standard of new graduates

[Cautionary Tale]

quote:[i]to be employed in fieldwork you now need a Masters too.

[:0]

I find that frankly ridiculous. If by fieldwork, the lecturer in question meant being a field archaeologists, then the labour market will soon be enormously distorted and arguably vastly over qualified. I have always thought you did a MA/MSc to specialise, how naive.[:I]

(I really have worked in the field)

[mercenary]

quote:One of the lecturers on my degree course made the point that having a degree is no longer enough - to be employed in fieldwork you now need a Masters too.

This too looks like an example of a clueless academic. Unless he/she is only too aware of the shortcomings of their own undergraduate degrees.[xx(]

[mercenary]

quote:the labour market will soon be enormously distorted and arguably vastly over qualified

This is already the case. Most of my excavating colleagues have second or third degrees. I suspect they are a bit annoyed at the waste of time and money as well.

[Cautionary Tale]

Indeed - this will only compound the wages issues once the incoming workforce goes from having a large amount of debt to a huge amount of debt.

How will archaeology retain a decent workforce on this basis? I find it hard to believe someone with a Masters would settle for ?15k.

(I really have worked in the field)

[mercenary]

I think the only thing that keeps some in the profession is the difficulty of changing career without starting completely afresh, and doing a new degree. Whatever the academics say about archaeology grads being very employable, that message hasn't got through to the hirers yet.

The only field open to ex-archaeologists (without retraining completely) seems to be teaching. I even know ex-archaeologists who tried teaching and came back!

[Cautionary Tale]

If I ever turned to teaching, I think i'd have to take my trusty mattock with me (talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire)

I've always been slightly dubious about the employment figures for new graduates - for one thing, an awful lot of graduates only ever find short term contracts which tends to give an overly optimistic view of the prospects. I'd like to know the figures for longer term (18 months).

(I really have worked in the field)

[troll]

Academics seem to be desperate to sell Masters. Surely, they are for specialising.If anyone`s first degree fell short, how about taking action against the awarding university? Plenty of students are shafted by glossy claims by universities only to find dusty, emotionally impeded has-beens churning out faded and irrelevent crud. Bums on seats yet again! I have known plenty of peeps who stayed on and completed a Masters in the misguided view that it would provide them with an extra edge in the market. Those of us who went straight into the field are still there and, employable.The Masters types answer phones for Liverpool Victoria.

[sniper]

do we now?? i seem to be employable, at least for now, and I wouldn't have said that it was a misguided view that my Masters does give me an edge in the market, purely because it actually taught me the things I need to do my job. I guess I'm lucky...

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

[Tim]

What about us sad losers with 3 degrees plus other professional training plus several years trench time and still no job.

Little Tim

[troll]

Ah yes Snipey-but with respect-you went and worked in the field first.Tiz my point entirely.Would`nt run a firm of electricians unless you were a sparky first now would you? One can hold as many degrees as they like-unless they understand the job....what`s the point?