The Archaeology Education Financing Paradox
Let me tell you a story about how I used money to buy the education (and simultaneously) the social proof that allows me to do cultural resource management archaeology today.
Yearly Archives: 2016
A career in archaeology won’t happen unless you act
(The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book “Becoming an Archaeologist: How to Create a Fruitful Career in Cultural Resource Management.” The book hasn’t been published yet; it goes live on the Kindle Bookstore on May 23, 2016, so you still have time to tell me what you think. […]
Do you really want to do cultural resource management archaeology?
The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book “Becoming an Archaeologist: Forging a Fruitful Career in Cultural Resource Management.” The book hasn’t been published yet; it goes live on the Kindle Bookstore on May 23, 2016, so you still have time to tell me what you think. You can […]
Can anarchy theory contribute to cultural resource management archaeology? 1
The 2016 Anarchaeology Workshop is upon us. For the next 48 hours (4/21 through 4/22/2016), archaeologists, anarchy theorists, and others will converge upon the Amerind Foundation for an series of workshops dedicated to exploring the ways anarchy theory can be used to better understand past times that have not been […]
What happens when a cultural resource management company becomes a community asset?
Fifty years ago, United States legislators signed a law that intended to use historic preservation to make the world better for future generations. This decision did not come out of thin air. It came from local communities across the country. Preservation advocates had been pushing communities to save cultural treasures […]
Degree Inflation in Cultural Resource Management: Some Solutions
Everybody seems to be telling college students an anthropology or archaeology degree is a bad idea. They all focus on the fact that you won’t make much money. Since when did a worthwhile job depend on how much money you can make? Fortunately, there are thousands of students like me […]
6 Reasons why CRM companies shouldn’t hire archaeological field techs with graduate degrees 8
Last week, I talked about how degree inflation is making it harder for young archaeologists to land entry-level archaeological field technician jobs without having a graduate degree. There is a lot of incentive for cultural resource management companies to hire field techs who have more than a Bachelor’s degree: Graduate […]
Twentysomethings: CRM Companies Want Archaeological Technicians to Have a Graduate Degree 1
I didn’t want to believe it but maybe Doug Rocks-MacQueen is right; maybe your degree is worth less, and less as each year passes by. The other day I saw a job posting for a temporary archaeological field technician position that stated in the educational requirements section “minimum BA, MA […]
Tis the season for finding a job in Archaeology 1
As I write, the birds are singing outside. The sun is shining. My garden is beginning to sprout (I live in Tucson. Spring comes in February here). My thoughts are turning towards getting back out in the field and soiling my trowel on another little piece of our heritage. Then […]
Let biology guide your archaeology job search strategy
Living organisms have evolved two basic reproduction strategies. Interestingly, these reproductive strategies closely resemble the way people look for a job: r-selection strategy—Produce a large number of offspring, understanding they have a low probability of surviving to adulthood. The goal is to reproduce quickly. Useful in unpredictable or unstable environmental […]