My daughter has to pick a major at the end of the year. Anthropology?

[asdjrocky]

I don't need to say how proud I am of her, but I will. She likes science, she loves reading, she's a liberal and she's a beauty and she has a kind heart. She also has a dad that didn't quite make it through high school. I need help.

She's already light years ahead of me on brain cells and how to use them, she's a sophomore and at the end of the year she is supposed to declare.

Any anthropologists in the house? Anyone that can point me in the right direction so when she asks me about it again I don't sound like the blubbering idiot that I am?

What jobs? What's the best field of anthropology? She's good with Latin, and she's full on great at ASL, don't ask me how she got this smart, so I was thinking maybe Linguistics?

I know DU has the smartest people in the world, please help.

[EFerrari]

1. I read a long time ago that most college students change their majors

a few times. So remember, her choice won't imprison her. She can always switch.

You lucky dad! :hi:

[asdjrocky]

3. Yeah. I was thinking the same thing when she went to college.

I told he I didn't care what she got her degree in, and I expected her to change her mind many, many times.

Started out, she wanted to be a Vet, then a Biologist (whatever that is), then Physiology and now this.

I just enjoy trying to keep up with her and I'm flattered that she wants my advice.

So now I study anthropology.

And thanks EFerrari, I am lucky!

[EFerrari]

8. I doubled in English and Antrho and finally went with English.

It was the mid 80s but I had two kids and there was no daycare at Gombe. Also, the English faculty seemed to more genuinely enjoy teaching as opposed to dealing with us as an unfortunate chore. Where she is makes a difference.

[asdjrocky]

11. She thinks she may have found a mentor for Anthro.

Interestingly enough, she is her English teacher who has an Anthropology and an Archeology degree. The woman helps identify the age and gender of bones found at native American sites here in Ca.

[Kali]

2. genteel poverty

Anthro is good for travel, teaching - not so much for financial success. If she is really good with hard science physical anthropology/bioarcheaology may be more satisfying than cultural.

Need a masters for sure, PhD is better.

[asdjrocky]

4. Thanks.

I've always told her to go after a passion (I know it's a cliche) and that really is what I want for her.

I also told her it sounded like she was walking into more school, and she was okay with that.

As far as genteel poverty goes, she's been with me all her life, so she can hang with that.

Thanks again.

[aquart]

23. My professors tried to lure me into geology

with the phrase "$300 an hour for a water table."

That was 20 years ago, no idea if it's still true.

[Lex]

5. Biotechnology?

Working on the human genome project and stuff like that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_biotechnology_articles

[asdjrocky]

10. Wow, I'll send that to her.

Maybe she'll be able to make heads or tails of it.

[XemaSab]

6. Archaeology can take her places

At least in California, there is real work for Archaologists that pays real money.

Geography and Cartography can also pay, but it really depends on the classes she takes, and she needs to ask herself if she wants to sit in front of a computer her entire life.

[asdjrocky]

12. I'll tell her that Xema, thanks.

[EastTennesseeDem]

7. One of my anthro TA's is studying internet anthropology

I don't know what it entails but it sounds awesome.

My parents both majored in it, met as archaeologists.

[EFerrari]

9. That sounds like a lot of fun!

[asdjrocky]

13. Thought I'd kick this for the day crowd.

Thanks for all the information so far guys!

[Haole Girl]

14. BA in Anthropology here

If I had it to do over again, honestly, I wouldn't.

Unless your daughter goes all the way with it
she will have a difficult time finding employment .
Especially in today's job market.

[asdjrocky]

15. Thanks,

I plan on passing this thread along to her. I did tell her she should go all the way with it if she's going to do it.

Thanks again.

[WCIL]

16. My husbands BA is in Anthropology

His plan all along was to go to law school, so he got his undergraduate degree in something he was really interested in. He still has a passion for Anthropology, but it is his hobby and not his career.

[asdjrocky]

17. Thanks.

the more I read about it, the more it seems to suit my daughters interests.

