Archaeology Jobs and Job Conditions (UK)
Archaeology Jobs
Archaeology Job Conditions
This page contains information (my own research and others), reports, and links to websites on the archaeology job market in the UK. I hope this can be of help to you.
Want to Know the Going Rate for Your Position (Beta):
The following map provides a listing, for the UK in 2010, of archaeology (rescue/commercial) jobs: Excavator, Supervisor, Field Officer, Project Manager, Consultant, Illustrator/Graphics Officer and Specialist. The data was collected from job advertisements on the IfA job information bulletins (Thanks to the IfA for providing the past postings) and BAJR (thank you to David for providing me with that data). Most employers do not use the same job titles making it hard to categorize jobs. Positions are grouped first by description (if provided), then by ether title or pay to determine what category a job fell into. Some positions appear to be a lumping of multiple positions in which case a best effort was put forth to categories the posting. Please email if you feel a job was miss-categorized.
(BETA) This map is a work in progress. Planned additions include:
- Additional positions
- Overview of Jobs in all of the UK
At the bottom of this page you will find additional maps for the years 2008-2010 mapping each position instead of by region.
View Larger Map
Want to Know Job Trends:
Landward Research Ltd. website has the most up-to-date information on current trends in British Archaeology.
Landward also has three larger reports on the profession of archaeology:
Archaeology Labour Market Intelligence: profiling the profession 2002-03
Profiling the Profession: a survey of archaeological jobs in the UK (1997-98)
Looking for a Job Now:
ArcheaoJobs has a list of all of the job posting sites, for archaeology, so you can check out all the possible sites.
BAJR jobs website is a great site for current job postings. There is usually anywhere from 6-12 job postings on at one time. The jobs are mainly concentrated in the UK but some jobs from other countries are occasionally posted as well.
Jobs Information Service from the IfA has a huge range of job postings. It is free to members but costs about £60 for non-members.
If you want to cold call organizations the IfA has a list of archaeology firms. It is updated yearly so most of the firms listed are still in business. Also, BAJR has a list of companies, not just UK but most of Europe, that you could cold call as well.
The following are google maps of job postings on the IfA job information service from 2008-2010 and BAJR (2010 only). This should help you determine what you should be paid.
NOTE- clicking on larger map hyperlink will take you to google maps but it will also allow you to see a full list of the jobs without having to click on every single icon.
Excavator
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Supervisor
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Field Officer
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Project Manager
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Specialist
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Consultant
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Illustrator / Graphics Officer
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Archaeology Jobs, UK- Specialists | Doug's Archaeology →
April 6th, 2011 → 1:56 pm[...] Skip to content HomeAbout Doug and this WebsiteCV and PublicationsHelpful WebsitesJob Conditions in the UK ← The Barriers to Archaeology: Past Publications and the [...]
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Is a IFA membership worth it? | Doug's Archaeology →
April 7th, 2011 → 1:08 pm[...] Profession and Research Skip to content HomeAboutCV and PublicationsHelpful WebsitesJob Conditions in the UK ← Archaeology Jobs, [...]
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Excavator Job Maps: Now with BAJR data | Doug's Archaeology →
April 19th, 2011 → 8:40 pm[...] Profession and Research Skip to content HomeAboutCV and PublicationsHelpful WebsitesJob Conditions in the UK ← UK Archaeology Jobs Map [...]
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Job Map of the UK: Project Managers and Above | Doug's Archaeology →
April 26th, 2011 → 8:57 pm[...] Profession and Research Skip to content HomeAboutCV and PublicationsHelpful WebsitesJob Conditions in the UK ← Archaeology PhD Programs: Can We Do [...]
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Archaeology Consultant Jobs UK with BAJR data | Doug's Archaeology →
September 23rd, 2011 → 5:43 pm[...] Archaeology Job Conditions (UK) [...]
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Made a Ticker for Archaeology Jobs in the UK and Europe | Doug's Archaeology →
October 1st, 2011 → 1:27 pm[...] United Kingdom (UK)- Archaeology Job Conditions [...]
Allison C. (@keyofmgy)
November 20, 2011
Hi, Doug–would you be able to offer any advice on good places to look for excavator work in the UK? I’ve recently found myself in the position of needing to start my life over from scratch and am seriously considering moving to the UK to do it. I have a degree in history with a minor in anthropology and took all three archaeology courses my university had to offer (I was very lucky that Field Techniques in Archaeology was offered while I was there, so I do have a little field experience). I’d thought to pursue a museum career but it’s turned out to be near-impossible, and I’ve always loved archaeology, so thought finding a job as a digger might be easier. However, all the job searches I’ve run so far have only turned up supervisory or higher position. Help and advice would be extremely appreciated.
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
November 20, 2011
I sent you an email. Let me know if you didn’t get it.
Allison C. (@keyofmgy)
November 20, 2011
I did get it and I really, really appreciate it. Thank you.
jayjayaurelio
May 9, 2012
Hello I wonder if you could give me some advice, I have recently studied Fdsc Field Archaeology and will finish my BA Roman Archaeology course next month, I have about 4 months experience of digging mainly abroad in Cyprus,Finland but also on filed schools at Silchester and the Durotriges project. I have been considering what to do next, I have heard you cannot get a job unless you have an MA is this true and if it is is there any other way I can get a arch job without an MA. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
May 9, 2012
Hi Jay,
Can you be a little more specific about what sort of job in archaeology you would like? For many jobs you can absolutely get jobs with a BA or none at all (rare but it happens), Though some jobs an MA helps. Can you give me an idea of what you are looking at?
jayjayaurelio
May 9, 2012
Thanks for the quick reply I was considering becoming an excavator or supervisor? although my main interest is Roman Archaeology I would imagine I would need to specialise if I wanted to go into a Roman related area. I have about 4 months of experience not sure if this would be enough?.
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
May 9, 2012
Well, you will start out as an excavator but you can work your way up to supervisor pretty quick. You DO NOT need a MA for commercial archaeology work at all. Though you have to be willing to travel.
Do you have a drivers license?
Do you have your safety card?
Are you willing to travel?
Yes, you will have to specialize to do just Roman archaeology but give commercial archaeology ago for a little while. Find out if you like it or not. It will also expose you to a very wide range of archaeology and you might find a different interest.
If you want to do just Roman archaeology that will be tough most specialists, non-academic, work freelance but the work is not steady so they usually have a part time job somewhere else.
What does your CV look like. Send it to me and I will give you some pointers on it. drocks.macqueen at gmail . com