Below are some of the questions that we are often asked by those interested in a career in archaeology. To provide assistance to students who are members of KyOPA, and any other interested party, these questions were posted on our online discussion group. The answers that follow were provide by the KyOPA membership based on their own experiences. Links to other pages that might be of use are also posted at the bottom of this page.

Question: I am an undergraduate student in archaeology and wanting to gain some hands on experience. What is the best way to do this? Are there excavations that I could volunteer to work, or am I better off going for an internship or to take a field school? What are the pros and cons of each?

Answer: I would suggest this sequence for an undergraduate:

1. take a summer field school, perhaps after your freshman year.
2. find an internship for your second summer, perhaps with a CRM firm, possibly a second field school with a totally different outfit.
3. do a second internship or find a paying job in archaeology as a field tech for your third summer.
4. in course work, take some electives which focus on the archaeology of your area of interest and field and lab techniques and the structure and practice of CRM if such a course is offered.

Answer: To this I would add the need to get hands-on lab experience. There are several ways this might be accomplished:

1. Complete archaeology and physical anthropology courses that have lab components.
2. Volunteer to assist an instructor with his/her research.
3. Volunteer to assist in the lab of a CRM firm.
4. Volunteer to work at a museum or curatorial facility.
5. Complete an independent study, senior thesis, or the like that involves original research with archaeological collections. Try to present or publish the results.
6. Ask to be assigned to an archaeology instructor or museum job if you are a work-study student.

Question: What information can you give me concerning internships in archaeology or volunteering for a project?

Answer: Murray State doesn't have an internship program yet; we are in the process of hammering out the details with the US Forest Service at Land Between the Lakes. They have an internship program in place that is operated on two levels: 1)an internship for a novice who might have had a field school and some lab experience. MSU offers will offer a full 15 semester credit hours; LBL in turn will provide free housing at LBL and a weekly stipend of $150. The internship applies to undergraduates; then 2) upon graduation from MSU, for students looking for their first job or those who want a break before graduate school, same set up regarding academic credit, except it's cut back to 12 graduate hours, free housing, plus a weekly stipend of $250. This level is referred to as the "apprentice" level at LBL. As soon as all of the t's are crossed and the i's dotted, Murray State will send out a notice to all of the Kentucky and regional schools. It really is a good deal and there's some very exciting archaeology in the LBL area (historic and prehistoric).

Answer: We have both interns and volunteers on our Riverside project. Generally, the volunteers are people who want to try it out and not be too committed. I think it is good for them to check it out first, because as we know archaeology is not for everyone. Sure it looks good in books and on T.V. but it is a different ball game in the real world. I have had volunteers come out for one day never to be seen again and I have had some who have become valued paid crew members. Interns tend to know more about archaeology and are considering it more for a career than volunteers. They are willing to be more committed for the duration of the internship and they see it as a step in building a career in archaeology or as confirmation as to whether they want to continue in archaeology.

The determination about paying an intern depends on their abilities and commitment. I don't know about other universities, but the typical UofL student tends to be older and holds a full-time job. This means that they don't have a lot of free time when you add in school. So, right now I have a batch of interns who have no experience and work about 10 hours a week unpaid. It is just like another class to them. I don't worry about the perception of exploitation, because it does not exist at our site, their education is foremost and I spend a lot of time teaching them. Furthermore, we don't make a profit from our projects so it is not as sticky a situation as it is for a CRM outfit. If an intern has some experience and can work about 20 hrs. a week, I will pay them. Usually, the volunteers and interns that want to stick with archaeology eventually become paid crew. However, I encourage them to take a field school because an internship is not a substitute for field school. If they have had a field school they get paid more and when they take a field school I up their pay. I think every undergrad should have a field school and some real life archaeological experience through either an internship or volunteering on a project. It is truly sad to see someone who has made the huge commitment to pursue a graduate degree and has no idea whether they can even handle fieldwork.

Answer: I think all interns should be paid except in those instances where the school has a policy against it. To do otherwise encourages the exploitation of students for financial gain of the companies involved. The amount to be paid is probably something that should remain between a particular company and the specific intern, not the subject of a list serve. Nevertheless, it should be well above minimum wage from my perspective. Those interns who have the most to contribute should be compensated most highly.

Ideally, internships should be a two-way street. We all are aware of the benefits a student obtains from the experience. In addition, companies should expect to benefit from the enthusiasm and genuine desire for learning exhibited by students. They should expect student interns to bring new ideas/approaches/perspectives to the table. In addition, interns frequently provide an outlet for the frustrated "teacher" in many of a CRM company's supervisory staff. If a CRM company brings in an intern whose area of expertise lies outside of the firm's pooled expertise, it affords a huge advantage to the company and a stepping stone for the firm to expand its services.

Answer: I do a "Practicum in Archaeology" course, which is a cross between and independent studies and internship program. As of this summer, I will have had 11 students do the practicum. They do not get paid (other than per diem, if offered) but they get 3 credit hours for 128 hours of work, plus a written summary of their work, or if their practicum produced a report, a copy of it. Thus far, they have worked with the Forest Service, the National Park Service, and with Niquette's CRAI. I'm interested in other opportunities as well.

I also offer a course called "Archaeology and the Law" that looks mostly at NAGPRA and the Section 106 process. Each semester I've taught this, I've incorporated a Phase II evaluation, done on Forest Service land, so that students can get more field experience, and take a stab at significance evaluation as well. By no means do I consider myself an expert in this field, but there was such a glaring lack of it, that I decided I'd do the best I could. Usually, it is a positive experience for everyone concerned.

