ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the essential qualities of someone seeking to become an archaeologist and presents some of the career opportunities. It talks about training to become an archaeologist and about the job prospects as a professional. The chapter discusses other ways of enjoying the past. 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. A 1999 study of American archaeologists found that only about 35 percent worked in academia, and the number is shrinking every year. Many highly important contributions to archaeology come from amateurs, often members of local archaeological societies, who participate in digs and keep an eye out for new discoveries in their areas.
