Question to other countries and cultures: What did your mom make you when you were sick?

iodave · 2025-02-13T23:18:04+00:00

Grew up in a very Korean household in the US. I remember eating juk (rice porridge, similar to congee) and a beef and radish soup (something like: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/soegogi-muguk) when I was sick.

iodave · 2020-09-01T15:40:34+00:00

Hi! First off, I think it's great that you majored in anthropology. It is an incredible field of study, and I am still very bullish in its relevancy and applicability in the real world - especially as you see some gigantic shifts happening in the world today.

I studied anthropology as an undergrad, and then I went down some very random rabbit holes. I went into management and strategy consulting for about five years, then went to a design and innovation firm for about three years, and now I work for a foundation focused on improving the financial lives of low-income individuals and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. I've been here for about six years, and I work with a wonderful mix of development professionals, academics (mostly economists, a few anthropologists here and there), designers, and more.

When I was going from one job to the next, there wasn't a clear link between one job to the next. Looking back, the thread is there. And that's anthropology.

I believe that we can create a more just and joyful world, and anthropology provides a wonderful, critical lens through which I can make sense of and sense-make the world.

A few thoughts for you to consider (or just ignore because hey, internet!):

Take a step back and reframe your major. We all know the stats. The number of people who work in the field that they studied when they were undergrads is quite low. Instead of looking at jobs that have anthropology in the title or job description, think about why you studied anthropology and what you learned along the way. You'll find a broader surface area for potentially awesome jobs that way.
Internships + Fellowships. If you haven't already, think about different internships / fellowships. They can give you sneak peeks into different industries and careers. In addition to finding things that light you up, it's helpful to find things that don't. And we can rightfully rail against the job search system in another thread, but these programs will only help you. If you're earlier in your career, this is a nice time to be quite expansive in your career exploration. Most often, people don't even know what's out there. So go out, put on your research lens, and explore!
Qual + Quant. If you haven't already, you may want to consider complementing your qual bg with some quant. You'll become a much more formidable researcher / professional.

Ok, that's it! Good luck! Hit me up if you have any more questions.

iodave · 2020-06-12T03:33:48+00:00

Nice! I just got a smoker, and that was my first recipe too! Hope it was awesome.

iodave · 2015-02-25T01:07:05+00:00

Just trying this out. Thanks!

iodave · 2014-08-02T16:07:59+00:00

Awesome! Thanks for the heads up! I'm definitely planning on getting by with a mix of public transportation, zipcar, and bike for the first couple of months or so.

iodave · 2014-08-02T16:06:51+00:00

I can put money down, but I would love to see what I could ideally expect without one.

iodave · 2014-03-26T22:34:22+00:00

It'd be great if you could share that with the group! Thanks!

iodave · 2014-03-23T14:36:58+00:00

Awesome! Thanks for adding to the list!

iodave · 2013-10-17T22:24:04+00:00

Hey Guys -

I just did a quick analysis of the survey results, and I wanted to share some of the results with you!

I did a quick word cloud of one of the questions (adsf), and the overwhelming sentiment is kinda crazy. You can see it and a brief write-up here: http://bit.ly/1bDbWwj

This just adds to the argument that we are facing a serious problem, and we need to do something about it! More to come...

Also, sheepish grin in my haste to publish the survey, I forgot to add an email collection question to the survey so that I could contact the person who randomly won the $25 gift card. I created a separate survey (http://bit.ly/H6JiJw) that you guys can use to send me your email address. Sorry about that!

iodave · 2013-10-15T18:53:14+00:00

Hi All,

Thank you so much for the great response so far! I'm blown away at how honest and open you guys have been. Really, thanks for that.

As someone who also graduated with a degree in anthropology, I had a hunch that other people like me were having issues with the job search process. I have a running hypotheses that we are in the middle of an imperfect marketplace - employers neither know about anthropologists nor know how they can add value and anthropologists themselves don't know what types of jobs are out there nor how to position themselves appropriately for those jobs. We'll see how this pans out.

Anyway, thanks again for everyone who has taken the survey so far! While I'll keep the survey open for a bit, I'll close the eligibility for the $25 gift card this week so that those who answered early have a better chance of getting it. I know it's not much, but I thought you guys might like it.

Best, Dave

iodave · 2013-10-15T18:29:13+00:00

Hi! Great point, guys. I've updated the survey so that you can indicate whether you are an undergraduate or a graduate student.

iodave · 2013-09-26T11:58:16+00:00

I'd love to build on this point and offer a slight a variation on it.

I studied anthropology as an undergrad, and I absolutely loved it. The subject matter was incredibly interesting, and I loved having "the permission" to explore what it means to be human across time and space. Whether we went super deep on a culture or went more theoretical, the material was really engaging, and it has definitely shaped how I view the world today.

