9th July 2011, 05:37 PM
Quote:I do begin to wonder at the alleged "hierarchy of needs" in archaeology when an IT/Geek gets paid more and is "valued" more than a good, experienced digger.
I think that's more about IT than archaeology. You can earn way more in IT than archaeology, so if you want to hire a geek, you have to pay a vaguely competetive wage (unless you can find one who wants to work in archaeology for the love of it). My IT job used to pay more than the head honcho at my local commercial arch unit gets - and I wasn't even half way up the ladder.
IT geeks are in demand in the wider world - most industries need them in one form or another these days, even if they're not directly IT-related. Employers are used to having to pay an attractive wage, in order to get the right flavour of geek. Experienced diggers work in archaeology, which is a miniscule and over-subscribed employment arena by comparison. Supply and demand, sadly.