Teaching is an obvious path for a graduate in anthropology. University teaching affords anthropology scholars the opportunity to guide and influence new students in the field, as well as the support network to pursue anthropological research. Professors of anthropology specialize in a number of subfields, including cultural anthropology, archaeological anthropology and physical anthropology.
Many graduate students in anthropology begin their experiences in field research while assisting one of their professors. A student with extensive experience and skills in field research may be able to extend this activity into a career. Field researchers do what most people picture anthropologists doing: traveling to other locales, sometimes very different and exotic, and living with and studying the people of local cultures. The information gleaned from these activities is used for academic publication or as part of cultural preservation efforts or governmental programs.
Training in anthropology is useful beyond the bounds of field research and other activities that are typically thought of as "anthropology." Students of anthropology work for governments, NGOs, nonprofits and corporations, involved in analyzing, facilitating and understanding the interactions of people from varying cultures. An anthropology graduate with skills in multiple languages may find a job as a translator or interpreter at the UN or working for a multinational company, the acquired skills in anthropology augmenting the linguistic skills to help in cross-cultural understanding.
Museums and other sites of public education employ anthropologists as researchers, consultants and designers of educational programs. A museum anthropologist plays a role that is similar to a teacher, with the exception that he is working with the public and people who don't necessarily know anything about anthropology. Therefore, public museums gear their information and presentations to appeal to a wide variety of individuals and educational levels. Museum work may overlap with any of the other fields detailed here. A museum may be part of a university, or it may engage in field work in another location.