30th September 2013, 10:30 AM
archaeologyexile Wrote:What would you say was a reasonable level of volunteering for a ppublic sector archaeologist ....a day, a month, two months a year?
About the same as for Private Sector archaeologists, of course! (How many do YOU give?) Nobody should be expected to work for free - ever. Although I've sucked at the teat in the past, I started in the Private Sector and am back there now, so I've been on both sides of this Daily Mail debate. If we as archaeologists choose to volunteer, it's our own decision (the clue's in the word "volunteer"). Sure, we all want to raise the profile of the profession, if only to save our jobs, but it shouldn't be some kind of "indentured servitude" obligation with no recompense. There are already plenty of jobs that require out-of-hours work as part of the job spec, but at least the applicant can weigh up that total deal before signing up. If I'm on an annual wage, and it includes attendance at events or such, then fair enough. But to say that I should top up my agreed work by finding an unpaid way to eat up my days off is simply exploitative. As long as we entertain such divisive attitudes we are doomed to remain a joke as a profession. (How many plumbers/JCB drivers/accountants etc do you see being obliged by the court of public opinion to take fixed levels of Busman's Holiday?...)
Of course I see nothing wrong with people volunteering in their local society or museum if that's how they enjoy spending their free time - it can be fun to get together with like-minded folk. Just don't start demanding it...