Just curious

[porchdawg]

Has anyone ever been invited or volunteered to work on any archiologist projects in the U.S. ?

If so how was it?

[j.d. in missouri]

here you go bud, its long story but well worth the read, I am a certified "Archaeological Field Technician" I went to college for history and archaeology... I did field work in NJ in the late 80's early 90's... this sums it up it was "heaven and hell". jd

What is an Archaeological Technician?
The people who go out into the heat, rain, and snow to
survey and record the information needed for
compliance reports (for Archaeology and Cultural
Resources required under Federal Law) are the true
work horses of the Cultural Resource Management
Industry. These legions of underpaid and unappreciated
people are the "Archaeological Technicians." But, what
exactly does it mean to be an "Archaeological
Technician?

The industry answer to this question depends upon
which side of the fence you are standing, and who is
asking the Question. The official definition is
forwarded by the U. S. Department of Labor. They are
solely responsible for determining the classes of
employment for Federal Contract work, but there are
Professionals in this industry who would like to have
technicians classed as "professionals" to suit their
egocentric view of themselves as scientists, and in
turn have techs classed as common laborers when it
comes to establishing pay levels. The UAFT is here to
announce to them that they can not have it both ways
and that this industry will have to accept and
acknowledge the important roll of the "Archaeological
Technician" in the CRM Industry.

U. S. Dept. of Labor Wage and Hour Division Service
Contract Act Directory of Occupations
29020 Archeological Technician
Provides technical support to professional
archeologist, utilizing a basic understanding of
anthropological and archaeological field techniques in
connection with locating, testing and evaluating
cultural resource sites. Conducts prefield office
research, field surveys and site testing, using a
variety of reference materials, interviews with source
individuals, aerial photographs and technical
instruments. Searches areas of proposed projects for
evidence of historic and prehistoric remains.
Determines exact location of sites and marks them on
maps and aerial photographs. Records information on
site survey form and prepares an archaeological
reconnaissance report needed for evaluation and
management of the project. Insures that work
assignments are carried out in safe and timely manner
according to established standards and procedures.
Reviews work in progress and reports to superiors
relative to the completion date and other standards
set in report. Cleans and catalogs artifacts recovered
from inventories and excavations.
Education and Experience
Although the technician is principally engaged in
field or lab work, nearly all will at one time or
another, during their tenure as an "Archaeological
Technician," be involved in every aspect of CRM work
listed above. What an Archaeological Technician can
never do is act as "Principal Investigator" on a
project or sign reports as a "Professional
Archaeologist." Professional Archaeologists must meet
the minimum experience and educational requirements
set forth by the U. S. Secretary of the Interior and
respective State Historic Preservation Officers.
Archaeological Technicians have no such educational
requirements beyond that which it takes to obtain "a
basic understanding of anthropological and
archeological field techniques..."

Some may argue that this means an Archaeological
Technician is little more than a laborer with some
limited skill. Never-the-less, a skill it is, and one
that develops greatly with years of experience in the
field. Regardless of their number of years in the
business, Professional Cultural Resource Managers gain
precious little field experience, and while they are
the acknowledge experts in professional research, they
may have only a fraction of the practical field
experience of the seasoned Archaeological Technicians
working on their projects. The analogy of the
difference between the Carpenter and the Architect
could be used to illustrate this relationship.

Where do Archaeological Technicians come from?
Technicians usually promote themselves for work by
circulating resume's to as many Consulting Companies
as possible. They rely on their body of experience to
win them a position on a field crew for the duration
of a single project. As a project ends they are forced
to repeat the process, seeking to sign on to the next
company with an upcoming field project. This system
works well until the supply of experienced Technicians
is exhausted. When this happens companies will begin
to hire large numbers of green students, relatives, or
anyone with a pulse to raise the crew size to the
level called for in their initial contract proposal.
After the experienced tech pool has run dry the
companies are only concerned about finding billable
bodies. This can result in field crews composed of
over 70% inexperienced workers, little useful field
research is accomplished under these circumstances,
and the companies know it. To add insult to injury,
the companies routinely pay the experienced and
inexperienced at or near the same hourly rate and
expect the experienced Technicians to train the
novices in the field.

