Overview
What CAN you do with a degree in anthropology?” This Workbook answers that question and guides you through the possibilities of anthropology in the workplace. Written with anthropology students, graduates, and instructors in mind, readers will learn how to assess their own skills, how to communicate the value of anthropology, and how to craft their own career path. Each tool provides a guide on a career topic, such as basic skills like Crafting a Cover Letter to complex challenges like Reducing Polarization. This Workbook features 39 peer-reviewed tools and exercises mapped along a career journey. Put your anthropology to work!
Reviews
“Career Tools for Anthropology is an indispensable resource that bridges the gap between academic training and real-world application for anthropology students and graduates. Its comprehensive, seven-step approach offers practical guidance and career preparation, ensuring that students are well-equipped to thrive in diverse professional settings beyond academia.” —Chloe Aitken, Class of 2023, University of California, Berkeley and Office Specialist, City of Santa Barbara
“The resources of the ACRN were crucial for my graduate school applications and the skills I learned helped me get a part-time job as a UX and anthropology consultant while working on my master’s degree. Wherever I end up, the ACRN will have been, and will continue to be, a guiding light.” —Cody Alexander Skahan, DPhil student, University of Oxford
“The ACRN workbook revolutionized my approach to teaching anthropology. It made me a better and more enthusiastic advocate for my discipline because I finally had concrete examples of how students could use their anthropology out in the world.” —Ellen Rubinstein, Senior Strategist, Throughline Strategy, Inc.
“Navigating your career can feel overwhelming…Thanks to ACRN, there are custom resources for anthropologists that will aid in finding meaningful work that we are uniquely qualified to perform.” —Emily Altimare, Strategic Change Integration Leader, Enterprise Application Services at RTX
“Decades into teaching anthropology, I still find my students struggling to locate useful guidance on how to navigate the employment landscape. Career Tools for Anthropology is the answer!” —Keri Vacanti Brondo, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Anthropology, University of Memphis
“This toolkit gives anthropology students and career-changing professionals a codex for translating what they have done and learned into a compelling story for stakeholders in other settings.” —Racine Marcus Brown, Senior User Experience Researcher, Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
“Anthropologists cannot rely on potential business employers to infer value in skills like process improvement, project management, and big picture thinking. This workbook identifies concrete steps for anthropology job seekers to build those skills, as well as guidance for how to declare their value to the job market… It is a tremendous asset.” —Shawn Collins, Program Lead, Rolls-Royce
“Oftentimes, college career or advisement offices might not have the depth of information curious students are hoping to find—What can I do with a degree in anthropology? What does applying to graduate school look like for anthropology majors? How can I transition the skills I learned with my anthropology degree into a viable career? Career Tools for Anthropology is designed to answer those questions and provide real-world examples of career and opportunity building.” —Adrian L. Conway, MA candidate, California State University, Northridge
“The future of anthropology lies in the readiness of anthropologists to be successful in myriad workplaces addressing the complexity of human interactions. The ACRN Career Tools for Anthropology is a thoughtful addition to the resources that will help instructors to prepare students, and students to chart their paths into the world.” —Cathleen Crain and Niel Tashima, Managing Partners, LTG Associates, Inc.
