Advice for a potential career changer

[Sith]

A friend has expressed an interest in a second caree in archaeology when he leaves the army in a year or so. As someone who started out as a scholboy volunteer and has done nothing but work in archaeology since, I'm not really best placed to advise him. However, I'm sure some of you will have ideas on the best courses and approaches to take.

Before anyone says it, he claims to be more interested in doing something he enjoys than in the earning potential or career prospects.

[the invisible man]

Call me old fashioned, but I'd strongly suggest studying for a degree in archaeology.

[BAJR]

Will never catch on ;)

Start by doing some... volunteer ! depending on where in the country... I always say before changing to archaeology see if you like it!

[Windbag]

Good advice Hosty,
I suspect a previous career in the army will be good preparation for a career in commercial field archaeology, minus the IEDs of course.

[trowelfodder]

Maybe Vader Maull and Palpatine Consultancy could offer an archaeological taster?

[Sith]

Maybe Vader Maull and Palpatine Consultancy could offer an archaeological taster?

We could, however, all we can offer by the way of experience is tea making and shouting at contractors and curators.

[Kel]

I'm pretty much smack in the middle of doing the same thing myself. I did as much volunteer work as I could fit in around my day job. First thing I'd advise is to get on a dig and see if you enjoy it. There's a lot of donkey work in less-then-great weather - but then being ex-army, I suspect this won't be a deal-breaker. My first excavation convinced me to go for it.

My next move was to go to university and I'm in the middle of a full-time degree course at the moment. Don't know if that's the right move for everyone, but general advice I've had is that a degree is the minimum entry requirement for any commercial or academic archaeology job. This may just be propaganda, but I'm taking it at face value - it's a very competitive job market. I'm combining study with getting as much practical experience as possible in holidays and volunteering to do bits and pieces around campus. I reckon some post-ex experience will be as useful as the digging side. Find the course that's right for you. Is there one area that you particularly enjoy and can you find a course specific to that? e.g. Roman, prehistoric, practical fieldwork, archaeological science...

If you go down the uni route, be prepared for a major financial hit. My repayable student loans so far add up to over £10k and I'm only half way through my course. A lot of my colleagues need part-time jobs just to stay afloat and these are hard to come by right now.

I'm also not taking it as read that 'll actually be able to get a job at the end of all this. Could be that I'll end up on the tills at Tesco in due course, but at least I'll have had a great time and will have a skillset that lets me do more volunteer work in holidays. Have a Plan B, just in case.

[BAJR Host]

Have a Plan B, just in case. always have a plan B, C D and then if all else fails... er... E

Though seriously, that was good advice... do what you like..