How long do Archaeological Technicians stay around?
The sad truth is, that under present industry
conditions it is unusual for many Technicians to
remain in the industry for more than five years; the
average is only three years. Technicians seldom move
up in the industry, companies seem to prefer to hire
junior professionals fresh out of graduate school, and
nearly no companies offer their employees
opportunities to advance their education. Technicians
are frequently forced to seek better paying although
less rewarding work outside the industry to make ends
meet. This situation of constant turn over further
degrades the quality of field work by denying the
industry an adequate supply of trained and experienced
technicians.

What is causing experienced Archaeological Technicians
to leave CRM in such great numbers?
The working conditions of this industry are the
catalyst driving good people out of CRM. The following
profile and industry averages should serve to
illustrate this point. This information is based on
recent surveys and interviews of people working in the
field from across the country. These figures reflect
averages of responses to a range of similar questions,
some regional differences in working conditions do
occur.

Financial outlook (figures based on a three year
period)
Average total hours worked per year:
1,400
Number of months per year with some CRM work:
10
Average hourly wage:
$8.00/hr.
Average annual income (before taxes):
$11,200
Personal Job Related Expenses
Average amount of jobs requiring extensive travel:
90%
Average travel radius from home to work:
300 miles
Average number of States worked in per year:
3
Average number of companies worked for per year (based
on number of annual W-2's received):
4
Average annual uncompensated work related
out-of-pocket travel expenses (based on unpaid
mileage, meals, lodging):
$4,500
Average Adjusted Annual Income
(Annual "take-home-pay" after deduction of
uncompensated work related expenses):
$6,700
If paid the national average prevailing wage ($15/hr.)
the adjusted annual income for the same 1400 hours
would
only amount to $16,500. Less than a laborer or truck
driver.
Profile of Archaeological Technicians
Age average:
27
Age range:
19 to 62
Years in the field average:
4
(this figure is heavily weighted by respondents with
under two years of experience: the second most common
response was seven years)
Ratio of men to women Archaeological Technicians
2:1
Some telling percentages
Percentage of individuals with a college education:
70%
Of individuals with a college degree, number with
outstanding student loans:
80%
Of people with outstanding student loans, number
presently delinquent or in default:
35%
Percentage of individuals without health insurance:
90%
Percentage of individuals without a retirement plan:
90%
Percentage of individuals who rely on unemployment on
an annual basis:
50%
Percentage of individuals who have had to take jobs
out of their field to make ends meet:
50%
Percentage of individuals who have had to rely on
family or friends for housing while between jobs:
60%
Percentage of individuals who have no home or
apartment to return to on weekends or between jobs
(homeless):
70%
Percentage of individuals who find that what they earn
as an Archaeological Technician is not even enough to
meet basic living expenses:
70%
In-spite of these figures...
Percentage of individuals who are trying to make a
career as an Archaeological Technician:
65%
Of those who start out as Archaeological Technicians
percentage of individuals who will last more than
three years:
25%


