“Commercial archaeology jobs pay better than government jobs in the United States”
Not sure how that saying got started but it is not 100% accurate. Using FedScope I took a look a look at pay for the US federal government archaeologists (only positions listed as archaeology there are several archaeology based positions but sometimes they are characterized as museums, anthropology, general social scientist etc. ). I also took a look at the average years of experience needed against pay (2011 data) and there are some very interesting results-
| $30,000 – $39,999 | $40,000 – $49,999 | $50,000 – $59,999 | $60,000 – $69,999 | $70,000 – $79,999 |
| 3.2 yrs. exp. | 3.3 | 6.2 | 11.6 | 16.5 |
| $80,000 – $89,999 | $90,000 – $99,999 | $100,000 – $109,999 | $110,000 – $119,999 | $120,000 – $129,999 | $130,000 or more | $140,000 – $149,999 | $150,000 – $159,999 | $160,000 – $169,999 |
| 19.2 | 20.4 | 22.5 | 26.5 | 24.7 | 27 | 27.3 | 29.4 | 38.5 |
An archaeologists working for the federal government actually does better against beginning positions in the commercial sector that require similar amounts of experience. However when you get to the middle management positions in the commercial sector which require around 5+ years of experience the pay is similar but still less. Senior positions are a little more equal in pay for years of experience but again less. However, as the ACRA survey has shown some archaeologists can make up to $300,000 a year and government employees can’t (As pointed out by Jennifer that is mainly for owners). These are all averages so one should look at their circumstances and decided if their pay in the commercial sector is comparable to the government. However, in general it looks like government positions pay better on average than commercial jobs for similar levels of experience with the caveat being that commercial has the potential to make more money for senior positions.
I personally know some archaeologists who have been shovelbumming for 20 years and still make under 30k a year. On the other hand there are some archaeologists fresh out of school with 50k jobs, though not so much any more (that was the western US, pre-2008 crash).
If you would like to chime in and leave a comment about how much you make against the fed. average for archaeologist with comparable experience it would be interesting to see if these numbers actually line up. (remember there is a much higher pay, around 10% to 25%+, for those that work in the western US)
Doug's Archaeology 
Jennifer Palmer
March 31, 2012
Interesting info. I think you should note that those $300k archaeologists are the company owners (although most owners of mom and pop companies I’ve known make considerably less than that).
I’ve always thought the entry-level fed jobs paid better (at least on the east coast). There is also the factor of weighing in hotel and per diem on CRM field projects vs govt tech positions. Having your lodging paid for with food money kicked in can offset the benefit of making a few dollars more on a seasonal archy job with the feds.
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
March 31, 2012
Fed. pays a per diem and lodging if you work x (forgot the number think its 50 or 70) miles from your base of work. Mind you most fed. jobs don’t leave the base of work but I have got hotel and lodging from my one fed. job. I also didn’t get paid by commercial companies if it was too close to their office. I imagine that there is great variability from job to job, project to project, field season to season, region to region, between everyone.
Lumbergh
March 31, 2012
Doug– Interesting. Looks like part of the pasted salary vs experience table has been cut off, though. Can you resize so we can see the full range? Thanks for doing this research.
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
March 31, 2012
yes, there is some weird think going on with wordpress. I may have to make it a image and re-post it. i will get on that.
Lumbergh
March 31, 2012
Like many in my region (south-central/SW US) I have my eye on the senior fed positions (Corps of Engineers, etc. — GS-12 and up) as an eventual career goal. My colleagues and I are always amazed by the salary ranges listed for these high GS levels and (sometimes) the relatively low level of required experience, which gets us dreaming about the possibilities (despite our realization that the experience listed in job postings is only a minimum and that these are often “career capstone” positions for people who have spent 20-30 years in consulting, state agencies, etc.).
