Archaeologists in SA

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Good day,

I didn't know where to post this, but since "wealth" factors into it I thought I'd post it here. I've been trying to find archaeology jobs in SA and I have been coming up empty. Are there any archaeologists on here that can tell me if there's a website I can look at for vacancies? My husband has always wanted to enter the field. He studied anthropology and wants to do a master's in archaeology, but I'm worried he won't find work after he has completed the master's. We are not in our 20s anymore we have to be practical with our career choices. He is not expecting to earn a lot, but he does need to be able to find employment. If the field is hard to get into then he will probably end up doing another course.

Thanks

I've spoken to two aspiring archaeologists over the past decade and the sad reality is you can only become one once someone dies. It's such a small niche field.

You would need to work towards a Phd (it's all about the title) and nobody does it for the money.

Most in the industry work as assistants.

On the other hand, being a geologist is a far more lucrative field as you get to work for mines and travel. I've spoken to a couple over the years as I always found it an interesting field - I'm a software engineer but would not mind becoming a geologist.

 

[Hemi300c]

Stay hete in SA there's plenty of shyte to dig up on the anc and cadres.

Just kidding good luck in your ventures

 

[Hamster]

Jurassic Park would be a paleontologist.

Right...

@curds, Jurassic Park is off the table but Indiana Jones treasure hunting is a go!

 

[Napalm2880]

I sent Kevin Cole a couple of samples of petrified wood from the Morgan's Bay area. We had a great chat about what's out there and sadly underfunding is a big issue in SA as you can imagine.

We have one of the largest stromatolite deposits in the world near Kei Mouth for instance, but unlike Shark Bay in Aus, nobody knows Kei Mouth for it.

I've met Kevin a few times, great man!

I'm planning a trip to Kei Mouth in December, that's facinating.

There are so many historical sites along the wild coast that remain unexplored. I believe many years ago there was a Portuagese vessel that sailed up the Kei for safe haven during a storm. It became stranded on a sandbank and the sailors walked from there up to Lourenço Marques (Now Maputo). It was either Kevin or the late Carl Vernon that told me this story but they figured it out because they were exploring 5km up from the river mouth and found trees that looked totally out of place. On closer inspection the trees were native to Portugal and must have come from the Portuagese vessel. They managed to tie everything together with journals from the surviving sailers. Incredible!

 

[^^vampire^^]

You can work for the ANC... they keep digging up Jan.

 

[curds]

I've spoken to two aspiring archaeologists over the past decade and the sad reality is you can only become one once someone dies. It's such a small niche field.

You would need to work towards a Phd (it's all about the title) and nobody does it for the money.

Most in the industry work as assistants.

On the other hand, being a geologist is a far more lucrative field as you get to work for mines and travel. I've spoken to a couple over the years as I always found it an interesting field - I'm a software engineer but would not mind becoming a geologist.

Wow! Sad to see the field isn't well funded here. I'm obviously concerned about finding employment, but we don't need much. Before the pandemic, we earned a very comfortable salary but gave it up for many reasons, but one of them is that you spent way too much time at work to be unhappy. Everyone is welcome to do what's best for them of course. I saw geology in SA is a more lucrative field just surprised about archaeology.

 

[curds]

They managed to tie everything together with journals from the surviving sailers. Incredible!

The thrill of discovery. Definitely a perk of archaeology. Who knows how many stories like this are out there hopefully one day the field will flourish in SA so we can discover them all.