“ACRN addresses a need that is both acute and widespread—building a bridge from the training in anthropological knowledge and skills to successful careers in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors with career readiness. Knowing yourself and developing a vision, surveying career pathways, honing workplace competencies, building and maintaining networks, interviewing and applying for jobs, and crafting nonacademic deliverables for employers and collaborators—these are hard skills that are vital to a successful career in the 21st century.” —A.J. Faas, Professor and Graduate Coordinator, San José State University
“I like the clear and practical advice tailored to specific careers…the ACRN guide on Medical Anthropology is a crucial resource…Its explicit listing of core skills provides me with a clear understanding of the various skills I possess, some of which I hadn’t even realized or known how to name.” —Grace Nnenna Fredrick, PhD student, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
“Anthropology is not only skill, but it is passion, art, and wisdom. It is a science of human relationships. So, the question is: How do you translate your anthropological wisdom, art, and skill? This Workbook shows you how.” —Desta Lorenso Girma, PhD candidate, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frobenius Institute
“I love the discipline of anthropology, but…was unsure on how to pursue the options available to me. The workbook facilitates an interactive way to explore the different options available to me and clearly detailed the work it takes to achieve that career goal.” —Irene Greene, Junior, California State University, Northridge
“I have appreciated how versatile and how thorough the ACRN tools are. They have tools that can be used to recruit prospective students, enhance student understanding of anthropology, and inform employers.” —Aimee E. Huard, Great Bay Community College, CCSNH
“Building a career may be the most important thing many of us ever do, and we should do it with care, consideration and passion. The Anthropology Career Readiness Network hands us the keys to open the door, and to purposefully shape a career while maintaining the practice and professionalism that is so needed in Anthropology.” —Amanda Kearney, Professor of Anthropology, San Diego State University
“The Workbook contains a thoughtfully crafted user-tested toolkit to help in planning for careers that are both meaningful and rewarding.” —Ed Liebow, former Executive Director, American Anthropological Association and Affiliate Professor, University of Washington
“Engaging with the Career Tools for Anthropology Workbook has been entirely transformative for my career development & networking opportunities. The comprehensive tools, along with the provided exercises, have helped greatly in guiding me through both identifying and rating my skills, translating them effectively for the workplace, and even navigating potential graduate schools to further my education.” —Lauren A. Lowe, Junior, North Dakota State University
“Career Tools for Anthropology offers the necessary tools for students to prepare for life beyond the degree and launch their careers. It helps students to identify and communicate their anthropological competencies to employers, clients, and communities. This is the perfect textbook for our course Careers with Anthropology.” —Mark Moritz, Professor of Anthropology and Wicked Scientist at the Ohio State University
“I found the ‘Building a Career in Consumer Products and Services’ tool extremely helpful as it revealed the inherent connections between my anthropology background and the business world, showcasing the value I bring to this field.” —Maheen Muzammil, Master’s student, University of Calgary
“ACRN tools testify to anthropology’s resilience, flexibility, and importance. They take an ethnographic approach to navigating career searches, job applications, networking, skill building, and most importantly, how to send the right signals to cultures that are increasingly insular. I recommend ACRN to students, instructors, practitioners and anyone with an anthropological background who wants an edge.” —Jose Leonardo Santos, Associate Professor of Social Science, Metropolitan State University, St Paul, MN
“My experience as an undergraduate and graduate student in anthropology did not include any preparation for a career outside of academic anthropology. This why the Anthropology Career Readiness Network is so important…ACRN continues to develop a variety of resources that would have provided me with needed guidance in moving to a non-academic career.” —Ray Schwartz, Steering Committee Member, Correct Crisis Intervention Today – NYC
“Career Tools for Anthropology is the book anthropology professors and students have been waiting for…These tools are useful for letters of recommendation, office hours, career workshop days in class, and even as office door decorations or bulletin board flyers. Career Tools for Anthropology empowers anthropology students to hear, internalize, and showcase what they can do with their major to everyone from fastidious future employers to skeptical grandparents.” —Jamie Shenton, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Centre College, Danville, KY
“Career Tools for Anthropology walks readers through the necessary steps and skills translation to pursue a career in the corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors, making the process clear and easy to follow. It explores the wide range of career options available in today’s world for which anthropological skills are not only applicable but highly valuable.” —Melissa Vogel, UX Research Director, Capital One and Professor Emerita, Clemson University
“The need for this book has never been greater. Teaching the practical application of anthropology as a discipline well suited to addressing real-world challenges and providing people-centered solutions to these challenges has long been neglected.” —Lee Wilson, Geneva Insights Network and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Policy Futures, University of Queensland
“If you love your anthropology degree(s), don’t want a life in academia, and are clueless about how to pursue a career in government/industry, this new workbook is a valuable guide to forging a successful career in practicing anthropology. I wish Career Tools for Anthropology had been written 35 years ago—my practice career would have progressed further and faster.” —Robert M. Wulff, Founding Editor, Practicing Anthropology and Creator/Co-Director, The Praxis Award