Careers in Archaeology

There are many resources for learning about careers in archaeology. The Society for American Archaeology (the SAA) has an excellent collection of resources for students of any age and for anyone interested in learning about the realities of the field. These include short brochures with helpful links, such as “The Path to Becoming an Archaeologist“, “Careers in Archaeology“, and many others. The SAA Archaeological Record, an online and print magazine, offers archaeology news, commentary, articles, and job listings, and is accessible for download or online viewing. For college students considering graduate school in archaeology, be sure to read Professor Keith Kintigh’s Applying to Graduate School in Archaeology, which was published in the SAA Archaeological Record in 2004 (but still has great advice over a decade later). A more recent publication I recommend is Success Strategies for a Career in Archaeology (2015) by Claire Smith, Jillian Garvey, Heather Burke, and Ines Domingo Sanz and published in Archaeologies, the journal of the World Archaeological Congress. Lastly, be sure to explore some helpful archaeology blogs, which are written for students, scholars, and the interested public.

I also recommend checking out the websites of professional organizations, including the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), the American Anthropological Association (AAA), the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA), American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), the World Archaeological Congress (WAC), and the Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA).

There are also great magazines that focus on archaeological discoveries across the globe. Archaeology Magazine is published by the AIA, American Archaeology is published by the Archaeological Conservancy, and both Smithsonian and National Geographic feature archaeology in their online and print publications.