Often left out of academic training in archaeology is the practical details of finding a job, living on the road, and use of basic technical tools. Webster aims to fill in some of the details and provide tips in this book written for those wishing to become a technician in cultural resource management (CRM) archaeology. It begins with a reference to the Shovelbums website and proceeds to provide details on preparing a curriculum vitae, writing a good cover letter, interviewing well, essential gear to have, likely projects for which one might be hired, tips for staying in hotels and camping, making use of the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid, an explanation of township and range coordinates, making sense of Smithsonian Trinomials, preparation of maps, things to know about dimensional lumber, the Munsell Book of Color, and recommendations for handling temporary unemployment. Six appendixes provide examples of resumes and cover letters, useful questions one could ask in an interview, further information on dimensional lumber, and fieldwork and winter checklists. Annotation ©2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
Chris Websters handy, informative guide outlines what it take to become an archaeological technician, a field worker in cultural resource management (CRM) archaeology. Based on his popular blog feature, Shovelbums Guide, Webster offers young archaeologists useful advice about CRM work, including writing, cooking in hotel rooms, hand-mapping, surviving unemployment, life after archaeology, and more. It provides tools new CRM archaeologists need to get hired and to live life on the road in a fluctuating job market, as well as details on how to succeed as a field archaeologist. Appendices cover sample job hunting documents and checklists for fieldwork. If you will be pursuing a position in this dynamic, challenging field, this book is a must-read both before you apply for that first job and once you get one.