10th February 2006, 01:39 PM
Troll - wasn't suggesting that being at the 'bottom' of the profession was in any way de-valuing the contribution that experienced diggers make to field archaeology. Good diggers are indeed worth their weight in gold and surely will be more so in the future, given the alleged drop-off in graduates continuing with archaeology as their chosen profession. On-site excavation skill is not a specialism however, although I would agree with an assertion that experience of site work is an underrated quality amongst those not in the field side of the profession.
Graduate shortage in the profession is indeed worrying, so perhaps more effort could be made to attract more mature people into the field. I've known plenty of people who have turned to archaeology slightly later in life and made a real go of it. Perhaps those graduates who left the field to earn better money might find a return to archaeology appealing after negating some of their student debt after five years or so doing something else. A more vibrant amateur scene might pave the way for people with a real interest to make the transition into professional archaeology a little easier. That perhaps is the subject for a different thread though
Graduate shortage in the profession is indeed worrying, so perhaps more effort could be made to attract more mature people into the field. I've known plenty of people who have turned to archaeology slightly later in life and made a real go of it. Perhaps those graduates who left the field to earn better money might find a return to archaeology appealing after negating some of their student debt after five years or so doing something else. A more vibrant amateur scene might pave the way for people with a real interest to make the transition into professional archaeology a little easier. That perhaps is the subject for a different thread though