Archaeologist Salary

The most popular and the coolest archaeologist of the world would most definitely be Indiana Jones. This character from Spielberg's, landmark Indiana Jones series, has probably inspired a lot of people to take-up this highly adventurous career option. Anyway, it doesn't matter much what inspires you to choose archeology as a career option, but a few important basics like, what does an archaeologist actually do, what all degrees would you need to become an archaeologist, and what is the average annual salary of an archaeologist; do need to be answered before starting out to become an archaeologist.

Archaeologist Job Description
A lot of exciting discoveries are in store while pursuing a career in archeology. An archaeologist needs to examine and research past cultures, ancient artifacts and also any other remains found beneath the surface of the earth and oceans. For this purpose an archaeologist has to excavate and analyze ancient artifacts. The archaeologist spends a lot of time, preparing, planning and analyzing the site and the methods to be applied for excavation. Post excavation, the archaeologist needs to prepare a detailed report and present papers about his findings. Thus, the four important factors of an archaeologist's job are recovery, documentation, analysis and interpretation. Enjoying outdoor traveling, and having a problem solving attitude are a couple of aspects of your personality, which will make the work a little easier.

Archaeologist Educational Qualifications
As archeology has a few technical aspects attached to it, a good knowledge of subjects like geology, geography, chemistry and history is expected. A 4-year bachelor's degree in Anthropology is recommended. Most of the jobs in the archaeological field require people with a master's degree. Either MA or MS is fine with a specialization in either of the following subjects - Prehistoric Archeology, Industrial Archeology, Conservation of historic objects or Biomedical and Forensic Egyptology. This should take anywhere from 1 to 3 years. A PhD is needed in case you want to become a professor or handle really large projects. This would add up to another 4 or more years of studying. So in case you end up with your studies till you reach the wrong side of your 30s, don't worry, its natural!

Apart from this, you need to gain some practical experience (field work) by working with local archaeological groups, or may be work as an apprentice with a successful and established archaeologist. This will only add to your credentials, once you have finished your studies.

Archaeologist Salary
A career in archeology is not a very high paying one, as compared to the other options. A lot of factors go into determining an archaeologist's salary. An archaeologist's salary range is generally from US $28,849 to $117,446 depending upon your educational background, your employer and also the amount of work experience you possess. The salaries also vary across regions.

The average salary of an archaeologist at the start would be around US $28,849 for rookies and as at present, there is great a demand for these individuals, the brightest of these can get as high as $117,446. To understand the average archaeologist salary better, kindly make note of the table below:

Average Archaeologist Salary - On Basis of Degree

Degree	Average Salary
Bachelor Of Arts (Anthropology)	US $24,161 to $72,510
Master of Arts (Anthropology)	US $35,423 to $74,758
PhD (Anthropology)	US $42,638 to $77,864

Average Archaeologist Salary - On Basis of Experience

Years of Experience	Average Salary
1 to 4 years	US $28,849 to $117,446
5 to 9 years	US $24,161 to $51,294
10 to 19 years	US $36,291 to $79,405
20 years +	US $51,500 to $73,600

Average Archaeologist Salary - On Basis of Employer

Type of Employer	Average Salary
Company	US $29,133 to $79,702
Private Firm	US $35,000 to $45,239
Federal Govt.	US $34,905 to $83,545
State Govt.	US $27,963 to $58,500

We learn from the above data that the average salaries are more, when it comes to Government jobs or private firms, compared to University or nonprofit organizations. A government job is the most lucrative and sought after, as it pays well, besides employing the largest number of archaeologists. However, a job in this sector is highly competitive.

If you work hard you shouldn't really bother much about the salary. Sincerity and perseverance seldom goes unnoticed or unrewarded. Or just as Dr. Jones said, "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage!"