World of Work Blog

As a student in Syracuse University’s Renée Crown Honors Program, I knew I would finish my undergraduate experience with the longest research paper I had ever written. Any subject within the constraints of my major(s) would be acceptable. Fortunately, in the summer of 2024, I participated in the Jucu Project Field School with Transylvania Bioarchaeology, a non-profit organization. It was in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, that I realized how much I enjoyed the analysis of bones and artifacts to understand the human experience. Thus, I quickly discovered my thesis topic. I have always cared about human rights and acceptance and found a passion [...]

If you are starting a consulting practice, one of your first decisions is how much to charge for your expertise. Price yourself too low and you undervalue your work; too high and you may lose opportunities. Two common approaches can help you establish an appropriate rate: value pricing and cost-plus pricing. 1. Value Pricing Value pricing sets your fee according to what your client believes your expertise is worth rather than the amount of time you spend. Consultants often use this approach because clients purchase outcomes, not hours. Your fee may be structured as a fixed project price or as an [...]

When people ask what you can do with an anthropology degree, my response—“spend a week walking around Northern Ireland talking to strangers”—probably is not the answer they are expecting. Yet somewhere among the conversations with locals, walking tours through Belfast, and making sense of competing stories about the same conflict, I found myself relying on many of the skills anthropology has taught me. What started as a research trip quickly became a lesson in what anthropology looks like in practice. Alongside five other University of North Texas students through the Castleberry Peace Institute, I was able to travel to Northern Ireland [...]

When I started undergrad, I was a pre-med biology major. I had done all the research pertaining to this and what was required for the career I apparently wanted. I had told my friends, family, and everyone else I knew exactly what my plans were, which meant I had a lot of eyes on my journey going forward. Everything changed, however, when I found anthropology. I took an intro class my freshmen year and instantly fell in love with it. Initially I took it as a humanities credit, but now it is my passion. At that time, I was afraid to throw [...]

“This was a very difficult decision on our part and please, do not take this as a reflection of your character or work…” Few people talk about sitting in front of a video screen as the vice president of your department tells you that, due to government funding changes, you no longer have a job. Your sense of time and place narrows as your mind tries to suppress the swell of emotion while you remain professionally blank-faced, listening as department leaders list off next steps and instructions for returning your laptop. Few people talk about how little time is given to [...]

Growing up across six countries and navigating many different schools, cultural landscapes, and languages, I noticed early that difference often created discomfort. The immediate response to differences was not curiosity; it was distance. Most people fail to engage with the unfamiliar and seem unwilling to expand rigid identity categories. My curiosity to understand “difference” and make meaning of my own experiences is what drew me to anthropology. By working in diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting firms, I wanted to understand how people experience their workplaces and help organizations close the gap between the values they espouse and the culture they build. [...]

Two years ago, I helped a Morocco-based agricultural initiative, Al Moutmir, understand how to scale their offerings. This account is multifaceted: An example of infusing anthropological methods for public good, small business development, student enrichment, and personal growth. It also illustrates the value of anthropology in helping to solve urgent real-world problems and enhancing careers. The Al Moutmir Initiative Farmers throughout the world face myriad challenges, among them inadequate water supply, fertilizing with limited soil knowledge, applying whatever they can afford; lack of reliable weather prediction, and crop sales that barely cover their costs. Al Moutmir (“fruitful” in Arabic) helps farmers in [...]

It is hard to believe but the Anthropology Career Readiness Network (ACRN) turns five years old this month. I want to use this blogpost to celebrate both ACRN’s accomplishments and the man, Riall W. Nolan, who has been instrumental in ACRN’s success. As he steps back from the day-to-day intensity of this work, I want to recognize some of the important contributions he has made in advancing career readiness and anthropological practice. I reached out to Riall in spring 2021 after conceiving of the idea of a career readiness initiative. I had known and worked with Riall for about two decades. [...]

Word on the street is that anthropology faces major challenges today. Departments are closing. Student enrollments are down, especially for undergraduates. Even the very value of the subject is scorned in some circles. Now there is a new positive force for anthropology. The workbook, Teaching Tools for Anthropology Careers: Resources for Instructors and Departments, has arrived. Produced by the Anthropology Career Readiness Network (ACRN) with multiple editors, it is the companion for Career Tools for Anthropology, a workbook for students and mid-career anthropologists to guide them into successful work outside academia. The student workbook focuses on why study anthropology and how [...]

Multi-national, global workplace teams need to add anthropologists to their organizations now more than ever. Anthropology provides a framework for understanding how economic uncertainty, political unrest, and social changes power the workplace. Anthropologists argue that organizations are complex cultural systems embedded in larger socio-political economic environments—where power, identity, and meaning are constantly negotiated. By using ethnography to observe the hidden social dynamics, unspoken rules, and cultural behaviors, workplace anthropologists can provide the human-centered perspective to solve problems and turn data into workplace strategy, culture, and design. Drawing on my academic and applied anthropological training, I enable organizations to address inequality, leadership [...]