From The Known To The Unknown: The Case For Mentorship In Advancing Archaeology Careers

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Breaking Free from the (Institutional) Matrix: Archaeological Career Pathways In and Between Academia, CRM, Non-Profit, and Museum Spheres", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Mentoring relationships act as engines of opportunity for launching or sustaining careers, but are relatively rare in archaeology circles. Mentors serve as resource libraries, professional confidants, and entry points into broader networks. We support careers moving from the “known to the unknown," translating the dynamics of university, industry, or nonprofit workplaces. Professional associations and private companies invest in them. So, why does such an old-school method of “getting ahead” persist? And why is mentoring not more popular or formalized across our discipline? This paper takes an interdisciplinary and personal look at mentoring as a valuable addition to professional development. It examines the amplifying effect of mentors and their role in shaping pathways. Examples of programs outside the academy are discussed to highlight how these support alt-ac trajectories. It will also consider how mentorship sparks multiple benefits by advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, fostering shared experiences, and cultivating professional presence.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Breaking Free from the (Institutional) Matrix: Archaeological Career Pathways In and Between Academia, CRM, Non-Profit, and Museum Spheres   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow