Floors That Need Swept: Unexpected Opportunities and Unlikely Paths in Archaeology

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.

While university programs struggle to prepare early career archaeologists for opportunities beyond the academy and while we are often trained as specialists within our field, many of us find success beyond our silos by accepting unexpected opportunities to advance our careers, feed our ambitious spirits, or pay the bills. This paper discusses the secret of saying “yes,” and how I built a 20-year career in the government and private sectors by leaning into the uncomfortable and unknown, and embracing the philosophy that there is value and experience in sweeping any floor that needs swept. I use my own journey from video store clerk, to graduate anthropology instructor, to National Park Service archeologist, to Florida’s State Historic Preservation Officer, to Senior Project Manager at SEARCH to discuss why distinguishing our career paths from our specialties and expectations is a practical philosophy that can lead to success, enjoyment, and fulfillment.

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