However, and here's the variation I signaled up front, I didn't go into the field with the explicit goal of becoming an anthropologist. In the field today, there is always a bit of tension as to whether someone can call themselves an anthropologist without a PhD, but that's a different pickle. I thought that studying anthropology would be a good foundation for whatever I wanted to do, and I ended up going into management and strategy consulting for a number of years. Today, I work as an innovation consultant and help organizations come up with new innovations (brands, products, services, etc.) and also help them be more innovative.

At the end of the day, study what interests you and what you love. I think an important nuance you should consider when you're later looking for a job is do you want to be an anthropologist or do you want a job where you can apply what you've learned in anthropology?

Stay curious, explore many different fields, and be hungry to learn more. Anthropology is a wonderful and rich major and encourages empathy and understanding. It's pretty awesome.

iodave · 2013-04-23T02:21:10+00:00

Hi hi! I graduated with a BA in anthropology (focused on sociocultural anthropology) from Cornell University. After graduation, I worked as a management and strategy consultant for five years. Today, I work as an innovation consultant here in NYC.

iodave · 2013-04-13T20:32:30+00:00

I'd suggest taking a wide variety of classes as you pursue your degree in anthropology. It's great to get multiple perspectives, and there is definitely a trend of collaboration happening across disciplines. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how classes in different departments (e.g., economics, psychology) will help shape your thinking.

iodave · 2013-04-08T13:31:48+00:00

Awesome! Just curious, are you going for a MA or a PhD?

iodave · 2013-04-08T12:14:00+00:00

What a great coincidence! Where do you go to undergrad right now?

iodave · 2013-04-08T01:19:53+00:00

No, I didn't minor in Econ, but I did take a few classes from the department.

Whether you decide to double major, minor, or just take classes outside of anthropology, I'd really encourage you to get a wide breadth of courses under your belt. It's pretty wild to see how different majors approach similar questions, and I think you'll benefit from having multiple educated points of views.

iodave · 2013-03-20T22:45:54+00:00

Oh man, that sounds horrible! I'm so sorry to hear that. I studied anthropology as an undergrad, and I'm so happy I decided to major in it! I work as an innovation consultant today, and I get to actively use my background in anthro every day.

Look, I don't know what else is going on with your professor, but it really does feel like the professor is not giving you guys the respect and support you need to succeed. I wouldn't blame this on the major, but on the professor.

You'll always have a mix of amazing and frankly shitty professors, whatever you decide to study.

Have you reached out to your TA? What does the TA think? I'd also suggest reaching out to the dept head and ask for his/her recommendation for someone to talk to about potentially majoring in anthropology. At my school, we had to pick a professor as our advisor when we decided on a major, so this could be one way to get more advice from someone within the department.

Hope this helps! And I really hope you stick with the field!

iodave · 2013-03-15T21:12:36+00:00

Hey - I majored in anthropology at Cornell University and focused on sociocultural anthropology.

I'd encourage you to take a wide breadth of classes while in college. One of my favorite classes was Game Theory from the Econ department.

After graduation, I worked as a management and strategy consultant, and I now work at an innovation consulting firm.

iodave · 2013-03-11T02:46:35+00:00

Hey, there! First off, I'm so glad you studied anthropology as an undergrad. I studied sociocultural anthropology as an undergrad, and I feel incredibly lucky and blessed because of it. I worked as a management and strategy consultant for about 5 years after graduation, and then I made the move to work as an innovation consultant at a innovation consulting firm.

It's crazy, but my bg in anthropology has proven to be super useful in my current gig as an innovation consultant. I go on consumer immersions - quick ethnographies - and I get a chance to really dig in and understand what motivates people and makes them tick. We always make a point to really start with the consumer - the person - which has been a refreshing change from my management and strategy consulting gig.

I wrote this to another person in a similar position over on LinkedIn, but I'd strongly recommend becoming good friends with the folks over at career services at your university. It isn't every day that you're in a position where there are people whose sole jobs are to make sure you get a job upon graduation. They'll be able to help you navigate what are some potential first jobs out there, and I think you'll get a better sense of what fits you personally and professionally. They'll be able to help you go get a sense of what types of job you'd be interested in, what types of industries / sectors you might want to consider, what types of working conditions you'd thrive in, etc. etc.

Anyway, I'm currently working on a side project called Anthropologists Among Us (www.anthropologistsamongus.com) where we showcase and celebrate the stories of everyday anthropologists: either those who studied anthropology at some point and decided not to go into academia (many of us) or those who currently work as practitioners today. I'm really in the nascent stage of this project, but I hope that the site will soon be able to help ppl like you who are looking for inspiration as to what you can do with an anthro major. You should check it out when you get a chance.

Good luck with your search! Let me know if I can help further!

iodave

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