10th June 2010, 08:52 PM
i voted "no- but it was not hard to pick up", but i don't think this really conveys the complexities of the situation. it is true that i came out of university with no experience in many of the skills that i now use in my day to day digging, however i don't think one can completely write off the benefits of an archaeology degree. whether mattocking out features in commercial archaeology or neatly trowelling back on a research dig, the underlying aims and objectives are comparable and, i believe, the ability of the excavator to adapt to different environments and modes of working are underpinned by the dry 'method and theory' style learning from uni.
where i certainly take issue with much recieved wisdom on this thread is the old "i would never take on someone straight from uni" line that gets trotted out time and time again with depressing predictability. my first commercial dig was as a temp on a small open area excavation in a team of twelve, ten of which also had no previous, under two supervisors from the company and no other core digging staff. we got the project finished on deadline even while being trained on the job. four of the team got six month contracts off the back of that project and, two years on, two are still at the company now. this is a much better success rate than we've had with many of the more experienced diggers that we've taken on in the last two years.
what unis can provide units with is a prospective workforce that have a good understanding of what archaeology is all about and the capacity for learning and thinking for themselves. it is up to the units and the individuals as to what extent this resource is exploited.
where i certainly take issue with much recieved wisdom on this thread is the old "i would never take on someone straight from uni" line that gets trotted out time and time again with depressing predictability. my first commercial dig was as a temp on a small open area excavation in a team of twelve, ten of which also had no previous, under two supervisors from the company and no other core digging staff. we got the project finished on deadline even while being trained on the job. four of the team got six month contracts off the back of that project and, two years on, two are still at the company now. this is a much better success rate than we've had with many of the more experienced diggers that we've taken on in the last two years.
what unis can provide units with is a prospective workforce that have a good understanding of what archaeology is all about and the capacity for learning and thinking for themselves. it is up to the units and the individuals as to what extent this resource is exploited.