Archaeological Crew Chief


Top 5 Archaeology Job Search Resources

Earlier this month, I was talking to a fellow graduate student about the reasons why we both went back to school. My answer was straightforward: I went back to school in order to qualify for the highest level of CRM archaeology management. I also want to take my chances as […]


How to travel to archaeology conferences for free

Keywords: travel, archaeology research, conferences, archaeology job tips Hashtags: #SHA2014, #SAA2014, @succinctbill, @chrisguillebeau “As for study, did not our wise teacher teach us that learning was of two kinds: the one kind being the things we learned and knew, and the other being the training that taught us how to […]


Key differences between productive meetings and enormous time vacuums

While working for a well-known CRM archaeology firm, I was forced to take part in some of the most worthless meetings I’ve ever witnessed in my life. I won’t name where this took place, but many of you will immediately know the company once I describe the situation. At least […]


CRM Archaeology Podcast Recap, September 2013

I remember the first time I gave a presentation at a major archaeology conference. In 2005, I traveled to York, United Kingdom to give a speech at the Society for Historical Archaeology conference on what would become the focus of my MA thesis. The conference was during the first week […]


Should we be punishing the folks that do #freearchaeology?

I vacillate between anger and sadness for the people that do compliance heritage conservation or cultural resource management work for free. I understand we all need a way to break into the market. We all want to find jobs doing archaeology or architectural history or ethnography. I also recognize that […]


Are the Secretary of the Interior’s Archaeology Standards good enough?

Coming off of two weeks of intense debate about archaeological standards and accountability on the Archaeology Careerist’s Network, I felt like addressing the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards. I have talked to many folks that feel like these standards are not enough. Most graduate students and recent grads […]


How do we enforce accountability in cultural resource management

This post comes hot on the heels of a fiery debate on the Archaeology Careerist’s Network LinkedIn group about #freearchaeology (If you haven’t signed up for the LI group, you really should. And, I’m not just saying that because I’m the group’s manager. There have been some lively topics about […]


Conduct a SWOT analysis before your cultural resource management fieldwork

Sometimes, when I think back on my career in cultural resource management, I wonder if I even made any money for the companies I worked for in the beginning. I can recall an especially disastrous project where I ended up driving about 220 miles on an icy Interstate 90, risking […]


30-Minute Online Map Blitz for cultural resource managers

Here’s a scenario. You’ve been given a cultural resources survey project somewhere in the United States that is going down ASAP. You have no idea where this is. Neither do any of your co-workers or acquaintances. You do not have the records search yet and have no idea what archaeological […]