27th June 2011, 12:54 PM
I think I will be the voice of decent on this idea that degrees should not teach commercial archaeology.
First, the idea that 95% of archaeology students don’t go into archaeology. Yes, true in the past BUT will it be true in the future? A few years ago degrees were free so anyone could go to uni f?&$ around and face no consequences. Now it costs money, money that is about to triple in price next year. It is only a matter of time before fee limits are lifted and then prices will take off above inflation (happened in American, the average tuition has risen above inflation for every year except a few in the 1970’s during hyperinflation times).
Degrees in archaeology, as they have always been, will be for those who want to go into archaeology or who are there to f around and just get a degree BUT those who can afford the last category will be shrinking fast. Unless, those in the first category can gain something that will help them in their career those numbers will be shrinking as well. It will no longer be 95% who do something else.
What’s the alternative to uni? Go out and get an archaeology job without a degree. Yes it happened in the past but that was a different time and different conditions. When was the last time you ran into an archaeologists without a degree who just started working in the last 10 yrs. 1% maybe.
Face it until an alternative is created the market is flooded with archaeologists with degrees who are doing to be ahead in line of those who don’t, even if they (without degrees) have more experience and are better archaeologists. It is a lose-lose situation that can at least be helped by preparing someone for a career.
It’s not the system we want but is the system we are stuck with.
First, the idea that 95% of archaeology students don’t go into archaeology. Yes, true in the past BUT will it be true in the future? A few years ago degrees were free so anyone could go to uni f?&$ around and face no consequences. Now it costs money, money that is about to triple in price next year. It is only a matter of time before fee limits are lifted and then prices will take off above inflation (happened in American, the average tuition has risen above inflation for every year except a few in the 1970’s during hyperinflation times).
Degrees in archaeology, as they have always been, will be for those who want to go into archaeology or who are there to f around and just get a degree BUT those who can afford the last category will be shrinking fast. Unless, those in the first category can gain something that will help them in their career those numbers will be shrinking as well. It will no longer be 95% who do something else.
What’s the alternative to uni? Go out and get an archaeology job without a degree. Yes it happened in the past but that was a different time and different conditions. When was the last time you ran into an archaeologists without a degree who just started working in the last 10 yrs. 1% maybe.
Face it until an alternative is created the market is flooded with archaeologists with degrees who are doing to be ahead in line of those who don’t, even if they (without degrees) have more experience and are better archaeologists. It is a lose-lose situation that can at least be helped by preparing someone for a career.
It’s not the system we want but is the system we are stuck with.