Ok, so I know this is a realllyyyy stupid question, but I'm having a hard time understanding what anthropology grad students do, how important your adviser is, etc. There are TONS of resources out there for other disciplines (like comp sci), but not nearly as many for anthro and so I'm trying to decide how I evaluate (any) offers I get. [no, i haven't heard anything, but here's hopin'!]
My question to y'all is what is the life of an anthropologist like?
How important is your adviser (how big of a role does s/he play in your life)?
Will you need to be on the anthropology faculty or are there jobs available at smaller universities that might not have anthro departments?
Are there any great websites/blogs out there that talk about the life of an anthropologist or an anthro grad student?
FWIW, I'm switching fields from the sciences to anthro and am looking at a couple physical/bio anthro programs but I'm not sure how to evaluate them. One of the programs has a superstar prof whose research I've read and was very influential, but i'm not sure will be sticking around at this program much longer. The other program is very strong overall, but there's no one person whose work I know in-depth.
Any/all advice is welcome!