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
March 31, 2012
I am actually trying to find the number of applicants for Fed. jobs. I have a sneaking suspicion that the low requirements means lots of people apply. Also, you get points on your application for being a veteran or having worked previously for the gov. My understanding is that if you already have a gov. job your front of the line to get any other gov. job as long as you meet the min. requirements. Usually, most gov. employers get a list spit out by USAjobs on who they can choose and never actually see the full application list. This list is put together on a point system based on things like exp. but also, gov exp., etc.
This puts a lot of private sector archs. at a disadvantage as they may have more experience but no previous fed. exp., which at the moment gets lots of points in the system. Usually, you have to work your way up the varies GS ranks, means lots of moving around, to get the top. On the flip side I have heard of one or two commercial archs getting the GS 12+ but in seems to be the exception not the rule.
Lumbergh
March 31, 2012
Sorry to vomit verbiage all over this thread, but one other point that I’ve been discussing with colleagues lately… like any aspect of private business, the possibility of owner-level money in consulting is tempered by several downsides: the rarity of such positions, the stress of having the fate of a firm and all its people on your shoulders, and for non-owner but still high-level positions, the risk of running out of work to which you can bill your expensive hours (say about $120-200/hr fully loaded rate, corresponding to about $45-70/hr actual pay). This is the sword of Damocles hanging over every senior project manager in environmental, cultural, engineering, etc.
To me, one of those top-of-the-charts quarter-million-dollar owner positions is probably about equivalent to a high-GS ($120-150k) federal review/oversight job, once you consider hours required, stress level, and risk of failure. An agency acquaintance of mine was recently offered a senior position at a private firm for 50% more salary, but he turned it down, saying “why would I want 50% more money for 100% more stress and hours?”
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
March 31, 2012
I think the same goes for any job. Lots of gov. archs I talk to say its great pay but the paper work is ridiculous. I remember the paper work we had to fill out to take a trip up to Aztec to move a dozen ceramics down to Abq. took almost as many hrs in paper work as it did to do the job.
The trick I am told is num yourself to paperwork and enjoy the higher salary AND benefits
Lumbergh
March 31, 2012
And then of course another current issue changing the public/private calculus is reductions in those benefits and no movement on those salaries. In my state, retirement vesting rules are changing, as are agency vs employee contributions to medical plans, plus I believe salaries are frozen. That last point is true for the federal world for I think 2 years, isn’t it? If that kind of stuff continues to happen, those federal and other public positions will look less and less inviting.
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
April 2, 2012
Yes, this next election will really determine what direction pay and benefits goes for fed. archaeologists.
Cindy
April 4, 2012
When a Fed job is posted and it is ‘flown’ internally and publicly, the internal pool is examined first for minimum qualifications. If there is a veteran it is highly likely they will receive the position even if they only have minimum qualifications. Only if the pool of internal applicants is small do the public applicants get considered even if they are highly qualified. It’s a bit like the tenure system – once in you’ve got it made. This is my FS experience, not sure on the other Fed departments.
Please note, I’m not anti-veteran. Some of them are amazing archaeologists, but the system is oddly skewed on several points.
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
April 4, 2012
That is my understanding of it as well. I also think spouses of fed. workers get a pretty high pecking order as well. I knew a couple who only needed to get one of them in a job then the other pretty much was picked up right after, completely different job/department but they still had pull.
Cindy
April 5, 2012
I think that’s something they’ve cracked down on in recent years. I know the Forest Supervisor in our area was death on nepotism and/or people getting positions w/out going through the standard process, though the history of the same w/in the Forest was ludicrous.
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
April 5, 2012
My understanding, which may be wrong, is not so much nepotism as when someone moves states, changes jobs, etc. a special dispensation was made for spouse to make moves easier. That is is one person had to move the Fed. would do their best to help the spouse find a job, usually with in the gov. as that is the only thing they can really influence. Though my under standing of this might be wrong. The people I talked to worked for the DOD which might have different rules.
Cindy
April 8, 2012
Actually, now that you mention it, I think that happened very recently in our area. Someone who applied for a job had a spouse that had just been hired w/in the area at another gov’t agency. It was definitely mentioned as a plus for this person.