Cultural anthropolgy and college ?!?

Question

sorry for the double post, but the link isnt showing up for me so i dont know if my question actually went through ...

ouch

im confused ...

first of all, what is the difference between a major and a minor in college ?

secondly, if i want a PhD in cultural anthropology ...

then how long do you think it would take to complete college [on average] ?

how much money do you think i would make yearly ?

thanks so much =D

Answer 1

it's not as painful as whatever one here is trying to make out to be.  I promise you that if your heart is into it and its what you really want to do then the time will fly by and while the classes will be a challenge you will love every minute of it.  

If you are h**l bent on a major in Anthropology (cultural) then what you might want to do is just jump right on in.  Now what I did was focused on my core classes that I had to take through the universities "well rounded education" policy and within that I took some Anthropology classes to see if its what I really liked and what I really wanted to do.  I found that I loved all my Anthropology classes and while they challenged me to study and learn I welcomed the challenge.  Getting your B.S. or B.A. should be easy enough to do, they hand out degrees like candy these days now.  The struggle is going to be the search for a Masters program.

This is a long drawn out process that starts the very first day of school.  Most graduate school programs won't even look at you unless you have maintained a 3.0 gpa through college and have at least a 1200 on the GRE test.  So don't slouch in school and make your grades.  Before you take the GRE you need to have an idea of where you want to study.  Things you need to take into consideration is the location of the university you want to attend (north where its cold, south where its hotter than h**l, the west where its....well the west).  You also need to do some research into the dept and see what fields they specialize in, you don't want to study under a professor who has a focus on Latin American cultures if you're interested in Greek culture or European culture.  You want a program that will meet your education and career goals.  Be prepared to do nothing but read, read,read and well read.  I also strongly recommend you take the path of presenting your research and thesis.  Once you get done with the Masters then you have the fun task of working toward your PhD.....have fun with this one.  Again you have to make some choices as to where you want to be and where you want to study.

Again it may should like a c**p storm to try to work through but if its where your heart is then it won't ever be work.  I'm working on my masters in political science and I while there are days I hate reading and going into class I love what I'm learning and wouldn't do anything else.  Good luck to ya

Answer 2

The difference between a major and minor is the number of hours you are required to take.  A minor is a less intense study of a particular area.  How long each takes is up to you.  Anthro is typically a 4 year course, but can be done more quickly.  This is usually not recommended though, you make contacts through the time you are in undergrad that helps you in the future.  

One fun thing with anthropology is that you can many times go straight into a PhD program if desire (without doing a masters first).  The hardest part of a PhD program is the research part.  Many times the amount of research needed can take years to get in cultural anthropology.  This of course depends on the topic and area you choose.

Most anthropologist teach in Universities, so your projected income would vary depending on school and area.

Answer 3

A major is what you plan on getting a Bachelor degree in.  A minor is a seperate field that you're interested in, but don't want to take the full load to get a degree in.  It's supplemental to the B.A./B.S.

The minor is a secondary field of study, and is higher than the associates.  For example, to earn an associates, you have to have done a required amount of lower division work, no upper division (usually 60 units).  To earn a bachelors, you have to have all the lower division, plus a nearly equal amount of upper division work(total 120 units, 60 lower, 60 upper).  To earn a minor, you have to have a smaller amount of upper division work in a field not related to your major (usually 16-24 upper).

On average, it takes about 4 years to get a B.A./B.S.  Depending on the degree, you can get it in as little as 3 years or as many as 5 or longer.  Science degrees usually take a little longer due to the difficulty of the classes.

For example, my cousin got a triple B.A. in Communication, Theatre, and Business in 3 years.  It took me three years to get an A.S. in Biology.

Once you have your Bachelor's, you can start applying for  Masters program, a Professional Doctorate program (physician, lawyer, etc..) or a Research program (Ph.D.).

The Masters take about 2 years on average.  Most Professional Doctorate programs take 3 - 5 years, depending.  Research programs take 3-5 years, depending.  The Masters and the Research programs require a dissertation, a research paper usually between 50 - 200 pages.  Professional doctorates and research doctorates require post-graduate training after you finish graduate school.  This is usually a paid position, 3-6 years after you finish school, however, the pay is usually very low.

For a Cultural Anthropologist, the career pay isn't very good.  In that specific field, you can either work in the field (with government grant money) to study dead or alive cultures, or you can become a professor.  Most of your money will probably be made writting books about your research.  Basically, people do not become cultural anthropologists for the money, they do it because they love the subject and want to study cultures.

Answer 4

If you want money in a reasonable amount of time - steer clear of cultural anthropology!   It will take you 15 years to complete your Ph.D. - plus you need to be really brainy and nerdy to handle the research in order to even be considered for such a degree.  I would try sales :)