Career prospects
The Alumnitool on LinkedIn can help you gain insight into possible careers after you finish your degree. It can also help you get in contact with an alumnus or alumna of your degree programme or other programmes. Nearly all graduates have a LinkedIn profile and can answer questions about your future career. They’re often more than happy to share their experiences with you. The video belows explains how the alumnitool works, and how you can use search criteria to find career information that is relevant to you.
Would you like to know more about how you can use LinkedIn to expand your network and put the new information into practice straight away? Take the LinkedIn workshop from Career Services. The workshop Exploring the job market & networking is also useful if you'd like to improve your networking skills, using LinkedIn and other ways.
The Master’s programme in Cultural Anthropology: Sociocultural Transformation prepares you for subsequent PhD training, but also serves as a freestanding programme for graduates who aspire to research positions outside academia.
Students who regard the MSc as the terminus of their academic education can capitalise on their:
- Research experience abroad
- Foreign language fluency
- Analytical, research, and reporting skills
- Successful completion of a demanding programme
What does your job involve?
Some examples:
Anthropological researcher at a non-governmental organisation (NGO)
You will examine the problems of countries where the NGO operates and advise on how to proceed. You will be an expert in designing, conducting, and analysing anthropological research.
Business advisor at a consultancy office
You will be involved in the planning, implementation and monitoring of various processes within the company. You will also be responsible for determining appropriate policies and their entry and execution.
Editor / journalist
You will edit news stories or publications for various media, such as newspapers, radio, television, or the Internet, using your knowledge of social developments.
This Master's Programme prepares you for a scientific career, whether in academia (PhD training), research institutes, government organisations, NGOs or private enterprises.
Graduates are working in positions such as:
- PhD student (De Montford University, Leicester, UK; Utrecht University; University of Amsterdam)
- Academic assistant (Institute for Ethnology at the University of Leipzig, Germany)
What does your job as a PhD student involve?
As a PhD student you will conduct four years of research at a university in the Netherlands or abroad, writing scientific publications and working as a teacher for Bachelor’s and Master’s students. After you obtain your degree, you can apply for a research function.
Graduates are working in positions such as:
- Employee, sales division (Sellbytel Group, Barcelona)
- Junior advisor/researcher (K2 Brabants Kenniscentrum Jeugd, 's-Hertogenbosch)
- Journalist (Thailand)
- Trainee researcher/consultant (BMC, Amersfoort)
- Process excellence manager (iSoftStone, Beijing)
- Coordinator, youth organisation engaged in critical development cooperation (Burkina Faso)
- Researcher/administrative assistant (Phoenix Interactive Partners BV, Rotterdam)
- Director, student engagement (Hillel at the University of Texas, Dallas, US)
- Trainee, NGO (Mensen met een Missie, The Hague)
Are you considering starting your own business? Now is a good time to prepare. Utrecht University can offer you a number of opportunities to explore entrepreneurship.
You could, for instance, take electives from Master's degree programmes that cover entrepreneurship in their curriculums:
- If you’re interested in becoming an expert at creating the prerequisites for running a successful business, take an elective at the Master’s programme Business Development and Entrepreneurship of Utrecht School of Economics.
- If you have a background in Economics and Business, and wish to do a Master’s programme in Entrepreneurship: check out the Master’s programme Business Development and Entrepreneurship.
- If you have a background in Science or Medicine, you can take classes Science and Business Management classes.
- If you're interested in sustainable business practices and sustainable innovation, take an elective at Sustainable Business and Innovation.
The Utrecht Center for Entrepreneurship (CE) also organises Spring schools, Summer schools, Winter schools, Honours classes and short seminars on entrepreneurship for non-Dutch students. All courses are offered in English except when the entire group is Dutch.
StudentsInc
Would you like to run a business while still at university? Do you want to graduate on running your own business? StudentsInc (Dutch language website) is home to a number of student businesses and offers programmes to develop your entrepreneurial skills.
UtrechtInc
Have you (nearly) graduated and do you want to start a business? UtrechtInc is the place to find financing, office space, expertise and coaching. UtrechtInc is there for
- starting entrepreneurs and alumni, doctoral candidates, and researchers (preferably from Utrecht University, Hogeschool Utrecht, UMC Utrecht)
- who are still in the ideas phase OR further along (less than five years) and have
- and have a (IT) start-up focusing on health, environmental sustainability, or education.
Would you like to know more? Visit the UtrechtInc site, register your idea, and drop by for a cup of coffee.
Enactus
Would you like to know whether entrepreneurship is right for you? Are you driven, socially conscious, and ambitious? Are you willing to spend a year working on a business for at least 8 hours a week? Enactus Utrecht (Dutch language website) offers you the opportunity to run a business and provides workshops and professional coaching.
Useful links
- Register at the Chambers of Commerce.
- You can read about all the other things you need to take care of on the Revenue Service (Belastingdienst) website.
- Join relevant groups on LinkedIn to share knowledge online and expand your network.
- Will you run an especially sustainable, innovative, and/or internationally oriented business? The Netherlands Enterprise Agency can support you with subsidies, knowledge, regulation, and more.
Upon completion of your current Master's degree programme, you can follow a one-year (Dutch language) teacher training programme. This will grant you a first degree teaching qualification for secondary education. That means you will be able to work in the upper and lower years of vmbo, havo, and vwo in the Netherlands.
Take a look at UU's Master's degree programme selection site.
When you complete your Master's degree programme, if you enjoy doing research in your area of expertise, perhaps you should pursue a PhD. You will start out as a research assistant or trainee research worker. Check the two-years Master's Programmes of Utrecht University.
The best way to find a research traineeship is to contact the professor in the field you want to specialise in. Another option would be www.academictransfer.nl.
If you'd like to pursue a PhD at Utrecht University, your PhD programme will fall under the auspices of one of the Graduate Schools. For more information, consult the Prout | PhD Network Utrecht website.