Career Exploration
Alumni from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change obtain careers worldwide and continue to lead innovation in anthropology, global health, environmental, social science and museum studies.
This page provides students with resources, including professional organizations, career listings, career examples and alumni experiences. For additional career support, visit ASU Career Services.
I am currently a senior archaeologist for Chronicle Heritage, a private CRM company's Arizona office. Cultural Resource Management (CRM) or compliance archaeology, is archaeology conducted because it is required by federal or state law, and accounts for 90% of archaeological work conducted in the US.
As a principal investigator, I am responsible for the archaeological subject matter and the legal compliance requirements for CRM projects, and work with a large team of project managers, field crew, lab staff and reporting specialists. I also manage and train field staff, run the office's internship program, and do a bit of ceramic analysis. It's fast paced work, and there's always something new. ”
Angela Huster
PhD in anthropology, 2016
Possible careers by degree major
- working for the Bureau of Land Management
- contract archaeology
- cultural consultants
- curators
- nonprofit leaders
- policy analysts
- program directors
- National Parks and US Forest Service
- forensic scientists
- laboratory technicians
Other possible anthropology career opportunities, with additional degrees or training, include:
- User Experience/UX research
- Business
- Media and publishing
- Law school
- Bureau of Land Management
- consulting for private and public organizations
- contract archaeology
- cultural resource management (subcontractors)
- directing nonprofit organizations
- directing programs in the private or public sector
- federal government - international development, cultural resource management, natural resource management, defense and security sectors
- medical examiners and coroners
- modeling infectious diseases
- National Parks and US Forest Service
- planning communities
- Postdoctoral fellowships
- Teaching at colleges and universities
Other possible anthropology career opportunities, with additional degrees or training, include:
- User Experience (UX Research)
- Business
- Media and publishing
- Law school
- health departments
- government agencies
- international agencies (World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global Health Council, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank)
- nongovernmental organizations
- private sector
- data analyst
- learning specialist
- program manager
- research associate
- technical advisor
The degree program also provides a broad intellectual base for those who plan advanced specialist health training in fields such as:
- dentistry
- medicine
- nursing
- pharmacy
- government agencies
- health departments
- international agencies (World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global Health Council, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank)
- nongovernmental organizations
- private sector entities
- universities
- data analyst
- learning specialist
- program manager
- research associate
- technical advisor
The degree program also provides a broad intellectual base for those who plan advanced specialist health training in fields such as:
- dentistry
- medicine
- nursing
- pharmacy
- community health centers
- health consulting firms
- non-profits
- state health departments
- environmental non-profits
- state and federal jobs
- analyzing and proposing policies
- conducting postgraduate academic research
- consulting for private and public organizations
- curating cultural resources
- directing programs in the private or public sector
- managing culture or heritage resources in the private or public sector
- planning communities
- teaching
- archivist, curator
- museum collections manager
- NAGPRA repatriation specialist
- museum site director
- consulting for private and public organizations
- directing nonprofit organizations
- directing programs in the private or public sector
Career Panels
Every semester the school hosts virtual and in-person career panels with alumni from anthropology, global heath and more. These events are hosted with support from ASU Career and Professional Developmental Services. For more of our career panel videos, visit our YouTube page.
Professional Resources
Career Resources:
- Anthropologist Career Readiness Network
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Anthropologists and Archeologists.
- Career One Stop
- Job Board of the American Anthropological Association
- USA Jobs
Professional Organizations
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences
- American Anthropological Association
- American Cultural Resources Association
- American Association of Biological Anthropologists
- Archaeological Institute of America
- Coalition for American Heritage
- National Association for the Practice of Anthropology
- National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
- National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Preservation Action
- Register of Professional Archaeologists
- Society for American Archaeology
- Society for Applied Anthropology
- Society of Black Archaeologists
- Society for Cultural Anthropology
- Society for Historical Archaeology
- Society for Industrial Archeology
- The American Ethnological Society