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Anthropologists

Also called: Professor, Professor of Anthropology, Researcher, Scientist

What they do:
Research, evaluate, and establish public policy concerning the origins of humans; their physical, social, linguistic, and cultural development; and their behavior, as well as the cultures, organizations, and institutions they have created.
On the job, you would:
  • Conduct participatory action research in communities and organizations to assess how work is done and to design work systems, technologies, and environments.
  • Study archival collections of primary historical sources to help explain the origins and development of cultural patterns.
  • Participate in forensic activities, such as tooth and bone structure identification, in conjunction with police departments and pathologists.

Knowledge

Math and Science
  • sociology and anthropology
  • geography
Arts and Humanities
  • English language
  • history and archeology
Education and Training
  • teaching and course design
Communications
  • multimedia

Skills

Basic Skills
  • talking to others
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Abilities

Verbal
  • communicate by speaking
  • communicate by writing
Ideas and Logic
  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  • use rules to solve problems

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include
ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Initiative
  • Integrity
  • Attention to Detail
  • Adaptability/Flexibility
  • Achievement/Effort

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Analytical or scientific software
  • SAS software
  • The MathWorks MATLAB
Graphics or photo imaging software
  • Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop software
  • Image enhancement software
Video creation and editing software
  • Apple iMovie
  • Microsoft Windows Movie Maker

Education

Education: (rated 5 of 5)
master's degree or
doctoral/professional degree
usually needed

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Average Outlook
New job opportunities are likely in the future.
Salary
$56,070
per year, on average
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about anthropologists.