NOTE: The interviews on the right can be viewed with RealVideo. Click on the links below the photographs for the video downloads.
In 1999-2000, 10,544 people received Baccalaureates in anthropology;
1512 received Master's degrees. Most of these people are not working
in universities or research centers. Instead, they are applied
anthropologists, i.e., people who utilize anthropological method, theory
and understanding in a variety of public and private institutions to solve
a variety of problems. In a discipline like anthropology where researchers
often form very close relationships with people, the desire to alleviate
suffering and, in general, to help people is very natural. Anthropologists
have therefore long been active in "applied" research, particularly in
action anthropology, development anthropology and advocacy anthropology.
But there are anthropologists working in every aspect of public life, from
software corporations to airlines. A 2000 census of Master’s of Applied
Anthropology (MAA) recipients at four programs in the United States
suggests the breadth of job
possibilities for anthropologists working in non-academic settings.
When asked about their job
titles, respondents (n=113) used the following descriptors (some used
more than one):
| Working in government: 22
Working in education: 11 Working in the private sector: 11 Researcher: 35 Manager: 25 Planner: 17 |
Administrator: 11
Program Specialist: 9 Archaeology: 20 Medical Anthropology: 11 |
(Harman, Robert C., Jim Hess and Amir Shafe (2001) “Master’s of Applied
Anthropology
Alumni Survey.” Anthropology News 42(5): 25.)
Forensic Anthropology
Forensic Services Technician
- Latent fingerprints (.2 MB)
- Job description (1.1 MB)
- Educational Background (.3 MB)
- Getting involved (.9 MB)
- Examples of forensic anthropology (.9 MB)
- Archaeological techniques and forensic investigation (1 MB)
- Anthropological skills (.9 MB)
- A typical day (1.2 MB)
- Advice to undergraduates (1.8 MB)
- Dangers & Risks (1.4 MB)
john m. rose
Qualitative Researcher
Public Health Research and Evaluation
- Introduction and job description (1.5 MB)
- A typical project cycle (1.4 MB)
- Ethnographic research on the job (1.5 MB)
- The relevance of cultural anthropology (1 MB)
- Advice to job seekers (1.9 MB)
- Useful undergraduate experiences (1 MB)
- The importance of writing well (1.3 MB)