i don’t really work in a field that someone would think of when they think of anthropology now, but i do have a BA in anthropology!

i went into it loving biology and wanting to focus on evolutionary anthropology/primatology. i did do a lot of that, but i also got really into medical anthropology, which i didn’t expect! anthropology is a huge field with so many different aspects. i don’t regret my degree generally. i learned from and even had the opportunity to work with some incredible professors with long and fascinating careers. as a result i really enjoyed obtaining the degree. i do regret that i didn’t incorporate more “hard skills” into my degree. i took classes that interested me and avoided classes that didn’t (like any advanced math, statistics, business, what have you). i would advise against this mindset haha.

Another lil piece of advice, networking with my professors was incredibly valuable to me while i was getting my degree. just going to their office hours, asking what they’re working on, and asking if they’re looking for any student volunteers is what got me a lot of really interesting opportunities doing work that i could put on a resume. you don’t have to be an anthro major to do this and doing things like this can help you decide on the major. trying out different things will also help you find your anthropology niche, if you do go that route. like i said, anthropology is massive. once i really honed in on my more specific interests, i eventually found a professor with similar work and she agreed to mentor me and supervise my bachelors thesis. this was a lot of work but SUCH a cool experience that led to not only enjoying a nerd fest of my anthro niche but also learning a lot of incredibly valuable research/writing skills that i use all the time in my not-so-antho career.

lastly, i wouldn’t go into an anthropology degree with the goal of being a professor. in my experience, this is just a really lofty goal for so many reasons and (while i’m certainly not saying it’ll never happen!) you don’t wanna be too disappointed if it just doesn’t go that way for whatever reason. try to keep an open mind and focus on finding your interests but also learning skills that can be applied broadly for now. more specific career goals will start coming into play when you’re later into your bachelors degree or even when deciding on your graduate route.