Quezi

Dig at Jones Mill - courtesy Farther Along - CC-BY

Do you want to be an archaeologist? Think twice.

Shovel bum, dig bum, hobo field crew are some of the names people call us.

There are many drawbacks to making archaeological technician employment a full time occupation.  In most other sciences, research jobs live and die by whatever contract is being worked, and conditions are not always perfect.  But research technicians in archaeology, in part because of archaeology’s glamorous and very shallow image, are especially subject to low wages and lack of job security.

First, it is difficult for even highly trained archaeologists to find paid employment anywhere. The contract jobs you do get are often extremely short, sometimes weekly and if you’re lucky a monthly contract.  Employers don’t have to provide holidays and sick pay, pension rights or any other benefit other workers have.

Many qualified people cannot afford to work at the pay rates offered or are not able to cope with the continual moves from one project to another, often great distances apart. It is difficult to maintain a house or apartment let alone trying to find and pay for temporary lodgings at the rates of pay involved.  And you are expected to have at least a bachelor degree in anthropology.

Another problem is the prevalence of “amateurism-volunteerism-field schoolism” where people actually pay to do archaeological fieldwork. This “Pay to Play” philosophy would not be tolerated in any other profession wanting to take itself and indeed be taken seriously by other professions. This situation does not occur and indeed would not be allowed in medicine, law, architecture, engineering or anywhere else. I realize this practice is a historical remnant of the 19th century, but it should be stopped.  As long as there are armies of volunteers, there is little work for trained archaeologists outside of museum laboratories.

Do you want to be an archaeologist? You have my blessing. But plan on doing something else to actually pay the bills.  One of the reasons many archaeological technicians also list a variety of non-archaeological careers as part of their resumes.

To be a successful shovel bum at any level, you will need to be willing to travel widely and do hard physical labor in pretty nearly all weather conditions, be willing to change your plans on a week’s (or less) notice, and be willing to learn new things every day.  Be cheerful in the face of adversity, be forbearing in the face of grumpiness, very tight budgets and vacationing volunteers who think they know more than you do.  Become inured to the lack of modern amenities. Above all, keep your brain working. Archaeology is both physically and mentally demanding. You’ll love it.