Ethnoscientists

Explore extracurricular, volunteer, or part-time opportunities that will give you some background experience in your field of interest. If it is ethnobotany, look for a summer job working in a city park or with a local florist or nursery. If it is ethnoveterinary medicine, look for part-time or volunteer work at a veterinarian's office or animal shelter. To explore your interest in ethnozoology, work at a zoo. If ethnolinguistics interests you, try learning a language that is not offered at your school; for example, learn Swahili, Hawaiian, or Tagalog. To explore ethnomusicology, listen to recorded and live world music and visit museums and music stores that carry indigenous instruments. Museums offer a wealth of information on different cultures, including exhibits, reading materials, lectures, and workshops.

Take any opportunity offered you to travel, particularly to non-industrialized countries and more remote areas of the world that have been less influenced by Western culture. Explore study-abroad programs or consider volunteering with the Peace Corps to get an intense, long-term experience living in another culture.

Visit the Web sites of professional organizations, such as the Society of Ethnobiology, the Botanical Society of America, the American Society for Ethnohistory, and the Society for Ethnomusicology.