Archaeology: How does travel work? Schedule, Pay etc?
When you sign with a company/organization, do they pay for your travel? How much do you travel? How long are the missions? Do the company provide you details of the trip and what to bring, and what to wear etc? Most importantly, how much work do you get? Is it enough to consider it a stable job? Can you make a living off of being an Archaeologist by itself? What are good motivations, and personality skills that will make one successful at it and enjoy it? What are the dangers of it? What areas of study must you enjoy to achieve success in it (English, History, Math, etc?), What about religion? Is religous and spiritual enlightment a good motivation to pursue Archaeology?
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Most archaeologists work in academia or in cultural resource management. Those in CRM do not usually travel very far so I will assume you are referring to academic archaeologists (which is what most people think of.)
You will most likely be a professor at a university which is where your pay will come from, funding for your excavations will come from various grants and labor will most likely be in the form of graduate students or local help in the form of seasonal or migrant workers.
You need a solid education to be an archaeologist, most universities require their professors to have PhD's which means you will need to be good at pretty much anything school related.
As for religion, it can be a motivator and there are religious archaeologists out there but for most it is not a factor.
There is a misconception about archaeology that it is something you can just walk in and apply for and work your way up like a normal business job but the truth is that it is not companies who hire archaeologists. Sure you can get a job in CRM as a hole puncher (you walk around with a metal poker and punch equidistant holes in the ground looking for artifacts) but chances are you will not be involved on any digs because the company you work for will then call out the state archaeologist to decide what to do with the site. It is a lot of work and a career that can be incredibly rewarding if you are passionate about it.