<p>Okay so for a while now I've been considering a major in Anthropology. The only thing is I can only seem to get a vague idea of what it's really about. Also, is it practical? I wouldn't think of it as a "waste of time" but If I were to do it I would go all the way through with it, hopefully a master's so on and so forth but what kinds of fields acquire Anthropology and are there any minors that can back this up? I'm most interested in Physical Anthropology but I wouldn't mind adjusting that if there are greater opportunities in a different major. I'm not basing my choice off of this post and I still have plenty of time to think about what I want to do but I would just like some insight, thank you (:</p>
<p>Well, those are a lot of questions you have. To begin I have a BA and am working towards an MA in Anthro… so hopefully I can help a little. However, physical anthropology was never my thing.</p>
<p>First off, short of becoming an anthropologist, no job requires (I believe this is what you meant when you said “aquire”) a degree in anthropology. That said, anthropology jobs include: professorships (PhD), field archaeologists (mixture of degrees), forensic anthropology (usually MA/PhD), museum specialists (mixture of degrees, curatorial usually MA/PhD) and primatologists in both zoos and the field (not sure on the degrees).</p>
<p>That said, if you go into anthropology with the intention of becoming an “anthropologist” expect to earn at least 2 degrees–possibly 3–and many, many years of schooling.</p>
<p>However, my opinion is that the strength of a degree in anthropology is that it prepares students for so many jobs outside of academia. I have many friends who went into public health and social work who possess anthro BAs. Marketing can also be a route created by anthro BA. Not to mention any liberal art degree can lead to a job in the business sector.</p>
<p>As I mentioned, physical anthropology is not my cup of tea, at all. I guess the question is what type of physical anthropology are you interested in? Paleoanthropology, primatology, forensics, genetics? Many of these fields have entry level opportunities for new grads. They also have higher positions for people with higher degrees.</p>
<p>Also, are you currently in college? Do you know if your school has a strong physical anthropology department? Sadly, many schools do not even have a true anthropology department (just a sociology department that claims to teach “anthro”) and then schools that contain anthropology majors do not always have physical anthropology. If you are not in school yet, I recommend researching schools based on department offerings. The only school I am aware of having a strong physical anthro program is Duke (that is not to say Duke is the only one, not by a long shot).</p>
<p>Lastly, and most importantly. Anthropology is not a waste of time. Sure, I might be biased, but how can the study of humans, culture and social phenomenon be a waste of time? A BA may not directly correlate to a job (like engineering does), but it offers a level of critical thinking, critical writing and cultural insight that “trade” degrees do not. The so called “practical degrees” are like Phillipshead screwdrivers, they can do one thing. Anthropology is like duct tape, it can do many different things and it can lead to many different jobs.</p>
<p>Lastly, minors depend on the field of anthropology you are into. I skipped over this, but there are 4 (physical, socio-cultural, archaeology and linguistic). I have a second BA in art history. It’s not really all that related at all, but thats okay, there is no rule that minors need to be closely related. I know several people who got minors in an area study (Asian studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Women’s Studies, etc), but they were all socio-cultural. Religion/philosophy or foreign languages are other overlaps. I know one girl who was a pre-med and anthro (she is now in med school) and if genetics or primatology are your interests you should definitely consider biology. Lastly, if you are into forensic anthropology, a good accompaniment might be human physiology.</p>
<p>Hopefully, this all helps.</p>