Expert: John J. Shea - 10/9/2006

Question
Good morning Mr. Shea,
I just read your response to a young person asking about Archaeology college programs.  Since my son was a very little boy,(now a junior, high school) he has had a passion for archaeology, specifically Egyptology.  So much so that I dare to say that his self-acquired knowledge would rival (or exceed) that of a BS/BA major.  My question is:  For Anthropology/Archaeology graduates, is there a "standard" career path that he would expect after graduation? (other than immediately pursuing a Masters Degree); What type of work/job descriptions, and where can he expect to be employed.  As a father, I also would be interested in how much he would earn as he progressed within this vocational field.  My interest is to provide my son with every opportunity to excel in an area that he has so much passion for.  I do have some fatherly reservations: When I was his age, my overwhelming passion was the outdoors; I became a forestry major, totally unconcerned about any prospect toward income.  As I learned, this perspective can drastically change following marriage, children and the fatherly desire to provide the best for his family. Since I took a military commission upon graduation, and spent the last 30 years, enjoying the humanitarian mission of the Coast Guard (and receiving a fair salary), I did not experience the financial struggles many of my forestry peers did.  I hope that I am wrong, but I sense a parallel path of very limited income, for many years, for graduates with the passion for archaeology (income that I also believe is grossly disproportionate to many jobs/incomes of lesser knowledge and qualification!).  Please note that I would never squelch my son’s passion for a vocation that provides more $$$; though I hope you do understand my concern.  Again, I would be grateful if you could provide my son an idea of what he could expect in what I assume are many archaeology career path options.  Additionally, he is interested in attending a school in the West (CO), the Midwest (MI, IN, IL) or in the Northeast (PA, NY, NJ).  Any suggestions?  He is a 4.0 GPA student, and is interested going to Notre Dame or the University of Michigan.  Does Notre Dame/U of M have a good Anthropology/Archaeology program?  Thank you for your valuable time.  Our learning curve right now is pretty darn steep; we know of no one in the field to talk to. (I can talk for hours to young people about career paths within specific occupations in the Coast Guard, and this advice can be extremely pivotal to career advancement, …so having absolutely ZERO vocational awareness in archaeology, I can’t help but feel extremely uncomfortable for my son future.  Do schools provide vocational “summer camps” where he may begin to acquire more decision making knowledge.  Again, thank you for your time.  I look forward to your response.

Patrick


Answer
Dear Patrick
I have been getting a lot of career-oriented questions lately.  Regrettably, the time I have to devote to Allexperts is limited (basically, I am waiting for a long manuscript to finish printing as I write). In the interest of not repeating myself about particular schools, I would suggest you look over some of my previous answers.  FWIW, both Notre Dame and Univ. Michigan Ann Arbor are excellent places to study archaeology.  U of Chicago, U  of Illinois at Chicago, U. Penn., all are great places.  
As I have advised many questioners, no matter how passionate they are about archaeology NOW, this subjects should be only a secondary consideration in chosing an undergrad school.  By this I mean, look for a school with strong archaeology offerings, but look foremost at whether the school has a good liberal arts program in which the big-ticket faculty actually do the teaching.  It will profit you little to send your son to a big research university with big-name scholars only to have him end up being taught by grad students.
The typical career path in archaeology is 4 years undergrad (BA or BS degree).  Next comes grad school, either the MA and then the Ph.D. at separate schools, or the MA and Ph.D. at the same school.  A stand-alone MA is sufficient to allow one to do some research and teaching at community colleges, but to do research and get major grants, you need the PH.D.  The MA typically takes 2-3 years, the Ph.D. 5-7 years.  Your son will never make a huge amount of money as an archaeologist. The top scholars (full professors) probably pull in around $100-150K in today's dollars.  Many more earn less.  The Society for American Archaeology and the American School of Oriental Research have web pages and "ask an archaeologist" services you should consult about this.  Also, have a look at Brian Hayden's recent essay on the future of Archaeology in Archaeology magazine.  If the particular issue is out of print, look at their website.  He has good advice for  young people just entering the field.
FWIW:  If your son has not yet been on an archaeological excavation, see if you can find an archaeological field school nearby.  Such field schools are offered by nearly every major anthropology department.  There is also a central listing of them on the website of the Archaeological Institute of America.  Best to find out if archaeology is what your son thinks it to be early on, before the tuition bills come due.
Feel free to follow-up, I am sorry, but I have to return to work.
Sincerely,
John Shea
PS:  If you look at Notre Dame, arrange a meeting with Profs. Ian Kuijt and Meredith Chesson, they are excellent archaeologists at that school.