19th April 2010, 10:38 AM
(This post was last modified: 19th April 2010, 10:41 AM by destroyingangel.)
Just to clarify something... it is possible to get a decent (for want of a better term) job in archaeology without being able to drive. Yes, your options are more limited and (unfortnately) you will often be overlooked or passed by (doesn't matter how fantastic you are at actual archaeology) by people who can get themselves (and others) from A to B. But through perserverance, timing, luck and maybe being able to offer something (or things) that balances out the driving deficit... it is possible to get these jobs. For me (I don't drive) I've had to just grin and bear it when I see jobs that I can (should) go for, but then see the magic "drivers licence essential" and so have to say to my self "nah, no point in applying". But it is my cross to bear... and sometimes I just say "f**k it, I lose out more if I don't apply. Given the nature of the job, maybe, just maybe the driving thing isn't that essential afterall". So I apply, and sometimes I get the job... but on the whole I have to just plain deal with the rejections I get along the way.
One thing that does strike me is that getting a job in archaeology (at the moment) is s series of jumping through ever decreasing (size) hoops set at different heights... a filtering proces. Degree (jump), experience (jump), masters (jump), able to use a total station (errr... jump), ability to use GIS (yay, jump), health and safety card (erm... jump, tight squeeze), drivers licence (oh dear), ability to speak fluent welsh (really?), willing to relocate to Saudi Arabia (err... I'd rather not). Just seems an endless procession of things that filter out the employable to the not so employable... and it doesn't really matter how bloody good an archaeologist you actually are or how much you care about it. We are not salmon, but it seems as though we behave like them.
Furthermore, as for driving... yes, it is a real plus-point if you can (how else do you get to that pointless watching brief in the middle of nowhere?). But there are many reasons why particularly good (excellent) archaeologists can't or won't drive. Yes, there is the cost... just learning costs an arm and a leg these days, as does the test. Also, just how does a newbie 'digger' afford a car, the tax, the MOT, the insurance, the petrol/diesel? But there are other reasons... a disability that prevents driving or (as in my case) an inability to drive because of some deep seated fear of driving brough about by a past accident (errr... it's not the driving I fear, it the fear of driving into another car and mangling myself and my passengers). And, in this fluffy-green age, some people would actually like to use public transport a bit more and save the chuffin environment. If you live in extreme isolation (say Northwest Scotland) then I suppose a car is necessary... but on the whole, surely we should be trying to limit car use. We are not all Jeremy f'in Clarkson.
One thing that does strike me is that getting a job in archaeology (at the moment) is s series of jumping through ever decreasing (size) hoops set at different heights... a filtering proces. Degree (jump), experience (jump), masters (jump), able to use a total station (errr... jump), ability to use GIS (yay, jump), health and safety card (erm... jump, tight squeeze), drivers licence (oh dear), ability to speak fluent welsh (really?), willing to relocate to Saudi Arabia (err... I'd rather not). Just seems an endless procession of things that filter out the employable to the not so employable... and it doesn't really matter how bloody good an archaeologist you actually are or how much you care about it. We are not salmon, but it seems as though we behave like them.
Furthermore, as for driving... yes, it is a real plus-point if you can (how else do you get to that pointless watching brief in the middle of nowhere?). But there are many reasons why particularly good (excellent) archaeologists can't or won't drive. Yes, there is the cost... just learning costs an arm and a leg these days, as does the test. Also, just how does a newbie 'digger' afford a car, the tax, the MOT, the insurance, the petrol/diesel? But there are other reasons... a disability that prevents driving or (as in my case) an inability to drive because of some deep seated fear of driving brough about by a past accident (errr... it's not the driving I fear, it the fear of driving into another car and mangling myself and my passengers). And, in this fluffy-green age, some people would actually like to use public transport a bit more and save the chuffin environment. If you live in extreme isolation (say Northwest Scotland) then I suppose a car is necessary... but on the whole, surely we should be trying to limit car use. We are not all Jeremy f'in Clarkson.