Anthropology

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Well, after much deliberation... I've decided to change my major. I was a biology major, but I suck at everything about it, incidentally, except for Biology itself.

Any Anthro majors out there who can give me some info? For example, how much math is required (I can learn math but am not the best)? Is chemistry usually a required course? It's my damn achilles heel.

Any info would be appreciated.

Anthropology is a social science, so I would be shocked if you need to do chemistry

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Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

Thanks. I figured that, but given that Anthro and Bio are closely related, I wasn't completely sure.

Honestly, I don't know if it's the fact that my Chem teacher just sucks, or whether it's a void of talent on my part, but I'm barely managing a C, after having nothing but As for three semesters. I'm kind of paranoid.

Chemistry, in my experience, is all about who is teaching it. I had one teacher who had us tie-dye for one class because the chemicals would bond with the fabric... I didn't learn jack in that class!
Pursue whatever your interested in and, if needed, use any supports that may be provided (i.e. test prep sessions, course tutoring, visit professors during office hours, etc.). You can be successful as long as you set yourself up for success!

Teaching. University/Community College positions, mostly, but that's largely what I want to do.

There's also the fact that cultural anthros, my preferred subfield, are popular among business, governments, and NGOs to study the cultures they're dealing with and advise them in how to proceed. So I've read, anyway.

Here are a couple of links:

From Occupational Outlook Handbook - Anthropologists and Archeologists:

I'm an anthropologist with focus in archaeology.

Anthro has 4 main subfields:

Linguistics
Cultural Anthro
Archaeology
Physical Anthropology

A new field is opening up ..or at least starting to be recognized as a field.. Applied Anthropology.

Of those, if you have a biology background you should look at Physical Anthropology and Archaeology.

Physical Anthro is in a nutshell doing Forensics. Chemistry and Biology are really big bonuses in this field. Related to this is Bioarchaeology (basically forensics for non-courtroom stuff.. aka studying ancient remains).

Medical Anthropology is part of Applied Anthropology. It essentially is cultural anthro with medical knowledge..approaching/studying disease and healing through cultural means.

Archaeology itself does not require biology per say. Its nice if you know it. For arch. you would be well served to have some geology, anatomy and statistic classes as they help a lot. Things like carbon dating and such is not something we do.. people in labs do it, we just order them done.

Math is NOT required for the major. Statistics is highly recommended (and some universities require it for the major too) since its used in research... think of it as it being as essential to the field as using powerpoint is to basically any major.

Know this before hand though: With an anthro bachelor's degree you wont get hired for much. The degree is worthless without a masters degree or higher. Once you specialize though I'm told the doors just swing open. Its no wonder anthro BA holders have the highest unemployment rate of the social sciences...yet the masters and above have the lowest unemployment rate.

Cultural anthro requires a lot of people skills. I do mean A LOT. I love this field but I realized it was not for me. The thing is, if you were to go to X population to learn from them, you need to have the ability to interact and make friends very quickly. You need them as your informants. Governments hire cultural anthro mainly for CRM (cultural resource management) and intelligence/military. CRM is loaded with bureaucracy and military stuff is ethically questionable (gets you ostracized from the anthro community). Cultural anthro also gets hired by private companies to do cultural studies for marketing and advertisement.

Wow, Dantac, thanks!

That gives me a lot to think about. Personally, I wouldn't mind going into Archaeology. I love history, and it would be a good way to apply that interest. Plus, all the falling boulders, Welsh Egyptians, and Nazis keep things interesting! j/k I'm surprised that Biology is a bonus, I thought that Archaeology was the collection and study of civilizations through the things (architecture, art, etc.) that they left behind. What sort of things is it used for in the field?

Cultural anthropology appeals to me because I love meeting people, especially people with a different shared experience than I'm used to. I've always been pretty good at making friends (in the weirdest places, let me tell you), and getting people talking. I'm very high functioning. Do you think that I would still be disqualified? What exactly is cultural resource management? What are the job prospects post-grad in academia?

As far as general is concerned, is there a large demand for fieldwork? I love finding myself in places I've never been before, and tend to get stircrazy if I'm in the same environment for too long. Also, should one pick a specialty in undergrad, or wait until grad school to declare a subfield?

I was anthropology major for two years of my first round as an undergrad. I loved it, and this is a field in which having AS can be beneficial! It's a fascinating subject and attracts curious and intelligent people. Anthro ended up being my minor. I have kept in touch with several of my classmates. Most of them went on to do unrelated work; a handful went to grad school. Let me tell you, many of them had difficult getting into grad school. One girl was president of the Anthropology club, had field experience in archaeology, a 3.9 average, and an honors project, and it still took her two years to get accepted into a program! This scared a few of them off and they went into other fields (history, humanities, etc.). Just know what you're getting into...this isn't a field with a lot of open jobs. Tenure track professor positions are few and far between, as are museum and science positions. But if this is what you want to do, by all means do it. The money will come eventually. Any other questions, you could always PM me.