Archaeology (also spelt as archeology) is the branch of science that deals with the study of prehistoric people and their culture. Archaeology comes from the Greek words, archaios, meaning ancient and logos, meaning word. The literal meaning of archaeology is the study of beginnings. The main objective for studying archaeology is to construct the cultural chronology (record of events with reference to time), so as to reconstruct the past life ways. Thus, with proper understanding of archaeology, human behavior can be studied.
Since, archaeology is related to the study of human culture, it is one of the four disciplines of anthropology. The other disciplines of anthropology are physical anthropology, cultural anthropology and linguistic anthropology. Any individual who is interested in biology, geology, chemistry, history, social science, psychology and arts, can opt for archaeology. According to some futurists, science fiction is described as the archaeology of future.
Archaeology Career Opportunities
When somebody mentions about archaeology career opportunities, the first thing that comes to our mind is working outdoors, which is not true. In fact, there are many job openings for archaeologists such as in colleges, universities, museums, state and federal governments and private companies. The career option one can opt for depends upon the level of education and experience required in the particular field of archaeology. Let’s look into some of the career opportunities after studying archaeology.
Field Archaeologist: The responsibility of a field archaeologist is to conduct field investigations, analyze the sites and publish the result of the fieldwork. For working as a field archaeologist, you need to major in anthropology or archaeology and should have previous field experience. You can work as a field archaeologist in universities or with cultural resource firms that conduct archaeological research.
Academic Positions: Depending upon the educational qualification and experience, one can work as faculty in universities, colleges or community colleges. For example, for the position of faculty in colleges and universities, a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in archaeology is required; whereas, for becoming a professor/teacher in community colleges, one needs to have a Master’s degree in arts or science, with specialization in archaeology or anthropology. With a doctorate degree in archaeology, you can work in various departments such as archaeology, anthropology, art history, history and architecture.
Museum Positions: There are archaeology job openings in public museums or university museums. The positions for archaeologists in museums include curator, archivist or technician. Their common goal is to acquire, preserve and display the important artefacts in the museum. They carry out research, analyze the results, prepare the technical report and publish it. They are also responsible for teaching and providing information to the public by giving presentations and preparing displays. To apply for the museum positions, the minimum educational qualification is a Master’s degree.
State and Federal Government Positions: Many archaeologists work for the state and federal governments. Some of the departments that hire archaeologists include forest service, bureau of land management, cultural resources management (CRM), national park service, highway department and water resource department. They are hired for protecting and conserving the important archaeological sites in the region. Most of these positions require minimum a Master’s degree in archaeology.
In addition to these career options, an archaeologist can work for private firms that deal with conducting CRM investigations and other related works. The earning of an archaeologist depends upon the post and experience. For example, a fresher (or freshman) field archaeologist earns about $12 an hour, whereas an experienced museum curator or a professor with a doctorate degree can earn $100,000 per year. Depending upon the job profile, an archaeologist may have to work in the field or in the lab.
