Martin Rundkvist, Internet pal of mine and archaeologist/blogger/etc etc in Scandinavia, had a bleak, bleak response to the standard 10 questions sent by high school students. He cites a lousy job market that is saturated with new archaeologists. Upshot?
"To sum up, my advice to young people who want to study archaeology is this. Become an engineer, a doctor or a lawyer, work four days a week at this well-paid and fulfilling job, and devote the fifth day to amateur archaeology. Because archaeology makes a really bad main career."
I checked the US Department of Labor Statistics Handbook for 2008/2009, and they still say archaeology/anthropology (the technical end) is a growth industry in the US, with a projected 15% growth this year. But, since I haven't turned a trowel since 2005, I don't know how accurate Martin's response is or how well it fits the situation elsewhere in the world. Do you?
Here's his post: Archaeology is Not a Good Career
Comments
Thanks for linking!
Archaeology may be a growth industry in Sweden too. But that is immaterial when the country’s universities produce archaeologists at about 20 times the rate needed to supply the labour market’s needs. Even if that market may be growing at some slow rate.
Well, the last time we tried to hire anybody at the MA level for a PI, say seven years ago, we had a heck of time finding anybody with an MA and experience. It was really difficult! But I just don’t know what it’s like today.
Thanks for a really useful post!
Kris
The initial estimate for job losses in the UK was that archaeology would be decimated in 2009, with 1 in 10 losing their jobs. This has since been revised to 1 in 5. You may find a few months of work in the UK, but you’d be extremely lucky to have a career at the moment.
I would love to go back to school and get a degree in Archaeology (at 55 yrs old), but I have hesitations if it doesn’t pay enough. One does have to pay the bills.
I’ll be graduating May 2nd with a BA in archaeology. I’m 55. I guess I’ll find out pretty soon.
God, Alun, that is just awful. The new stimulus package in the US contains a lot of infrastructure building–that means roads and bridges, and there are usually gobs of archaeology jobs associated with new construction.
http://archaeology.about.com/od/culturalresource/qt/crm_definition.htm
In Turkey, there are nearly 35 universities with archaeology programme. That makes roughly 900 graduates per year.
Main archaeologist employer are the state owned museums and ministry of culture. The most they hire 50 archaeologist per year… The other opportunity is the universities. It is not easy to find job in the university either…
That means at least 850 archaeologist will be unemployed. Most of the archaeologists are working in other industries.
In Greece, archaeology is bound to the ministry of culture. This has employed some people in 2006 (around 200) and before that in the beginning of 80′s (around 300).
Most of us work under contract for some months, from one to eight the most, and by law we can not work as archaeologists again once we completed 24months of employment. They send our degrees to the rubbish…
But universities still produce more than 200 archaeologists per year…
Making a living doing archaeology in the U.S. is not easy. I agree with Martin, establish yourself in a well paying field and do archaeology as a hobby with your local society. While not perfect, you will stay connected, and be able to do some actual reseearch instead of worthless pipeline, bridge, and highway surveys.
Marcia, Christine – I’m 58 with a two year old degree and am paying the bills working 8 months per year with the help of a small pension from a previous life. Great second career
My answer to the question is a resounding ABSOLUTELY NOT!Archaeology is a GREAT career choice, at least in the US. My heart really goes out to my European colleagues because I understand their situation. Perhaps they should emigrate to the US if they wish. I certainly would welcome them.
My response is based upon several considerations. First, I have been an archaeologist for almost fifty years and it has been the most rewarding career that I could ever have imagined.
Equally important is that now, at least in the US, it is a real growth industry, with plenty of job opportunities in both the academic and non-academic worlds. As people in my cohort in the academic world reach retirement age, we ARE being replaced and there are increasing opportunities in the Junior College/ Community College sector. The non-academic sector (call it CRM, Public Archaeology or whatever)now employs 85% of all US archaeologists, is growing, and will very soon be a one billion dollar industry! Furthermore it will expand considerably in the coming decade as federal, state and local governments invest more heavily in infrastructure such as roads, rapid transit systems, etc. I suggest people read the essay “Preparing for work in the Billion-Dollar CRM Industry” by William H. Doelle and Jeffrey H. Altschult in the April 2009 Anthropology Newsletter published by the American Anthropological Association. Clearly one has to be smart about training for a career in CRM and most academics (like me) are lousy sources of advice on the subject. Instead of talking to us, talk to people who are involved in CRM on some level other than “shovel bum”. Think of it as a potential business or career in a much broader sense than simply digging up a Moche king’s tomb, and think out of the box. There are many national and international possibilities for Cultural Resource specialists with multi-national corporations, NGO’s,etc. Just figure out what you want to do with your life, get the training, skills, and experience you need, and then GO DO IT, dammit!
Richard A. Diehl- retired but still working archaeologist, former Professor, former Department of Anthropology Chairman at the University of Alabama, former Acting Director of Pre-Columbian Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, former Acting Director of the UA School of Music, former Executive Director of UA Musuems, and current author, part-time teacher, and daily occupant of the Diehl Memorial Chair at the Starbuck’s Coffee Shop in the Tuscaloosa Alabama Barnes and Noble.
Canada is saturated, but its still possible to piece together a living from archaeology. There are a lot of undergrads and grad students pumped into the job market every year, but finding someone with experience that you’d like to take into the field can still be difficult. A degree alone doesn’t guarantee a career and having something to fall back on during the lean times is a definite asset.
Work four days per week as a doctor or engineer?? Good luck with that! Most I know are on call during their “days off” and put in 60-hour weeks. If you go this route, plan on saving the archaeology for when you retire… if you live so long.
could have saved a lot of unnecessary pessimism (see marcia popst #4) had you stated that his response had only to do with archaeology in sweden. you further confuse the post by citing united states statistics.
It’s frustrating to read negative comments from people on a subject that they really know nothing about. Unless you’ve been through schooling or have or have had a job in this field or know someone personally, then keeop your comments to yourself. You’re spoiling people’s dreams.
Unfortunately, I’ve read through these comments, and most of them are by people I know who work in the field and were talking about the situation in many different countries. I started this thread almost three years ago now, and things may have changed: but if so, I’m unaware of it.
To find out what the demand is in your part of the world, you should go to your nearest archaeological firm and ask them, flat out, what the job market is like. Here’s a list:
CRM Firms by Location
Good luck! I loved being an archaeologist–but I’m no longer in the field and one of the reasons–not the only one, mind you–was the shrinking number of jobs available.