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Job Market Research›Switzerland›Anthropology

Anthropology jobs in Switzerland for international graduates

Check the job market before you choose the course.Real jobs and pay for your field, and how to stay on to work.

How it works

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AnthropologyHumanities & Languages · Switzerland
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Job market at a glance

The jobs Anthropology leads to, added together. Each label compares Anthropology with the other Swiss fields.

Average pay (calculated)CHF 109,400 ModerateBFS
Pay under 30 (calculated)CHF 80,200 WeakBFS
Change since 2024+0.3% ModerateEurostat

Change in people employed: the broader occupation groups these jobs belong to (Eurostat Labour Force Survey, Switzerland). Yearly pay is calculated by UNIFER from the BFS standardised monthly wage × 12; BFS already spreads the 13th month and annual bonuses over the twelve months. Pay is published for broad occupation groups. Not shown for Switzerland: job ads (Eurostat's online job-ads statistics do not cover Switzerland and BFS publishes no count by job), growth (Cedefop's skills forecast does not cover Switzerland) and shortage (the EU shortage report, from EURES, has no Swiss data).

Jobs this degree leads to

The jobs Anthropology courses most often lead to in Switzerland, and how each one is doing.

JobShareAverage pay BFSEntry pay BFS
1.Sociologists, anthropologists and related professionals high unemployment (SECO 2026)CHF 109,464est.CHF 80,484
2.Policy administration professionalsCHF 114,108est.CHF 80,472
3.University and higher education teachersCHF 116,364est.CHF 87,792
4.Social work and counselling professionalsCHF 109,464est.CHF 80,484
5.Social work associate professionalsCHF 84,936est.CHF 68,088
6.Archivists and curatorsCHF 109,464est.CHF 80,484

Share: how common each job is among Anthropology destinations. Pay under 30: the median monthly wage of employees aged 29 or under in the job's occupation group, × 12. High unemployment (SECO 2026): the job is on SECO's 2026 list of occupations with at least 5% unemployment (twelve-month average); employers must notify vacancies to the public employment service first. It is not a shortage list. Swiss pay is published for broad occupation groups, so each job shows its group's figure ("est.").

What graduates like you earned

University master's graduates in Humanities and social sciences, working full time. BFS publishes graduate pay for seven broad field groups, not for Anthropology on its own.

Master's graduates, 1 year onmedian, full time, class of 2024 · middle half CHF 55,000–CHF 96,400CHF 78,000 BFS
5 years onmedian, class of 2020, real francsCHF 97,300 BFS
Graduates who came from abroad to studymaster's, all fields, 1 year on · Swiss-educated graduates CHF 85,000CHF 67,000 BFS
Came from abroad, working in Switzerlandmaster's, all fields, 1 year on · Swiss-educated graduates working in Switzerland CHF 85,000CHF 80,000 BFS

Gross yearly income for a full-time post, as BFS publishes it (graduates working in Switzerland and abroad). The "came from abroad" figure is for all fields together; BFS does not split it by field.

Staying to work after you graduate

How international students stay to work in Switzerland after studying Anthropology.

1
Finish your course

A master's or a PhD from a Swiss university.

2
Time to find a job
6 months Fedlex / SEM

to find work that matches your degree. You may work up to 15 hours a week meanwhile. It cannot be extended.

3
Work permit

Swiss graduates' route: an employer can hire you without first showing that no Swiss or EU worker is available, if your work is of high academic or economic interest (for example, a job in a field with proven demand that matches your degree).

Quotas still apply: in 2026 Switzerland admits at most 8,500 workers from outside the EU (4,500 B residence permits and 4,000 L short-stay permits).

There is no salary minimum, but pay must match what is usual for the place, job and sector. Switzerland does not issue the EU Blue Card.

Graduates living in Switzerland who are citizens of non-EU countries: 68.5% in work, against 91.2% of Swiss graduates (ages 25–64, 2025) Eurostat.

Anthropology in other countries

Typical pay for the same jobs (in US dollars in brackets, at October 2026 exchange rates), projected growth, and post-study work after a master's.

