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Archeologists

Also called: Curator, Archaeologist, Project Director, Research Archaeologist

What they do:
Conduct research to reconstruct record of past human life and culture from human remains, artifacts, architectural features, and structures recovered through excavation, underwater recovery, or other means of discovery.
On the job, you would:
  • Write, present, and publish reports that record site history, methodology, and artifact analysis results, along with recommendations for conserving and interpreting findings.
  • Clean, restore, and preserve artifacts.
  • Study objects and structures recovered by excavation to identify, date, and authenticate them and to interpret their significance.

Knowledge

Arts and Humanities
  • history and archeology
  • English language
Math and Science
  • sociology and anthropology
  • geography
Engineering and Technology
  • computers and electronics
Education and Training
  • teaching and course design

Skills

Basic Skills
  • writing things for co-workers or customers
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Abilities

Verbal
  • read and understand what is written
  • communicate by speaking
Ideas and Logic
  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  • use rules to solve problems
Visual Understanding
  • see hidden patterns
  • quickly know what you are looking at
Attention
  • pay attention to something without being distracted

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include
ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Attention to Detail
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Integrity
  • Persistence
  • Cooperation
  • Dependability

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Map creation software
  • ESRI ArcView
  • Leica Geosystems ERDAS IMAGINE
Data base user interface and query software
  • Archeological Sites Management Information System ASMIS
  • Microsoft Access
Graphics or photo imaging software
  • Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop software
  • Graphics software

Education

Education: (rated 5 of 5)
doctoral/professional degree or
master's degree
usually needed

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Job Outlook

Average Outlook
New job opportunities are likely in the future.
Salary
$56,070
per year, on average
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about archeologists.