Do You Want to Become an Archaeologist?

National Career Centre

Do You Want to Become an Archaeologist?

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If you have ever seen any Indiana Jones film, you've probably considered becoming an archaeologist. All those explorations and adventures, albeit exaggerated and very Hollywood-like, are thrilling for anyone interested in the great outdoors. The chance to play a huge role in uncovering human history only makes the job of an archaeologist extra special.

But just how special is it, really? From the onset, let it be known that the life of an archaeologist in the real world is very different from what is portrayed in Indiana Jones. There are hardly any armed groups who are after the magical or historical relics that you uncover. You spend a lot of time writing papers and analyzing the items you get. You also don't have to bring a whip with you all the time. Archaeology is also not the kind of field you should enter if your life goal is to become rich.

Archaeology in itself is a very vast field that requires specialized knowledge. In order to be able to participate in field or lab work, you should have advanced degrees in the field, preferably a PhD. If you want to become a lab rat, it is not necessary to get a PhD in archaeology as long as you have a PhD in a relevant field. For example, you could be a biologist whose main task is to analyze organic materials found in the survey or even a computer scientist whose job is to create computer models of possible sites.

If you decide to be on the field, you will be exposed to archaeological work as we know it, actually digging dirt for hours and getting dirty. After the field work is done, you then send the artifacts to the lab for evaluation and then create papers afterwards that will summarize your findings. These papers are very important whether you are working for the public or the private sectors.

As already mentioned, pursuing a career in archaeology is not something that you would want to do if your main goal in life is to become filthy rich. For archaeologists, what drives them is the dirt and the chance to be there at the forefront of understanding the lives of the peoples who lived in the past.

A more thorough article on the life of an archaeologist may be found at http://artofmanliness.com/2009/11/11/so-you-want-my-job-archaeologist/.

Tags: • archaeologists • findings • sites • artifacts • scientist • biologist • knowledge • archaeology • history • outdoors • adventures • explorations • archaeologist • field work •

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• <a href="http://article-library.nationalcareercentre.com">National Career Centre</a>
• <a href="http://article-library.nationalcareercentre.com/archaeology">Do You Want to Become an Archaeologist? (archaeology); National Career Centre </a>

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