How to Become an Archaeologist

Be prepared to work hard to find a job. Though the employment of anthropologists and archaeologists combined is projected to grow 21% from 2012 to 2022, the job outlook isn't as sunny as it may appear. This is a small occupation, with only about 1,400 new jobs growing in the next ten years, so you must be prepared to work very hard to gain the necessary experience to achieve your goals. That said, people don't become archaeologists for the glory or for the salary; they do it because of their fascination with ancient artifacts and their love for learning about how people lived thousands of years ago. If you are truly passionate about your career, then your hard work will lead you down the right path.^[3]

• The average salary for archaeologists and anthropologists is around $57,000 a year.

Volunteer. Though your ideal scenario will involve you finding work in the field right away, the truth of the matter is that when it comes to finding work as an archaeologist, supply often exceeds demand. Volunteering is a great way to gain some experience, to network by building connections, and to get known in the field as someone people want to work with. Don't be discouraged if you can't find paid work; you will be able to find exciting work in pre and post-excavation phases of a project, as well as the investigation stage, and you'll be able to find paid work before you know it.

• Keep in mind that volunteering is a strong component of the career. Even more experienced archaeologists often volunteer in other ways, such as serving on archaeological committees, editing journals, or organizing events.
• In order to find volunteering work, you should check with your state's archaeological society. It may have an annual field school that you can attend. You can also check out Passport in Time, a program that connects volunteers with archaeologists in a variety of National Forest Service projects. You can also check out the yearly Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin that is published by The Archaeological Institute of America.^[4]

Find work as a contractor for survey project. It'll be fairly difficult to get hired as a full-time employee once you gain your advanced degree as an archaeologist. First, you'll need to gain some more work experience. The most common way to do this is to find an entry-level job for your career path, which is also known as a "Shovel Bum." These jobs typically involve working for a Cultural Resource Management (CRM) firm as a contractor, working for an hourly wage until the job you have been hired to do has been completed.

• You can learn about these jobs through word of mouth or through online resources, such as the Career Services site of the Archaeological Institute of America.^[5]
• If you just completed a master's or a doctoral program, you can ask your professors or classmates to keep you in the loop if they hear about any job openings.

Get picked up as a crew chief. After you've put in your hours as a contractor out in the field, you can begin to look for work as a crew chief, which will allow you to have a full-time salaried position with benefits. The best way to stand out in the application process to work as a crew chief is to not only be a hard working and reliable field worker, but to also specialize within a field of archaeology so that your experience and knowledge will be more valued than that of the average applicant's.

Specialize in a field. Specializing will allow you to gain further knowledge of one specific area of study and to become a valuable asset to future archaeological digs. You can specialize by doing further research in a field, learning to use the specific tools to require study of a field, and by training under experts in the field. Some specializations within the field of archaeology include pottery, osteology (the study of bones), numismatics (the study of coins) and lithics (stone tools).

• Depending on which area of study you want to specialize in, you may want to learn the ancient languages which were spoken in the area. For example, if you want to become an Egyptologist, you may want to consider learning Arabic and the ancient languages (Hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Coptic).
• If you choose to specialize in Classical Studies (ancient Rome and Greece) you may want to learn Italian, and learning Latin and Ancient Greek will be a must. If you choose to go to South America, you may want to learn Spanish and the language(s) of the specific culture(s) you are studying.

Advance in your field through publication. If you want to move up in the world as an archeologist, then you have to work on publishing your work in established, peer-reviewed journals. You should make a habit of regularly submitting your written work about your findings to scholarly journals. Once you publish your work, you will develop your reputation and may be able to take your career to a different place, such as being a professor or working in another administrative position in the field.

Advance in your field by taking on more responsibilities during excavations. Another way to move further in your career is to take on more leadership positions during excavations. As you gain experience, you can become something like the trench supervisor, which will require you to organize and manage all aspects of the excavation, from the ground up. This will require you to work longer hours, but you will be able to advance in your career and gain more extensive knowledge of the entire digging process.