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A Word of Warning to Those Who Would Consider a Career
as an Archaeological Technician
To be fair, there are some rewarding aspects to
Technician work in the CRM industry. Working in a
field that you truly care about is a reward all its
own. Working outdoors in good weather and meeting
fellow technician to share experiences and interests
with can be greatly rewarding. There is little
argument that there are fleeting moments of excitement
in working on an actual archaeological mitigation or
finding a previously unknown site. The magic of these
moments can be truly thrilling. Unfortunately none of
these thrilling moments will pay the bills. For those
who are independently wealthy there are plenty of
opportunities to work on real archaeological sites in
the U. S. and abroad as a volunteer. However, the CRM
industry is a for-profit-business, and it is herein
that the trouble lies.
The harsh reality of choosing work as an
Archaeological Technician is that you will be choosing
a life of poverty. Your credit will likely be ruined
because you will not be at one address long enough to
maintain regular monthly payments without the help of
your parents. This is a brutal brand of poverty
because by working at all you will not be eligible for
Medicaid assistance, or food stamps, or JPTA job
training assistance to improve your life. Your annual
take-home-pay will be less than a full time job at
minimum wage. In fact this hourly rate turns out to be
$3.22/hour. If you are faced with a major medical
expense you will be forced to file personal
bankruptcy. You will not be able to afford regular
dental or medical check-ups, these things will become
a luxury. If you get sick you will have to suffer
through it. You will also find that you will be forced
into the embarrassing situation of borrowing money
from your family just to survive (and you will likely
be unable to repay it). You will most likely be
homeless, relying on friends and family to put you up
between jobs.
These conditions are brought about because your
employer only cares about winning the contract as the
low bidder, and making his profit. These uncaring
greed mongers compete for contracts on the basis of
the lowest technician wages they can get away with
paying. On Federal Contracts this is expressly
illegal, but done just the same. Greedy contractors
care less about the quality of employees they attract
than they do about their profit, so left unchecked low
wages will continue to be the industry standard.
What You Can Expect From Work in CRM
Field work in CRM is labor intensive hard work. You
will develop calluses any pipefitter or carpenter
would be proud of. You will strain you back from
shoveling, hoisting buckets full of dirt, and pushing
wheelbarrows. You will hurt your knees and wrists form
hours of crouching down to trowel level after level of
dirt walls and floors. You will ware out countless
pairs of your own gloves screening ton after ton of
soil. You will work in ankle deep mud, screen wet and
frozen soil, and be exposed to hypothermia and
frostbite along with sunstroke and heat exhaustion.
You will be routinely exposed to poison ivy, ground
hornets, biting flies, mosquitoes, snake infested
swamps, and hayfever. You will be faced with
unsanitary and unsafe working conditions on a regular
basis, and if you get sick you are likely to loose
your job. Your knowledge of fieldwork will go
unappreciated unless the company gets behind in the
field and then it will go unrewarded. You will be
expected to keep detailed notes on scientific
observations but you will be given no time to write
them down on the wet and muddy paperwork that you will
be provided with. You will likely be treated with
disrespect and regarded as disposable property.
After work you return sweaty, muddy, and tired to a
motel room that you will likely be expected to share
with a sweaty, muddy, total stranger. You will likely
be expected to move out of your room every weekend,
and back in again at the start of the next week. Even
though this will be the only home you know for months
or years at a time you will have little or no privacy
or personal time. Your employer will most likely keep
you in the dark as to the work plan and duration of
the project. Often the only refuge from the job will
be found in a bottle, and your will likely find
yourself drinking too much, even if you would not
normally drink.
What to Expect From Your Employer
Expect that your employer is a business person and is
principally concerned about the bottom line. Do not
expect your employer to care greatly about the
archaeology or quality of field work. Your employer is
paid to deliver a CRM report, the appearance of this
document is the only important aspect of the contract.
If your employer can deliver an acceptable report,
even if it is based on fraudulent or fictitious field
information, he is likely to collect his money with no
consequences.
Do not expect humane treatment, or your employer to be
concerned about your welfare or the burdens his
project puts on your personal existence. Do not expect
your employer to care about your homeless situation or
your need to conduct banking or post office business
on a week day (weekends off are of little use to
someone trapped on the road with no home address).
Your employer is likely to turn you out of your hotel
room on your days off with no concern of you sleeping
in your car or under a bridge. Your employer is just
as likely to turn you out of your room if you get sick
