I need some advice. I am 37 years old and considering heading back to school to earn a masters in anthropology. My undergrad is in political science, and currently work in IT support :rolleyes: So, before I make any life changing moves, I was hoping to get some ideas on what I would be able to do with an anthropology degree. Obviously, archeology, historian, teacher. Any other opportunities?
An advisor on “Bones”
A curator?
Can you do some sort of police work?
I enjoyed my Anthropology class in college. I hope this works out for you.
I was an anthropology major in college. Unfortunately, I do not think job opportunities exist at the Masters level.
To teach university level you need a PhD. To work in a major museum you need a Ph.D (and an asston of good luck). To work in a minor museum you usually need a Ph.D (and more of that luck). Most NSF grants are issued to Ph.Ds and Doctoral candidates.
An exception would be something hands-on and science-y like Archaeological Conservation - my knowledge the Masters is typically the terminal degree in that field.
My father uses anthropological methods in his marketing business. He has a PhD (in sociology 
). It’s a very niche area, and no, he’s not hiring.
If you are interested in marketing/advertising in general, anthropoogy is as good a degree as any, but you wouldn’t get much consideration for having a Masters over a Bachelor’s.
A Masters would also work in most school districts if you are interested in teaching Social Studies. You would, of course, need to become certified as a teacher first. Depending on your interest, some cities have fast-track programs for second-career teachers.
Long story short, if a major reason to go back to school is to improve your employment options, a Masters in Anthropology is a terrible choice. For general self-improvement, it is a wonderful choice.
Why do you want to pursue a master’s in anthropology?
While anthropology may be interesting and fun for some, it doesn’t sound particularly useful. How many people do you know that have an anthropologist in their address book, versus a doctor, lawyer, accountant, drug dealer, bookie, or hooker?
If you’re an IT guy, odds are you’d take a pay cut to go in to teaching. You really want to do that?
Unfortunately - I also majored in anthropology - I agree. FWIW, I’m currently doing working on my masters in public policy (which is the terminal degree for most people, unless they want to be an academic), and anthropology seems to be as good a preparatory undergrad as any. Well, maybe not as good as economics or international relations, but it’s a hell of a lot better than classics or drama or film, which are the undergrad degrees of some of my classmates.
Well, they are more limited, but they do exist. A lot of public sector work (considered low status by the academic anthropologists) only requires a master’s. It’s true, however, that there has been a lot of degree inflation: even for things that traditionally required no more than an M.A., you’re going to be competing with a glut of unemployed Ph.D.s
My advice: contact a Master’s program. Say “I’m interested in a terminal M.A., but I’m worried that it’s a poor career move. How have your other M.A. students been placed?” If they can’t tell you or if the information is not optimistic, revise your plans.
Yeah, there are also large companies that use anthropologists to analyze user behavior to help in product design. However, I doubt they’d be interested in applicants with less than a Ph.D. unless they had a good list of publications.
Ultrafilter asked why I want to pursue a masters in anthro (sorry, don’t know how to do the quote box thing).
I figure anthro is a good umbrella that covers all of the social science “stuff” I love to learn about. Archeology, history, geography, linguistics, culture, sociology, psychology, primate behavior, etc. I find the whole mess of what makes humans… er… human fasciniating. I would have to say my strongest interests lay (lie?) with the areas of religion (comparitive), mythology, folktales, fairy tales, legneds, that sort of stuff.
I’ve also thought about being a social studies teacher. What can one do with a social sciences degree (if there is such a thing)?