Many people think of Dr. Indiana Jones and assume anthropologists are mild-mannered professors who spend their weekends on exciting archaeological digs.
Movie cliches aside, anthropologists today are as likely to find themselves in a corporate board room as a museum."It's truly been the past decade or so," said Rosemary Conover, chairwoman of Weber State University's department of sociology and anthropology, that careers have been shifting toward the private sector. "I seem to be giving a lot of references for students to businesses."
And these are students with anthropology minors. WSU doesn't offer an anthropology major yet.
Hoping to help meet a growing employment demand, the school wants to offer bachelor of arts or science degrees in anthropology.
Next week, the Board of Regents will consider the request.
Brigham Young University, Utah State University and the University of Utah all offer such programs.
"Opportunities in the business world is where it's really changed," agreed Sam Morrison, director of career services at the U. "Anthropology students are going on to do product and customer preference research, in addition to the old jobs in forensics or museums."
Anthropology, remember, is the study of humans -- not just dead people in faraway countries.
"Utah is becoming ever so much more diverse," said Conover. "Companies, agencies and organizations all need to have skills in dealing with human diversity."
And that's what anthropologists can provide, she says.
Motorola, Charles Schwab, Nynex, General Motors and Boeing have all hired or at least consulted anthropologists.
"People with a background in anthropology could find a wide range of functionary positions in our company," said Sarah Bulgatz, a spokesperson for Charles Schwab. "We've hired them to do marketing and communication, product development and customer service."
Caren Frost, a graduate of the U.'s doctorate program in anthropology, says making a living outside the classroom hasn't always been a valid career option.
"I had to sell myself," she said. "You have to go to a company that isn't used to social science people and tell them what you can do for them."
Frost is the director of strategic improvements for Utah's Division of Child and Family Services.
"My anthropology background helps me ask the right kinds of questions about how to get a more diverse group of people working with children," she said. "And that's what applied anthropologists do. They know how to ask the questions that help change corporate culture."
Frost used to work in Morocco, where she helped develop health questionnaires.
"Measles and mumps are among the most common killers in that country," she said. "My job was to help frame questions for the public that were culturally difficult to ask. You don't want to come out and say, 'So how many of your children have died?' even if that is what you need to find out."
Many applied anthropologists, like Frost, have graduate degrees. But Conover says anthropology is becoming increasingly important to undergraduates -- even high school students.
"Box Elder High School teaches an anthropology class," she said. "I think more and more people are looking at the field of study as a provocative and interesting addition to the curriculum."