The Anthropology Graduate Student Union (AGSU) presents the Second Annual Alumni Lecture, featuring Stacie Hecht, MA 2014 on Thursday, February 20 at 4 pm in Hibben 105.  The lecture,  “I told you I’d get a job with my anthropology degree, Dad!” Navigating the challenges of a career outside of academia, is free and open to the public. Stacie is a UX researcher at Google, and will discuss how her Anthropology degree provided her with a unique skill set in the job market.

Abstract

There are many uncertainties we face when deciding to major in Anthropology, including the all too common narrative that our degree is a dead-end unless we decide to remain in academia. In this talk, I discuss my personal journey from a non-traditional undergrad to academia and finally to UX researcher at Google. I will detail my experiences translating the unique skills I gained from my academic training to private-sector research positions, and describe life as an industry-facing anthropologist in today’s job market. As I hope to demonstrate, anthropologists contribute a distinct approach to research that brings needed perspective to a variety of nonacademic positions, and with proper training, there are exciting possibilities for anthropologically-minded graduates entering the job market.