Well, Here’s How *I* Pay Rent with my Anthro Major
An urban anthropologist at work: may include testifying on urban issues for City Government.
I identify as an anthropologist, among other things. Anyone who ever studied anthropology, me included, needs an answer to, “What job can you get with an anthro major?” In jokes about useless majors, it ranks up there with art and philosophy. In 2011, Florida Governor Rick Scott took on the whole discipline, noting, “We don’t need them here.”
Amy Santee, another applied anthropologist, writes about just this question on her blog, Anthropologizing. She has a series of posts titled, “Anthropologists in Practice.” I was pleased for the chance to reflect more on my anthropology training — and to answer the question of how I use an anthropology major to pay my rent — when she invited me to do an interview for the series.
Thank you for participating in the interview, Janne! I appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences and perspective – you are an exemplar of the relevance of anthropology to the world!
It was fun to get to think about things at this level — different from my every-day, where I’m focused on action.