Consider working in a related field. After you've cut your teeth as a traditional archaeologist, or just after you've realized you may want work that requires less travel and more steady hours, you may begin to think about using your archaeology degree in a related field that will still allow you to use your love for archaeology while working more regular hours. Here are some other options you may consider:^[6]

• College professor. Many archaeologists have the ultimate goal of finding a tenured position at a university. This will allow them to have full-time work and benefits. They'll teach throughout the year and spend the summers or some semesters working on excavations. This helps create more balance in their lives and makes their position feel a bit more stable than contracting.
• Museum curator. Museum curators work full-time to preserve and maintain exhibits related to work found in their fields. Their work can include conducting research, publishing results, giving public presentations, and preparing displays.
• Private sector archaeologist. Instead of working for a public university or another public institution, archaeologists may work for the private sector, which may include excavating sites that are legally mandated to be excavated before their destruction.
• Managing and protecting archaeological sites. Instead of excavating sites, your work will focus on protecting and maintaining them, which can include anything from helping run guided tours of the area to making sure the area is closed off from the public.

Be prepared for a significant amount of travel. No one said an archaeologist had an easy schedule. If you're committed to the work, then you should be ready to spend a lot of time away from home. You can go on digs that take you away from your family for months, or even longer. Be prepared for this element of the job. Archaeologists say that finding a balance between family and work can be quite challenging; however, keep in mind that you can find a career path that requires you to work more stable, regular hours instead of spending your time on archaeological digs.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time outdoors. If you want to be an archaeologist, then you have to actually like spending time outdoors. You have to be okay with living in tents for months, never quite feeling clean, and dealing with elements such as rattlesnakes, intense heat, or bodily discomfort. This is all part of the fun of getting to work in an exciting, new location, and you should be prepared for this part of the job if you're really committed.

Get ready to face the elements. Though you may not be Indiana Jones, you should be prepared to regularly face dangerous creatures such as rattlesnakes, spiders, and bears. You may also find yourself unknowingly entering drug growing or manufacturing areas while you're on survey. You'll need to be prepared with a cool mind and to stay calm in these events.

Wake up early. Most archaeologists have to get up as early as 4 or 5 am to begin their work day. They begin working often in the dark, when they can't always see everything before them. This is because they want to put in a good eight hours of work and need to escape much of the late afternoon heat. Several food breaks are plugged into the daily schedule of an archaeologist, so you will have short bursts of relaxation throughout the day.

• You may either be staying in tents on site, or far enough away that you'll need a bus to take you to and from the site.

Stay physically fit. Field work can be grueling. You may need to rough it in uncomfortable terrain and weather for several weeks at a time in remote locations. If you're committed to this career path, then you'll have to stay in shape, through regular exercise that includes cardio and strength training. Your work will require you to build up the endurance to spend around 8 hours a day digging in the sun, so it is important to stay strong. You may not think the physical aspect of an archaeologist's life looks grueling, but it is more demanding than it may seem from photographs.

Carefully excavate a site. An excavation is far more than a search for artifacts. An excavation is actually a carefully planned destruction of a site. Archaeologists know that once a site is dug up, it can never be returned to its old state again, so its destruction must be carefully mapped and planned every step of the way. Crew members typically dig up the floor of an excavation just 5–10 centimeter (2.0–3.9 in) at a time, taking care to record every layer that they uncover, since they can never return the site back to its previous state again.

• You must be familiar with the excavation plan before you begin your work day.
• You will dig using shovels, trowels, brushes, and other tools that you are given.

Dig up artifacts. Many people are under the misconception that archaeologists dig up dinosaur bones. In fact, they dig up artifacts, but not bones; bones are dug up by paleontologists. While you're working on your site, you should be able to uncover some artifacts, such as arrowheads or pottery. You must follow a careful procedure for documenting and then storing your findings carefully. It's important to use your tools correctly in order to ensure that the artifacts are preserved for further study and care.^[7]

• Some crew members even draw and photograph the floors and walls to keep a record of the layers as they are removed.
• Some also photograph artifacts that are found and map their location relative to the rest of the excavation unit
• Some technicians collect data by using GPS receivers to map out the site and the site's boundaries digitally

Take careful notes. As you work on an excavation site, you may be required to take notes, making sure to record every little thing you find, even if it may seem insignificant at the time. You'll have to note everything about the way the object you found looks, where you found it, the soil composition of the area where it was found, surrounding objects, and anything else that stands out to you. Think of yourself as a detective, unearthing mysteries that are hundreds, or even thousands of years old.