help? maybe?

topic posted Sat, August 25, 2007 - 11:53 AM by  offlineYosefa
hey everyone

thanks for reading this post
i am currently a junior in college studying cultural anthropology, however, i really want to drop out of college ( i never liked school) but my parents are really pressuring me to stay in school and finish my BA. I love anthropology, but i have no idea what i am going to do with a BA in it. What types of jobs can i get? My parents said that I would have to work shitty jobs for the rest of my life if i didn't finish college, which I don't agree with, but i have no idea what type of good paying job i could get with a BA in anthro. First of all, i HATE writing and once i have finished my BA, i DO NOT want to continue on with any sort of formal education. Any ideas? suggestions? thank you so much. i feel lost and school starts in 2 days and i have no motivation. whatsoever.
posted by:
Yosefa
North Carolina
  • Re: help? maybe?

    Sat, August 25, 2007 - 12:01 PM
    Anthro is one of those majors in which a bachelor's means very little. You may find yourself like most social science majors working administrative or food service management jobs. To be taken seriously in anthropology, you have to at least have a master's degree.

    This might be a good time to evaluate why you chose anthro as your major... and consider doing something you're passionate about. A word of advice from one of my anthro professors: "Find out what is PLAY to you and make that your life, because if you don't do it now, you will have to eventually."

    Sorry to be so grim, maybe someone knows more than I do and has found a niche...
  • Re: help? maybe?

    Sat, August 25, 2007 - 1:56 PM
    for the vast majority of americans that go to college academic specialization is not where they will ultimately end up. in the job market in america the primary thing that matters is that you simply have a b.a. to demonstrate that you have the commitment, the responsbility, and the intelligence to finish college. just make it through one more year and you'll never have to think about it again. just look for a job that you think will be interesting, it doesn't have to have anything to do with anthropology, and beyond that the main thing that will matter is experience. of course that doesn't mean that people who know they want to do business wouldn't be better off with a business administration degree. but most people in the business world didn't know what the hell they wanted to do. corporate america is vast after all, it employees most people, and most people dont' know what they want to do.
    • Re: help? maybe?

      Sat, August 25, 2007 - 1:58 PM
      if you don't like college then a career in anthropology probably isn't for you anyway. for most people a ba is just a piece of paper, a class signifier, a pass onto further levels of income. but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter. in terms of earning potential it REALLY DOES MATTER. so finish college! but don't worry about what you're going to do with your life. just get a job you think you might halfway like and you'll figure it out as you go. eventually you'll come upon something that turns you on. and just doing it, i.e. getting experience, will propel you to more responsibility, more interesting work, and of course more money. but a BA gets you in the door.

      finish college!
      • Re: help? maybe?

        Sat, August 25, 2007 - 2:01 PM
        besides, anthropology is a great compliment to any job or life in general because it's about people and you'll be dealing with people no matter what you do!
  • Re: help? maybe?

    Mon, September 3, 2007 - 5:38 PM
    anthro degrees are often finding work in consulting, these days. but you gotta be able to deal with all the quant stuff.

    but the previous posters were right: its not so much what your ba is as the fact that you have one, on the job market.

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