value

[Troll]

In the early to mid-90s in the IFA magazine and at various conferences, the issue of value was debated. The IFA then took someone on to generate value in the eyes of the public by raising it`s profile in the media. That was years ago and I for one, see no results from their quarter. Raising the public perception of the value of archaeology has to be key in any campaign to shake-up the profession. So, let`s have your opinions....How do we raise the percieved value of what we do?[?]

[the invisible man]

Raise the price of it for one thing!

[destroyer]

Alternatively we could all quit, and stop all archaeological provision in the country (including amateurs etc) and then watch the country sink into irreversible physical and cultural decline followed by a total economic collapse and the imposition of martial law. Then people would realise the value of what we do

or i am i confusing archaeology with something else...

[Oxbeast]

What!

There has been a massive amount more archaeology in the media over the last few years. I think someone at Southampton is doing a PhD on representation on telly and in newspapers, etc. I saw some results which looked like an exponential curve.

theres plenty of profile, but how that relates to value is a bit more obscure....

I'm not sure how relevant public perception is to value anyway.

[troll]

I agree-there`s plenty of profile at present.Perhaps an ideal opportunity to present a fuller picture. On another slant, if change was ever desired-an informed voting public perception would be fundamental to shift the arse of the Culture minister. What contributions can archaeology make to the communities in which it was found? Is a few A4 sheets hidden away on an smr shelf adequate?

[Digger]

The sad part about this is that it's not the archaeologist (commercial) getting s****d by developers, the government or the public. UK archaeology is all about archaeologists getting SC***D by other archaeologists.

[troll]

Sad but true Digger! On a purely career/employment front- Is`nt it about time that someone wrote guidelines on "grades" of archaeologists working as site assistants? Someone on their first day with a glistening wet degree is paid the same as someone with years of experience and a plethora of diverse skills under their belt. I for one am sick of self-indulgent "Institutions" gauging my value when they clearly don`t possess the skills themselves.What is a site assistant? What skills are expected? Are all site assistants seen as simple-minded mud-monkies? How do we place value upon what we do?[?]
p.s-On the "raise the prices"front- we all go self employed and charge what we`re worth based on a graded site assistant scale? They pay us what we`re worth or they can do the job themselves (would be amusing to watch from the trench-edge don`t ya think?[:p]

[the invisible man]

Your PS doesn't sound such a bad idea Troll. If the majority of site staff are employed on fixed short term contracts, no sick/holiday pay, then you're halfway there anyway and you might as well cop for the tax benefits. Many construction personnel work on the basis too of course.

This is likely to lead to the emergence of the archaeological staff agency (hi BAJR!) as happens in other walks of life. The more experienced people would get a higher rate.

The downside is that it can be hard to break out of the cycle - so what would be different? Also, in my other life, we reckoned that about 1 in 10 contract staff were worth the air they breath - but the situation would be different I think.

Hmm, worth thinking about!

[sniper]

well, if we went self employed it would have to be en masse. I have been thinking about it for a while, but I am still at that stage in my career as an osteo where I have plenty of experience, but there are people out there with more and who are published and much better known and who are freelance. I just don't feel that I would get enough freelance work to keep me going, so I am sticking with a unit for now, where I have managed to be in the right place at the right time and have bodies coming out of my ears. I get paid a hell of a lot less than I should be paid, but I'll get the experience that will let me go freelance and not have to worry about getting work.

++ i spend my days rummaging around in dead people ++

[vulpes]

let me go freelance and not have to worry about getting work.

You may well go freelance one day, and good luck to you! But you will (I promise you) have to worry about getting work, as all freelancers do. Working for a unit may not be amazingly financially rewarding but a salary is a salary, and having a steady fixed income definately has its benefits.