Paying the Price for Passion: Navigating Compensation Realities in US Academic Archaeology

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Transformations in Professional Archaeology" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This paper explores the complex realm of compensation realities encountered by academic archaeologists by examining the interplay between salary structures and regional cost of living variations. A hyper-competitive job market and the gradual decline of tenure track job availability have had profound effects on early-career scholars’ prospects and institutional stability, with resulting burdens on contingent faculty straining academic quality, research output, and student mentorship. Furthermore, gendered and racial salary disparities persist across US academia, with broader cross-disciplinary studies revealing that women and BIPOC academics continue to earn less than their white male counterparts. In this study, we evaluate discrepancies in compensation across professional ranks and geographic locations within US academic archaeology, drawing on public salary databases and cost of living indices. We conclude with a discussion on how potential collaborative efforts, institutional reforms, and policy interventions might enhance future financial stability and equitable treatment for professionals across the spectrum of archaeological practice.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Transformations in Professional Archaeology

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39295.0