Careers
Building Skills and Gaining Experience
"Experience" is a broad term used to describe the skills you develop that can help you in your future career. It’s a common misconception that "experience" only refers to internships related to your career path, but it can actually include extracurricular clubs, leadership roles, research, athletics and community service.
The Hiatt Career Center offers a variety of resources related to career development, networking, resume/cover letter writing and more. Meet with Hiatt to explore majors and identify future options.
Gaining job experience while in college can be a great way to add skills and experience to a budding resume. To find student jobs, go to Brandeis Office of Student Financial Services website, log onto Workday, and then click "Find Jobs for Students." It's usually best to start early in the semester since a lot of new jobs are posted then.
Another great way to develop skills and experience is to apply for research fellowships, both within and outside of Brandeis. The Academic Fellowships office can help guide you through the steps in applying to academic fellowships and scholarships such as Fulbright and Rhodes. View a list of fellowships available to Brandeis undergraduates.
The Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations helps connect Brandeis undergraduates to programs, funding and resources for research and creative collaborations in the creative arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences.
The American Anthropological Association has YouTube webinars with useful information on career exploration, resume development and more!
What Can You Do With an Anthropology Degree?
Brandeis Anthropology alumni go on to a diverse set of careers in public health, law, nonprofits, business, marketing, communications, advocacy, museums, user experience and more. To see the exciting places Anthropologists are working now, click here. The University of California at Davis website has great information on career paths for anthropology majors. The American Anthropological Association has a series of YouTube videos on topics ranging from demystifying the job search process to interview strategies.
User Experience is a growing field that employs anthropologists in a variety of industries. Learn more about the growing field:
Anthropologists work in a range of industries; even helping to develop a self driving car!
A Brandeis alum with an anthropology major has had a varied and exciting career trajectory
Click here to see what other Brandeis anthropology students and alums are up to!
The Hiatt Career Center posts job and internship openings in all of these fields on Handshake. To find jobs relevant for anthropology mMajors, log in and enter search terms including "user experience," "qualitative research," "fieldwork," and "ethnography."
On LinkedIn, you can search for for jobs and internships by clicking on the "Jobs" tab on the top of the screen, and entering key words and location. Idealist is a website that posts jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities in the nonprofit and government arena.
When just entering the job market, exploring "gig" jobs in your area(s) of interest is a good way to gain experience and build your resume. Sites such as Upwork.com and Fiverr.com list time-limited opportunities that may be related to your anthropological area(s) of interest. If you are interested in exploring internships and other opportunities in media or podcasting, check out Airmedia.com and Podcastgarage.
Networking
In today's world of work, only a fraction of jobs are posted on online job sites. This means that interpersonal connections and networking are crucial.
Often the most current and specific information about a career field may not be available online. Anthropology alumni tell us that the most important first step to getting a job is to do informational interviews.
Alumni are an important resource as well. Contact the Hiatt Career Center to access the Brandeis Alumni Network to find and share professional advice/ expertise, networking connections, job postings and more.
Having a robust LinkedIn profile is an important part of networking in today's professional world. With an updated profile targeted to your professional interests, employers can more easily find you. Keep in mind, though, that LinkedIn is not just an internet version of your resume –– it's also useful for researching others' career trajectories, cold-messaging employers or contacts, and following companies you're interested in. You can search for people with anthropology majors to explore careers options and find your professional community.