11th October 2005, 09:16 AM
Part of the problem, based on conversations with a variety of professors and lecturers, is that the universities do not see archaeology as a vocational degree. As such, they are attempting to turn out miniature versions of themselves (mini-academics) and not people qualified to work in the real world. People often compare archaeology to engineering and this is where the analogy falls down. In engineering, the majority of degrees, as far as I can tell, are designed to get you into the marketplace and include a year with a company learning how engineering is applied. Many of the engineers I know actually had their first job after university with the company at which they did their year out. Archaeology courses assume that you will learn the trade on the job, if you go into commercial archaeology, either by working for a unit or by volunteering. If archaeology courses changed to accomodate the modern commercial world then the graduates would be more employable and more aware of what to expect. It is clear that many graduates do not know what to expect when they graduate.
Cheers,
Eggbasket
Gentleman Adventurer and Periphrastic Sesquipedalian
Preternatural eventuation is an amaranthine potentiality
Cheers,
Eggbasket
Gentleman Adventurer and Periphrastic Sesquipedalian
Preternatural eventuation is an amaranthine potentiality