What is your job in archaeology?
I'm a project archaeologist at a cultural resource firm in the midwestern United States
What education or experience did you need to get it?
I have an MA in Anthropology from a university in the midwest and I had three years supervisory experience prior to getting my job
Why do you think your job is important?
I take part in helping decide what cultural resources need to be preserved for the good of the country. How much greater can you get than that?
How did you become interested in this job?
I've always been interested in archaeology, but it wasn't until my late twenties, when I ran into a good friend of mine from college who told me that he had taken up archaeology, that I realized that you could really make a living at it. I tried a field school, and I loved the field work, and then I took a high-level theory class, and I loved that even more.
What is a typical day like for you?
I do archaeological survey for about 10 months of the year. I travel all over the region, conducting archaeological surveys for various projects, mostly federal ones, like for the Department of Transportation, but also for some big city apartment complex structures. I also excavate archaeological sites and conduct laboratory research. Over the winters I do lab work, and write reports up from the previous field season.
Lessons Learned
- Don't expect to make a lot of money
- You will travel a lot, see a lot of different places
- You will work with a whole range of people
- It can be really really dull, but also really really exciting!
- Take a field school first. If you hate the field work, don't do it!