Answer: During my grad student days at UK, I had an opportunity to do an independent study course which I count as one of the most useful courses I've ever had. The course was designed so that the student spent 1/3 of the term working at OSA, 1/3 at the Museum, and 1/3 with the contract program. During my semester I designed and installed two museum cases with the help of an undergrad, under Mary Powell's direction. During my time with the contract program, I was given a Phase I report, and asked to prepare a proposal for a Phase II project for that same site, and a grant proposal for the National Geographic Society. This was the first time I had to think about turning my grand research ideas into practical items such as person-hours, equipment costs, etc. I had been working at OSA as a graduate assistant, so my semester was divided into halves, rather than thirds, but the general idea was to give the student at least an introduction to museum work, OSA work, and contract work. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.

Answer: We also have an internship program here at Cultural Horizons, Inc. We have our internship program with students at Centre College in Danville, KY. I believe this is our seventh year. Currently, we have 2 interns, who are working part time since school is in session. Many of these interns work full time with us over the summer and some have gone on to work with us after graduation. It has worked out extremely well. The students are exposed to all facets of CRM work and we also have them do some reading regarding CRM and various archaeology topics.

Question: I am currently completing my undergraduate degree in archaeology. Will this degree be sufficient for obtaining a job after graduation, or will I need to continue on for a graduate degree? If the latter, should I continue straight through with school, or take a year or two off and work before returning to school?

Answer: As an employer of archaeologists, I tend to favor hiring young people who desire to get additional experience before attending graduate school. Such people generally make excellent employees. They are bright, self-motivated, interested in doing quality work, eager to learn, and are generally looking for a wide range of experiences that compliance archaeology affords. They work at CRA for 2 to 4 years and then, inevitably, knock on my door one morning and ask for help in finding the right graduate school for them. By this time, they have become very important contributors to the firm's success and I hate to see them go. On the other hand, I know that the move is best for them personally and am more than willing to help with advice, recommendations, personal phone calls, or whatever it takes.

Answer: I think the answer to this one depends on the student. Working may become an excuse to put off grad. school. However, I would recommend that everyone have some sort of practical archaeology experience before they head off to graduate school, preferably no more than a year. If it gets to be two and three years from undergraduate it makes it that much tougher to get back into school mode. I just think people need to know about digging and what the real world of archaeology is all about before they go to graduate school.

Question: I have decided to continue my archaeological training and am wanting to apply to graduate school. What advise can you give me concerning how to decide what university to attend? Can I get a job at the MA level, or do I need to continue for a PhD?

Answer: Go to a university program that you are comfortable with. Don't go to a school because of a big name professor or reputation. Meet the faculty and the students and see if you are comfortable with them. If the school offers a decent variety of learning opportunities and an environment suited for you, then go there. The big picture is, it does not matter where you go, it is what you make of your experience. These days I suppose you should go for the PhD. it makes you more marketable. However, I am perfectly satisfied with my masters and my job, although I will eventually try for a PhD just to do it.

Question: I'm wrapping up my junior year of college, and starting to look at potential graduate schools. Most of the graduate programs that I've visited or contacted have asked me what direction my career will be heading towards: (1) the college classroom or (2) CRM. As of right now, I'm not really sure, so I was wandering since there are those of you in each of these areas, what you saw as the positive and negative aspects of each, and why you choose the career path that you did.

Answer: The answer depends upon your goals for the future.

In my view a graduate degree is essential to be considered a professional archaeologist. At the MA level, you can do all of the dirt archaeology of which you ever dreamed. While jobs are far more numerous in the realm of CRM, as a general rule you will need a Ph.D. to teach. You should also know that teaching jobs are few and far between. Still, if the latter is the career path you wish to pursue, then this is what you should do. A Ph.D. is not necessary to do compliance archaeology but it certainly won't hurt you in securing a job outside of academia.

As you consider graduate programs, you should attempt to determine the faculty's attitude towards CRM. If you sense that there is a pronounced distinction between "research" versus compliance archaeology, my advice is to be careful.

Answer: Don't go! If a university wants to pigeon hole you before you get there, run away. There is no reason that you cannot go to a school where you can learn about all career paths. Go to a school that will give you a good and varied experience. I learned from experience before graduate school that I did not really like CRM and I learned in graduate school that I did not particularly like the university system of teaching (although I do like some part-time teaching). I also, learned that I did not want to be a government bureaucrat. However, in the middle of graduate school, I did learn that I wanted to work with the public and I could not be happier. You will know what you like when you have a chance to experience different paths.

Answer: To me, the choice of going into CRM or academia is really a personal preference. If you are not sure which you prefer, try to get at least some experience in each. I found it quite useful to work for a couple of years in CRM before getting into graduate school. This allowed me to be certain that this was the right career for me, gave me some valuable experience, and allowed me time to determine what aspect of archaeology I really wanted to focus my studies. I also found that I was more driven than some of my peers who did not have the experience as I knew what I wanted when I started graduate school, thesis topic in hand. Just be careful that you do not spend too much time away from school. The longer you stay away, the harder it is to get back in. If you do take time off to work in archaeology before graduate school, subscribe to several of the professional journals to keep up to date with what is going on in the field.

In terms of whether an MA or PhD. is necessary, this will depend on what you want to do. If you want to go into CRM, the MA degree will likely be a better choice. If you plan on teaching, you will most likely need a PhD. With either route, you can have an enjoyable career and should go with what you want. With CRM, I have had the opportunity to work on a number of really interesting sites in a variety of areas. By having some input into how the site is excavated and the data collected, I have been able to conduct some of my own research using this data. Some of this is incorporated into reports, in other cases, it is done on my own time.