Anthropology
The types of skills needed for the role of an anthropologist include; soft and hard skills. Hard skills are learned in school and are prone to assessment. They include; knowledge of cultural diversity, strong ethics, ability to collect and analyze data, group work, and oral and written communication skills. On the other hand, soft skills are not learned in school but are personal attributes that are also important in anthropology. They include; critical thinking, calmness in tense situations, observation, reflection, and time management skills (Nolan, 2017).
The courses that I have taken to help prepare me for this profession are research methods, ethical issues, sociology, psychology, biology, linguistics, and applied anthropology. The ethical issues course has instilled in me essential values essential in collecting and analyzing human data. Sociology has been essential in understanding different cultures and groups of people, including how to relate to each one of them. Psychology has been essential in educating me on identifying behaviors, especially when dealing with a diverse population. Biology has been essential in the realization of human adaptation in their environment. Lastly, applied anthropology has been essential in educating me on solving real-world problems present in the community (Van Willigen, 2002).
Through my learning experience, I can firmly say that I have acquired several strengths: analytical reading, integrity, honesty, methodical, imaginative, reliability, and written communication (Nolan, 2017). Through the above strengths, I believe I can perform better as an anthropologist when given the opportunity. Based on my knowledge of cultural diversity and the ability to collect and analyze human data effectively by considering ethical values, I believe I am the best candidate for this job. However, I have some weaknesses like being too curious, overconfident, and too social. Being too curious is likely to interfere with my data since many unimportant pieces of information may cloud the final data collected. Being overconfident is likely to affect my participation in teamwork, and being too social may interfere with my time which I should dedicate to my duties. I am currently working on my weaknesses, and I believe they would not affect my work since I am aware of them.
References
Nolan, R. W. (2017). Using Anthropology in the World: A Guide to Becoming an Anthropologist Practitioner. Taylor & Francis.
Van Willigen, J. (2002). Applied anthropology: An introduction. Greenwood Publishing Group.
