Anthropology is the study of humankind, concerned with both the biological and the cultural aspects. The main subdivisions are Physical anthropology which includes the study of biological evolution, genetic inheritance, human adaptability and variation, primatology, and the fossil record of human evolution;

Cultural Anthropology which includes the study of culture, ethnocentrism, cultural aspects of language and communication, subsistence and other economic patterns, kinship, sex and marriage, socialization, social control, political organization, class, ethnicity, gender, religion, and culture change;

Linguistic Anthropology which includes the study of The human communication process focusing on the importance of socio-cultural influences; nonverbal communication; and the structure, function, and history of languages, dialects, pidgins, and Creoles.

The main areas of work are:
Teaching: Post graduates and doctorate holders can teach in colleges and universities.
Research: Research is carried out in organisations including Anthropological Survey of India, Public Health Organisations and planning commissions.
Museum related: Anthropologists in museums are usually required to combine research work and administrative duties. They are often involved in carrying out various field projects, including excavations and research on the anthropological collections that have been gathered for display in museums. Anthropologists are also trained in museology, which involves the display of artifacts and objects, as well as the preservation, reconstruction and classification of objects and exhibits.

Apart from colleges and universities, anthropologists often find employment in various anthropological or archeological research organisations. The Anthropological Survey of India, with its headquarters in Calcutta have branches all over India, and employs a large number of trained anthropologists.

Many museums also offer employment to anthropologists for undertaking excavations for preservations, reconstructions and classifications of objects and exhibits in the museum.
Anthropologists are also employed in community health sectors where they work as social scientist dealing with the problem of public health, nutrition and diseases.

Medical organizations including the Indian Council For Medical Research and the institutes for immunology and health and other medical institutions also offer employments to anthropologists.
Police departments also takes anthropologists with knowledge of forensic science for purpose of crime detection.

The starting salary in most of the government departments is Rs 5000 per month (inclusive of all allowances).The starting salary in the government departments is Rs.2200 (inclusive of all allowances). NGOs and private sectors offer more.