[triguy46]

18. Pragmatic view after 20 years in higher ed...

and with 2 college grads, daughter in Acctg, son in English, now in 2nd year of grad school, 5 years to go to PhD. Your description is a tale we hear so very often in higher ed. Its the yin and yang of wanting the best for the student, and swallowing hard as they chase a dream.

So here's the pragmatic view: If you are paying cash for the education and just want your child to do what interests them then move forward. A Bachelors degree in anthropology doesn't really lead anywhere in particular other than grad school and then a career in academia. If you or child is borrowing money, consider the fact that the student may be incurring student debt of such amounts that they will graduate/finish whatever, with debt load equal to what many of us would consider a starter mortgage. I know this will piss off DUers who only want self actualization and would scorn any thought of something like accounting. In reality, with a bachelors in anthro, there will be a job for your daughter, probably not in anthro, but some other entry level slow growth field.

The dream your student is chasing may not be grounded in the 2-3 year reality of the future.

So consider the tolerance of the relative pocket book, and gulp hard and realize this is a long academic slog.

[asdjrocky]

20. What a wonderful insights, thanks.

Like most Dads, I just want her to be happy.

I've already told her she's welcome to work on the farm with me if she can't get a job.

Thanks again.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. These days (and even in my teaching days) no major can guarantee a job

Even people with IT and business degrees are unemployed, so I think students should study what they're interested in and use the opportunity to gain a broad level of knowledge.

What I am doing today has little to do with my undergraduate major, but thanks to my liberal arts education, I have good writing skills, broad knowledge in a lot of fields, and research capabilities, all of which are essential for a translator.
(I didn't know I was going to end up as a translator when I was in college. I thought I was going to teach high school.)

In this economic climate, I'd recommend that liberal arts majors (especially someone like your daughter, who is interested in languages)get an ESL certification. That way, she can ride out the hard economic times by teaching English overseas. The most demand these days is in China, Korea, and the Middle East. (Learning a bit of Chinese, Korean, or Arabic wouldn't hurt.)

[asdjrocky]

21. Great advice, thanks.

[crispini]

22. Tell her to look into industrial anthropology

If she's more into the old-bone thing it may not be what she wants, on the other hand it does sound pretty interesting and it would be a different possibility to look into.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/05/anthro.html

[styersc]

24. I have a BA and MA in Anthro and have practiced archaeology

for 25 years. It takes a love of it, but I wouldn't change a thing.

My BA is from the Univ of SC in Columbia, SC and my MA is from Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. So when I'm chatting up women at the bar, I can "honestly" boast that my degrees are from Columbia and OXford. (I never get tired of that line).

[riderinthestorm]

25. The Archaeology and Anthro Depts are frequently together at most universities.

They are pretty closely related.

My daughter's got an archaeology undergrad degree with good experience working directly in the field on several digs. She's now in a Medieval Archaeology degree program in York, England. She can go one of three ways when she graduates with her masters:
1. Academic. Go on and get a PhD in her field and teach at a university (if she can get a job, quite uncertain but like you, I've often told her to follow her dream and it will lead her to happiness).
2. Field work. Archaeologists have a real skill. They excavate sites and in the EU, Greece, Australia etc. you are not even permitted to build anything without an archaeological excavation first. It's a big part of why the Athen Olympics were so delayed. Working as an employee of a field archaeology company may not be the most sexy job but in many area, it's sure fire employment. Also it doesn't matter what your area of expertise is in: the actual process and knowledge of that process is key. Of course right now the economy is shrinking so there isn't as much construction, and archaeologists are idle but theoretically that will change.
3. Museum work. Archaeologists have been trained to handle artifacts. If they have specialized knowedge, even better. But most museums are cutting back with budget problems in this economy. Something to think about before you go there.

So maybe your daughter wants to combine her love of cultures with a practical skill like archaeology that will enabled her to gain employment.

Good luck. Your daughter is lucky to have such a wonderful dad!