Anthropologists and Archeologists

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
6.8/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

9% (Minimal Risk)

Minimal Risk (0-20%): This occupation appears difficult to replace end-to-end with current or near-future automation, including AI software and robotics. Roles in this range usually depend on human judgement, creativity, care, leadership, specialist expertise, or adapting to messy real-world situations. AI and machines may still change parts of the work, but the occupation is likely to remain a distinct human role.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Thinking creatively

Very important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
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Critical thinking

Very important
Why this matters
Weigh options using logic and evidence, spot weaknesses in arguments, and choose the best approach when there isn’t a single clear answer.
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Social perceptiveness

Quite important
Why this matters
Noticing others’ emotions and reactions in the moment and adjusting what you say or do based on why they’re responding that way.
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Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
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Communicating with people outside the organization

Quite important
Why this matters
Represents the organization to customers, the public, or government—handling questions, concerns, and relationship-building through conversations, writing, calls, or email.
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Show 3 more strengths

Developing objectives and strategies

Quite important
Why this matters
Sets long-term goals and chooses strategies and actions to reach them, weighing tradeoffs and adapting plans as conditions change.
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Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
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Education and training expertise

Quite important
Why this matters
Designing and delivering instruction—adapting lessons to different learners and measuring whether training actually works.
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What users think

Based on 318 votes

18.9% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a minimal chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 9% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Anthropologists and Archeologists will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

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How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Anthropologists and Archeologists was $64,910 ($31 per hour).

The median annual wage for Anthropologists and Archeologists was 31.1% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Anthropologists and Archeologists' job openings is expected to rise 3.7% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Significantly lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 8,070 people employed as 'Anthropologists and Archeologists' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 19 thousand people are employed as 'Anthropologists and Archeologists'.

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What people are saying (11)

Leave a comment
Leila
24 Mar 2026 23:25
Not a chance this is automated anytime soon. Way too much physical work involved; survey, excavation, sorting, analysis ect. Analysis is physical and chemical, too, and it can deal with qualia like texture, colour, materials... Not to mention if you're working in indigenous archaeology. There, the relationship you have with the community is just as important as the hard science.
David Gang
29 Jul 2024 04:49
I am an archaeologist, and while MAYBE AI can do parts, like record research (unlikely as that would require all the documents to be in a digital database, and that's never going to happen), the point where machines can do the analysis, the survey and everything else? So far in the future that my chidren's children's children will be dead before robots are physically capable, and smart enough to do so.
Garvesh Jangid (Moderate)
08 Apr 2024 08:02
i think tools of artificial intelligence and robots alike will aid in the work of anthropology and archaeology rather than directly taking over the jobs. given some technical jobs in this field will be automated, but it is not at a very great risk.
Nick (No chance)
25 Feb 2024 08:59
It's an academia job, it requires strong interpretation skills in both the laboratory and in field excavations. How is a robot going to determine for example whether the burial goods are representative of the entombed person or if it represents some other group in society.
Judith Koln (Low)
12 May 2023 16:17
Anthropology requires people skills and critical thinking, and AI/machine learning technology is inherently derivative. Also, anthropology involves field work.
. (No chance)
26 Sep 2021 07:25
It is one of the most skilled jobs, that requires the highest levels of original deciphering and interpretation techniques.
Jeff (Low)
22 Mar 2021 20:14
I think it is doubtful. Look at the failures of attempts to apply strict nomothetic reasoning to archaeological questions- behavioural laws are next to impossible to generate, especially for past cultures where behaviour has to be inferred through material culture, architecture, settlement, etc. A.I. really does need laws or strict instructions to operate, I can't help but think the fuzzy logic inherent in archaeology is a long ways off. Plus, I feel like archaeological field investigations need a human touch, at least for the foreseeable future. That said, I think automation can help us recognize patterns in data generated, analyse artefact assemblages, etc.
Amanda
23 Jul 2020 00:53
Possibly not, because I don't think AI's would be interested in doing this job
Yago
29 Apr 2021 22:23
I'm confused, this website talks about being interested or being able to do the jobs?
Levi-Strauss
16 Dec 2021 02:48
That's totally true LOL :)
Anna (No chance)
20 Apr 2019 06:47
While comparison and analysis of related artefacts can be aided by computers I think the excavating and also interpretations of evidence are unlikely to be able to be performed by AI. Then again I'm a student so not qualified yet, and I don't know all that much about AI either
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Job description

Study the origin, development, and behavior of human beings. May study the way of life, language, or physical characteristics of people in various parts of the world. May engage in systematic recovery and examination of material evidence, such as tools or pottery remaining from past human cultures, in order to determine the history, customs, and living habits of earlier civilizations.

O*NET-SOC code: 19-3091.00