my extra circulars and part time jobs focused a lot on marketing and mentorship. I took an Anthro class one day out of the blue and fell in the love with the topic.
In a nutshell, Anthro is the study of human societies and cultures and their development. There are different branches including archeology and linguistics and even health Anthro. I never wanted to be an archeologist. Nor did I want to become a professor.
But, as I found myself increasingly participating and working in things that required marketing and understanding people, I've used both my degrees to excel in my career.
In my current role as an employer brand and recruitment marketing specialist, I do a lot of fun work that 1). attracts job seekers with the intention of reaching diverse communities (I work in tech so I hope to reach people who look like me) and 2). highlighting unique stories of employees. So understanding what people like and their interests, and the markets in which they live, I can at least say are things I picked up using my degrees.
This is all to say that I realized what I liked and what I was good at (marketing and working with people). I found Anthro interesting. So, I looked into ways I could combine what I was learning in school, to practical and real life projects.
That's what it really comes down to. Think about what you are naturally interested in and in what ways, a degree in X can help strengthen that skill or interest. A degree doesn't equate to the actual job you'll do but there are benefits to having a degree that can help you so WHAT you want to do.
In a nutshell, Anthro is the study of human societies and cultures and their development. There are different branches including archeology and linguistics and even health Anthro. I never wanted to be an archeologist. Nor did I want to become a professor.
But, as I found myself increasingly participating and working in things that required marketing and understanding people, I've used both my degrees to excel in my career.
In my current role as an employer brand and recruitment marketing specialist, I do a lot of fun work that 1). attracts job seekers with the intention of reaching diverse communities (I work in tech so I hope to reach people who look like me) and 2). highlighting unique stories of employees. So understanding what people like and their interests, and the markets in which they live, I can at least say are things I picked up using my degrees.
This is all to say that I realized what I liked and what I was good at (marketing and working with people). I found Anthro interesting. So, I looked into ways I could combine what I was learning in school, to practical and real life projects.
That's what it really comes down to. Think about what you are naturally interested in and in what ways, a degree in X can help strengthen that skill or interest. A degree doesn't equate to the actual job you'll do but there are benefits to having a degree that can help you so WHAT you want to do.
PwC Impact
575
Answers
Orlando, Florida
Updated
PwC’s Answer
Hey Zachary. I didn't end up in an anthropology career, but I studied it undergrad and did archaeological field work in Australia. FYI, there are loads of anthropology jobs there! As for what field work looked like, most of it is not spent in the field. You have to research areas beforehand, get permission to do work, and clean and catalogue all you find. For every hour I spent in the field, I spent 2 in the lab and 5 writing field notes and literature reviews. The work itself is hard- you're outside, digging, sieving, and writing in the field. But you always work in teams! If you like the outdoors, writing, working with in your hands, and being part of a team, then anthropology/archaeology could be for you. Most schools with have undergrad field experiences, so just take a course, talk to your professors, and see where it takes you.