anthropologist
Anthropologists research all aspects of life pertaining to humans. They study the various civilisations that have existed along the time and their ways of organisation. They attempt to analyse the physical, societal, linguistic, political, economical, philosophical, and cultural aspects of different people. The aim of their studies is to understand and describe the past of humanity and solve topical societal problems. They explore different perspectives such as philosophical anthropology.
anthropologist anthropologists research all aspects of life pertaining to humans. They study the various civilisations that have existed along the time and their ways of organisation. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include research design, cultural geography, anthropology, geography, economic anthropology.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £39,899 a year for Social and humanities scientists (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2115). ONS rates this estimate acceptable: it rests on a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only anthropologist, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- History and Archeology
- English Language
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Geography
- Administrative
- Education and Training
- Communications and Media
- Fine Arts
What you'd actually do
- Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
- Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance.
- Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy.
- Organize information for publication and for other means of dissemination, such as via storage media or the Internet.
- Conduct historical research as a basis for the identification, conservation, and reconstruction of historic places and materials.
- Conserve and preserve manuscripts, records, and other artifacts.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does anthropologist do?
Anthropologists research all aspects of life pertaining to humans. They study the various civilisations that have existed along the time and their ways of organisation. They attempt to analyse the physical, societal, linguistic, political, economical, philosophical, and cultural aspects of different people. The aim of their studies is to understand and describe the past of humanity and solve topical societal problems. They explore different perspectives such as philosophical anthropology.
What skills does anthropologist need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include research design, cultural geography, anthropology, geography, economic anthropology, participant observation. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace anthropologist?
Our AI-durability model gives anthropologist a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.