ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the career opportunities, training, and personal qualities needed to become an archaeologist. It examines some of the ways you can contribute without becoming one and end with a summary of the basic ethics of archaeology for everyone. Brian became an archaeologist by accident, having entered Cambridge University in England without any idea of potential careers. A generation ago, almost all archaeologists were faculty members at academic institutions or worked in museums or research institutions. Purely academic archaeology still dominates both undergraduate and graduate training, and there are many people who enter graduate school with the resolute ambition of becoming a 'traditional' research scholar. Most archaeology in North America and many parts of Europe is now conducted as cultural resource management (CRM) projects, much of it mandated by law. This means that most academic archaeology in American universities is carried out overseas, most commonly in Europe, Mesoamerica, or the Andes.
