How Do I Become an Archaeologist?
Archaeology is a very broad subject and within it are a wide range of specialisms, from excavating in the field, geophysical survey, finds interpretation, chemical analysis in laboratories and dating techniques to forensic investigation for the police.
Additionally the period of the past that you are interested can also become your specialist area, whether it’s Prehistory, Roman, Medieval or Industrial archaeology.
So archaeologists enter the profession through a wide variety of routes and courses reflect this broad range of disciplines. The most important question therefore is: what sort of archaeologist do I want to be? If you already have a passion for an area of the subject then you may have already answered this question. If not then we’d suggest you do some volunteering to get a flavour of what you’re interested in (see the section on volunteering).
We have tried to answer the most common questions that we receive in the following sections of this ‘How do I become an archaeologist?’ FAQ (a copy of the whole FAQ is available to download from our factsheets page):
What qualifications do I need to be an archaeologist?
Where can I find out about jobs in archaeology??
More answers can be found on the main FAQ page.
