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Archaeologists learn about the past by studying sites, excavating, classifying, recording and preserving objects.
You could work: evenings / weekends; flexibly
You could:
You could work in an office, at a university, in a museum or visit sites.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job through:
Most professional archaeologists have a degree and many also have a postgraduate qualification.
You can do a degree in archaeology or a degree that specialises in the different aspects of the work, like:
You can search for higher education courses and see what the entry requirements are on British Archaeological Jobs and Resources.
Postgraduate qualifications can be particularly useful if you want to:be a researcher; teach archaeology in higher education; specialise in a particular area of archaeology
You'll usually need:
You could gain relevant skills through an archaeological technician advanced apprenticeship. Then you could move on to do an archaeological specialist degree apprenticeship.
The degree apprenticeship typically takes 36 months to complete as a mix of learning in the workplace and off-the-job study at an approved university.
You can look for vacancies with organisations like:local authorities; national parks; consultancies; archaeological contractors
You'll usually need:
Competition for courses and jobs is very strong. It's essential that you get practical experience.
Local and regional archaeological associations often have programmes of field activities that you can join. You can look for volunteering opportunities through websites like the Council for British Archaeology.
It can be useful to have experience of things like:computer aided design (CAD); illustration; geographical information systems (GIS)
You can join the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists for professional development training and networking opportunities.
You'll find more advice on how to become an archaeologist from the Council for British Archaeology.
To support your career progression you may find it useful to join a professional body like the Chartered Institute of Archaeologists.
As an archaeologist you could work with commercial land developers, on public sector funded projects or in academic and specialist research.
With experience, you could:progress to a senior role like site supervisor or director; become an expert in a particular field; teach degree courses; work as a freelance consultant