or injured. You will be told that you are expendable!
And, to them you are!
You can also expect that your employer will be ill
prepared and unable to manage a field project. Expect
that they will be lacking in the major equipment
needed to perform field work. There is likely to be
ridiculous shortages of simple items such as shovels
and screens, 30 or 100 meter tapes needed to layout
grids and record finds, brush clearing equipment,
drinking water or toilets, or even enough vehicles to
get the crew safely into the field. There will be an
utter lack of major equipment needed such as transits
and survey gear, proper shelters to keep rain from
ruining excavations, or pumps and generators to keep
standing water out of units and block excavations.
Remember we told you that your employer is more
interested about profitability than archaeology, and
it shows in the field work.
Aside from poor field archaeology and a total
disregard for employee safety, you can also expect
many employers to jerk you around on your housing and
meal compensation (per diem). You can also expect to
be jerked around at payday. Company pay and perdiem
policies will be changed without notice to suit the
companies financial need regardless of promises made
to you at the start of the project. Expect to be
cheated. Expect to be lied to. Expect to be abused.
You can even expect to have your employer steal from
you. He will illegally steal your overtime hours and
federal required prevailing wages on government jobs.
Remember, money is the bottom line and your employer
won't be above breaking the law to get it.
What Your Employer Expects From You
Your employer will expect that you do not have a life
of your own. He will expect that you are trained and
educated (typically a BA degree is expected) all at
your own personal cost. They will expect that you are
ready and able to work in all weather conditions, and
that you supply all of your own rain gear and other
foul weather equipment (often including shelters).
They will expect that you supply most of your own
tools, and will pressure you to loan them to others
who show up less well equipped. They will expect you
to work silently with out proper instruction or
explanation of work plans, schedules, or project
goals.
What Your Employer Thinks of You
Your employer thinks you are an expendable piece of
equipment that can easily be replaced. They will treat
you as though you are stupid and unable to understand
your own job. You will be called derogatory names like
"Diggro, Shovel-bum, Wog, Field Trash." Your filthy
appearance after work will make you unwelcome at the
hotels where you stay, and your employers will act as
though this is your fault. Generally, you will be
despised as a necessary evil of the business and
treated accordingly.
What Your Employer Takes From You
Your employer will try to take your dignity, but that
is a cheap commodity compared to the federally
guaranteed Labor Rights your employer will try to deny
you. Your employers will routinely deny you the
following rights without fail.
OSHA Rights
Your right to a safe and healthful workplace
including:
A Posted Safety Plan, Regular Safety Meetings,
Adequate Drinking Water or Toilet Facilities,
Adequate access to Emergency Responders
Adequate protection in deep excavations
Adequate Shelter from severe weather
Safe transportation to remote job sites
Wage and Hour Rights
Your right to legal compensation for your work:
Prevailing Wage for work on federal contracts, the
national average is $15/ hour for this work
Holiday pay on all federal contracts
Mandatory benefits on federal contracts
Time- and-a-half for all overtime hours on all jobs
What Your Employer Gets From You
He gets a bargain basement labor force that is totally
disposable. He also gets a workforce with very little
overhead. Actual overhead on technicians is less than
10% for payroll expense, matching FICA, worker's-comp,
and unemployment insurance. In turn your employer
charges an average 100% overhead mark-up for your
services (perdiem and hotel are additional direct
expenses billed to the client). So for every dollar
your employer pays you, he makes a buck. That sounds
like a pretty good deal for the companies, at the
expense of the Technicians and the Taxpayers.
Such Are the Conditions in the CRM industry
If nothing is done, these conditions will only get
worse. If you are thinking of making a living in this
field with only an undergraduate degree, this will be
your fate. If you only want to do archaeology and
don't care about your income volunteer to work with
Earthwatch (680 Mt. Auburn St., PO Box 403, Watertown,
MA 02272). If you need to make a living, contact the
UAFT about improving your future.
What Can be Done About The Terrible Conditions That
Plague Archaeological Technicians in CRM?
Many Archaeological Technicians are fed-up with these
conditions and they have formed a Labor Union to fight
against this oppression. But, this fight will take
time and will not change the industry overnight. This
fight to claim workers rights will involve education,
investigation, lobbying, and hardship. But this
hardship pales in comparison to the oppression faced
on a daily basis in the CRM industry. If you are
interested in helping the struggle for workers rights
in CRM, contact the UAFT about joining the fight.

[porchdawg]

Geeze, I didn't know all that. So in other words there are no scrupples in the field. I thank you for your reply and perhaps we will meet in the field on hunt someday.