Synopses & Reviews
Mom will ask, “What can you do with a degree in anthropology?” If you want the answer, then you need this book. Applied anthropologists Carol Ellick and Joe Watkins present a set of practical steps that will assist you through the transition from your career as a student into a career in a wide range of professions that an anthropology degree can be used. The stories, scenarios, and activities presented in this book are intended to assist you in learning how to plan for the next five years, write your letter of introduction, construct your resume, and best present the knowledge, skills, and abilities learned in class to prospective employers. Ellick and Watkins step-by-step approach helps you create a portfolio that you will use time and time again as you build your career.
Review
"Wide-ranging in its scope – the authors try to provide information and helpful hints on everything that could confront you as you go from being a student to being a professional, from ethics, to what level of degree you want/need, to how to write cover letters. But it’s rooted in three practical tools – keeping a journal, a portfolio, and making a 5-year plan. It comes across as a cross between self-help workshops and a very useful pep talk about how to tailor your skills, knowledge and abilities to the fields of anthropology. It helps translate job announcements and your own background into skills and abilities tailored with anthropology in mind. The writing style is very easy to read, informal, and engaging—as though a close mentor or “uncle” were giving you advice. It will be very useful for the growing number of graduate programs that are trying to link their students and graduates with employment. A step-by-step guide without being overly prescriptive."
- Shirley J. Fiske, University of Maryland and anthropological consultant
Review
"Carol Ellick and Joe Watkins should be congratulated on this valuable contribution to future generations of Anthropologists. This work is a thoughtful, realistic, and informed guide to professional and career development issues, and offers students a practical, hands-on approach to their own professional growth that has been tested in the classroom. This book would make an excellent textbook or resource for student workshops, and the personal, direct writing style makes it a tremendous resource for individual students (both undergraduate and graduate) to engage with on their own."
-Jane Eva Baxter, DePaul University
Review
"The Anthropology Graduate’s Guide: From Student to a Career (Left Coast Press, 2011) is the one book that should be handed out with a diploma when a student graduates with a BA in Anthropology or by a student’s advisor before the first day of classes in a graduate program. The Anthropology Graduate’s Guide is written in a clear, non-jargon laden, and down-to-earth style. If you teach in an Anthropology program you owe it to yourself to check out The Anthropology Graduate’s Guide as a resource for your students. If you are a student, this book includes all those things you need to know and either forgot to ask or were too embarrassed to ask because you thought you should already know. I am confident this book will enjoy a long shelf-life and go into revisions down the road." Read the complete review at: http://rcnnolly.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/review-of-the-anthropology-graduates-guide/ --Robert Connolly, University of Memphis
Review
"This manual for anthropology students and graduates ties together assessment of one's qualifications, creation of documents needed for career planning, reprocessing of these documents for specific job applications, and organization of the output into a portfolio. [I]t is a welcome guide for students, job seekers, and academic advisors in anthropology. Highly Recommended." -CHOICE
Synopsis
A practical guide for graduating anthropology students on how to present their anthropological knowledge, skills, and abilities to employers to begin a career.
About the Author
Carol J. Ellick is founder of “Archaeological and Cultural Education Consultants” (ACEcs) and adjunct faculty in the Native American Studies Program at the University of Oklahoma. Ms. Ellick worked in cultural resource management (CRM) for over 30 years, starting the first full-time public outreach program in 1995. She is one of the leading experts in archaeological education in the United States. Ms. Ellicks publications include articles in professional journals such as the National Park Services publication, Common Ground, the Society for American Archaeology magazine, The SAA Archaeological Record. She also has chapters in The Archaeology Education Handbook: Sharing the Past with Kids (2000) and Past Meets Present: Archaeologists Partnering with Museum Curators, Teachers, and Community Groups (2007).Joe Watkins is the Director of the Native American Studies program and Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. He has been doing archaeology for more than 40 years and has published extensively on his research interests - the ethical practice of anthropology and anthropologys relationships with descendant communities and aboriginal populations. His book Indigenous Archaeology: American Indian Values and Scientific Practice (2000) is a seminal work in Indigenous Archaeology. His second book, Reclaiming Physical Heritage: Repatriation and Sacred Sites (2005) written for high school and early college students, draws attention to important Native American issues.