Are Archaeological Skills Going Somewhere?

[mercenary]

Gog wrote:
We hear a lot about the cross-application of skills, but has anyone got any hard data to show that anyone outside of archaeology actually values us as a potential reservoir of skills and labour, or is it just a romantic bit of self-medication we like to dose ourselves with to numb the inherent futility of...Christ, what a miserable sod.

I think it sums the reality up nicely. You get lots of this talk from university types at TAG. I really think they believe it as well.

While I agree that archs have some of the most varied and useful skills for other sectors I don't for one second think that we get the chance to prove it very often. The brick wall of incomprehension we invariably meet almost everywhere when we try to describe our work to non archs is testament to that. Worse still, I think the recession/depression will make it even harder to get work outside the sector. Our practical skills are too close to those of the building industry which has taken a massive hit. What chance do I have to land a surveying job when there are hundreds of building industry surveyors out there also looking for work? I think most businesses get more conservative during hard times. Not many employers "think outside the box" to use a horrible management speak phrase, but that is what's needed for ex archs to land jobs that utilise our many skills. Most ex-archs I know had to start at the bottom with entry level jobs in their new trades. And that was during the boom times.

Back to school it is then

[monty]

....had a go at most things over the years myself........ cow milker, fork lift driver, building labourer, sand blaster, racking erector, milkman, furniture maker, cloth dyer, chicken carrier(!), sweeper up, car deliverer, stone cutter, order picker, van driver, painter and decorator, antique restorer, strawberry picker .......and the rest.......but archaeology ....well it's definitely an addiction.......!!!!

[wombat]

shelf stacker (cornershop and supermarket), landscape gardener, chip maker, pie maker, silver service waiter, kitchen porter, barman, factory worker, call centre operative, and crazily enough archaeologist....

[Dirty Dave Lincoln]

Window cleaner, caulie cutter, post office sorter, bulding labourer, tatty picker, gutting chickens, onion packer, car washing, and several other tpes of factory work...
Still doesn't beat the feeling of being out in a muddy field digging up some-else crap (sorry, I meant archaelogical artifacts).
Archaeologists are like any other group of workers-when the work dries up, we have to be versatile, and adopt to whatever is out there!

[mercenary]

Well, Here goes:

farmer, labourer, welder, football umpire, pizza deliverer, pizza chef, hardware salesman, sporting goods salesman, landscape gardener, garden centre salesman, petrol station attendant, dog trainer, data entry technician, data entry supervisor, ahem,banker, mail room clerk, man with a van, bicycle mechanic, direct marketing clerk, painball referee, small business owner, and finally the promised land:

Archaeologist!

[Windbag]

quote:Originally posted by mercenary


painball referee

Ouch!

?He who seeks vengeance must dig two graves: one for his enemy and one for himself?
Chinese Proverb

[BAJR Host]

PainBall

Where do I sign up...!:face-huh:

?When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend.?
William Blake

[mercenary]

Being a paintball referee will bring out your inner dictator. Lots of shouting at people. Don't you get enough of this running BAJR David?

[EarlySlav]

In the past my survey skills allowed me to find work in the past with a survey company and environmental firm. However now I would be at the back of a long line of people who already work in those fields. But DO go and list the skills you have and see what other work would or might find them useful.