SwitzerlandCHF 109,400 ($132,700)Job search 6 monthsGermany€67,000 ($75,000)Growth +8.4% (2023–40) · 18 monthsFrance€43,600 net ($48,800)Growth +20% (2022–35) · Job-search permit 12 monthsUnited Kingdom£43,800 ($58,600)Growth +11.4% (2025–35) · Graduate visa 18 monthsUnited States$80,200Growth +3.7% (2025–35) · OPT 12 months, 36 with the STEM extensionCanadaCA$80,900 ($57,800)Growth +2.4% (2023–33) · PGWP up to 36 months
Show more →
AustraliaAU$117,300 ($82,400)Growth +22.8% (2025–35) · 24 monthsIreland€49,500 ($55,400)Growth +5.1% (2025–28) · Stamp 1G 24 monthsNetherlands€69,300 ($77,600)Growth +4.1% (2025–30) · Orientation year 12 monthsSwedenSEK 528,300 ($53,100)Growth +30.5% (2022–35) · Permit to look for work 12 monthsDenmarkDKK 686,700 ($102,800)Growth +18.3% (2022–35) · Job-seeking permit 12 monthsFinland€50,300 ($56,300)Growth +22.8% (2022–35) · Permit to look for work 24 monthsPolandPLN 105,800 ($26,900)Growth +20.9% (2022–35) · Permit to look for work 9 monthsSpain€33,100 ($37,000)Growth +21.6% (2022–35) · Job-search permit 24 monthsItaly€20,700 net ($23,200)Growth +27.9% (2022–35) · Permit to look for work up to 12 monthsBelgium€61,000 ($68,300)Growth +29.6% (2022–35) · Search year 12 months

Questions students ask

How much do Anthropology graduates earn in Switzerland?

University master's graduates in Humanities and social sciences earned a median CHF 78,000 a year one year after graduating and CHF 97,300 five years after. Graduates who came from abroad to study earned CHF 67,000, against CHF 85,000 for Swiss-educated graduates (all fields, one year on). Across all workers in these jobs, typical pay is CHF 109,400 and starting pay about CHF 80,200.

Can I stay and work in Switzerland after a Anthropology master's?

Yes, for 6 months to find a job after a Swiss degree, working up to 15 hours a week meanwhile. An employer can then hire you without a labour-market test if your work is of high academic or economic interest, within the yearly quotas for non-EU workers.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure comes from an official Swiss source. Tap a source tag next to any number for its details.

Befragung der Hochschulabsolventinnen und -absolventen (EHA) — classes of 2024 (1 year after) and 2020 (5 years after), BFSSwiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS) · BFS open use, source must be cited (OPEN-BY) · loaded 19 Oct 2026
Schweizerische Lohnstrukturerhebung (LSE) 2024 — monatlicher Bruttolohn nach Berufsgruppe (px-x-0304010000_205); yearly figure calculated by UNIFERSwiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS) · BFS open use, source must be cited (OPEN-BY) · loaded 19 Oct 2026
Employed persons by detailed occupation (ISCO-08 two-digit), Switzerland — EU Labour Force Survey (lfsa_egai2d)Eurostat · Eurostat reuse policy: free reuse with acknowledgement of the source (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU) · loaded 19 Oct 2026
Employment rates by educational attainment and citizenship, tertiary education, ages 25–64, Switzerland (lfsa_ergaedn)Eurostat · Eurostat reuse policy: free reuse with acknowledgement of the source (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU) · loaded 19 Oct 2026
Swiss post-study and work rules — AIG and VZAE (fedlex.admin.ch), SEM directives (manually verified)Swiss Confederation (Fedlex); State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) — transcribed and verified by UNIFER · Official government information · loaded 19 Oct 2026
Meldepflichtige Berufsarten 2026 (Stellenmeldepflicht) — State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), arbeit.swissState Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) · Official public list (SECO) · loaded 19 Oct 2026

Indicative figures from official Swiss sources. They describe groups of graduates and workers, not what any individual will earn or be offered. Visa rules change, so check sem.admin.ch before you decide.