HOW DO I GET A JOB IN ARCHAEOLOGY?
Jobs in the UK
There are over 5000 men and women employed in archaeology in the U.K. They contribute over £100 million to our economy each year.
Surprising isn't it? But "heritage" is one of the UK's most valuable assets. It's mainly responsible for the 31.6 million visits (to September 2006) from overseas. It also plays a part in the decisions of many UK residents to take a break within the UK.
Archaeologists used to be employed mainly in museums and universities. Nowadays, the majority are employed in what is called "Contract Archaeology". Local Authorities have to follow planning guidelines (PPG16) that mean they can instruct developers to pay for archaeological investigations before a site is developed. Most developers go to an outside contractor - just as they might go to firms of builders, architects or engineers - to get their archaeology done. There's a good list of these archaeological contractors at www.bajr.org . Some are just one-man bands, but others are large companies employing hundreds of trained archaeologists.
