Expert: Ralph Salier - 7/7/2009

Question
My daughter graduated from Ball State University (Indiana) with a 3.5 gpa. She is mostly interested in cultural anthropology and history.  She lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana but is willing to locate; actually prefer to locate. She has done field studies in Arizona and a little forensic work while at the university.

Question
My daughter just graduated from college with a degree in Anthropology. She is struggling on where to turn to find a position. I try to offer advice but she seems lost and don't know what steps to take or where to look for a position. Any help you can offer will be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Steve,

Congratulations!  

What kind of Anthropology? Please be as detailed as possible.  Also what city does she live in and where does she want to work.  What kinds of jobs was she hoping to find as an .......

To give you an idea these are the types of Anthropology out there:

Forensic Anthropology
Business Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Archaeology
Ethnography
Culture specific Anthropology
Retail Anthropology

Just to name a few.  

Also where did she get her degree (I assume a BA) and what was her grade point ave.?  

Answer
Hi Steve,

Thank you for the additional information.  Ball State is a good school with a good anthro program.  Anthropology and History is a good combination but what did she have in mind when she went in this direction?  

Here are some options that she might consider;

Getting a masters degree in High School or secondary teaching.  She can do this in a one year program at Duke University or U Tenn. and even perhaps at Ball State.  There is a great need for teachers.

Getting a masters in Economics or Sociology/Social Work.  There is a great need for social workers.

Getting a second BA in Forensics and work as a CSI.  The work is tedious, difficult and not nearly as much fun as depicted on TV but there is a growing need for skilled techs in this field.

Law Enforcement.  Many big cities are looking for culturally sensitive personnel to assist them with understanding  the cultural issues that lead to crime and can act as a negotiator in community disputes.  (not easy to find but sending out letters of inquiry generally does the trick as these jobs are generally not published)

Purchasing for a large company that has global interests.  The need for culturally sensitive people is a growing need as companies globalize and find that we Americans are very culturally insensitive, arrogant and amazingly ignorant when it comes to other cultural expectations. ( any job listed as a junior buyer or puchasing agent may fit the bill. Most companies don't expect a junior to know any thing and hopefully they will train.  There are a fair number of these jobs across the country)

Working for a museum and continuing to do work as an ehtnographer (these jobs are hard to find and get)

Radio, TV and other Media outlets often look for reporters, news analysts, correspondents etc... Often times they are looking for someone with a cultural background to help with interpretation of what is being seen within a given cultural event.


These are just a few suggestions that may help you start  a conversation with your daughter.  If you would like to provide her with my email address, please feel free to do so: rsalier@hotmail.com  subject: Anthropology work, and I would be more then happy to work with her directly.

I know that with the current economic times being as poor as they are and the fact that she probably has loans that will start coming due in a few months time, she needs to find good employment to be able to live on her own and afford to pay the loans too.  (I'm in the same boat x 3).  

Please keep in touch and if there is anything I can do to help either of you, I will do what I can.