Expert: Ralph Salier - 7/14/2007

Question
 It has been my dream now for about ten years to become an Archaeologist. I am twenty nine years old, and I have to get my GED first but I was wanting to do a field I will enjoy. I had thought about nursing, because you can find a job almost anywhere with it, but my dream has and probably will always be to be an Archaeologist, and be able to live my life as I have seen others do exploring sites, but I wonder...even though this is my dream....are there that many things you can do with a degree in this field?

Answer
Hi Brenda,

Yes, you can dig in a lot of different places if, you are willing to be relatively poor for the rest of your life.  The life of an archaeologist is to travel to sites and dig, live in hotels, tents and trailers and eat fast food since restaurant food it too expensive for the stipends they offer.  You will need your GED so that you can get a BA in anthropology/archaeology major, and make sure that you also take the courses you need to certify.  Also be sure to take biology, osteology, metallurgy and surveying so that you can manage to do all aspects of site work or lab work.  To be a site director, you will need a masters degree.