Finding a job in archaeology can feel a little bit daunting at times. Where do you look? What kind of job do you want? Who is hiring? These are all questions that we ask ourselves when looking for jobs. While you can always check out sites like LinkedIn, Monster, or Indeed, there are better, industry specific job boards you should really know about.
As different geographical areas of the world have different job boards, I’m going to break down this list by region. In addition to field work roles, this list will also include a variety of job boards that relate to different jobs one might have if they are looking for a non-field specific archaeology job. These non-field archaeology jobs include museum work, regulatory work, government jobs, academic work, and working in industry.
Finding a Job Basics
Before jumping into archaeology job sites specifically, it is worth noting that a lot of jobs are found and gotten through networking. Don’t overlook the connections you already have. Reach out to previous colleagues, friends from field school, former professors you had a good relationship with, and anyone else in your network who might know people who are looking to hire talented archaeologists, such as yourself. You might find yourself with a job that hasn’t been advertised or a leg up in the application process.
Don’t forget to check social media. There are a large number of Facebook groups that post archaeology jobs. These are often region specific and tend to be a bit less regular depending on who is running them. Therefore, I won’t be including them in this list but be sure to find your region specific groups and check them out. Some firms also post their job adverts on social media. Follow the archaeology firms you might want to work for and keep an eye out for any opportunities they post.
Archaeology Job Sites in Australia
- OzArch Forum
The OzArch Forum is your listserve for all things archaeology in Australia. Although they are not a job specific platform, they often have notices about current job openings.
2. Australian Archaeology Association
The Australian Archaeology Association also has a job page. It is updated whenever they are sent new jobs but doesn’t appear to scrape jobs from other sites, so it might not have all the current archaeology jobs from Australia.
3. Seek
Seek is a more generic, but seemingly Australia and New Zealand specific job board. It often has jobs for field work, academia, museums, and regulatory positions.
Archaeology Job Sites in Canada
- The Ontario Archaeological Society
The Ontario Archaeological Society job page posts jobs from the province of Ontario. It includes both jobs within the organization, as well as posts from other employers.
2. The British Columbia Association of Professional Archaeologists
The British Columbia Association of Professional Archaeologists site has a section for jobs in British Columbia. The site also contains some good information on the type of word, opportunities, and required qualifications to work in British Columbia.
3. Parks Canada
Parks Canada posts archaeology jobs from all around Canada. They have a good mix of field, collections, and museum roles available.
Archaeology Job Sites in New Zealand
- New Zealand Government
The New Zelanad government job site sometimes has postings for archaeology related jobs, such as tour guides, conservators, and regulatory positions.
2. Heritage New Zealand
Heritage New Zealand has a variety of job vacancies on their site. The jobs often are more office based or relate to site management, visitor engagement, and or conservation
3. Seek
Seek is a more generic, but seemingly Australia and New Zealand specific job board. It often has jobs for field work, academia, museums, and regulatory positions.
Archaeology Job Sites in the UK
- British Archaeological Jobs and Resources
BAJR has a fairly comprehensive listing of the field work jobs in the UK. They also post jobs from different charities and government organizations that do archaeology related work.
2. Chartered Institute for Archaeologists
This job board covers all aspects of archaeological careers including field work, post-excavation, charities, museums, and research posts.
3. University of Leicester, Museum Studies Jobs Desk
This job board focuses mainly on museum roles. Roles are broken down by location and type of contract (fixed, permanent, voluntary etc). It doesn’t have a search function so you just need to scroll to find what you are looking for.
4. MuseumJobs.com
It’s basically in the title. This site hosts museum job postings from across the UK. They do also periodically post jobs in the EU or America, but the site mostly seems to focus on UK jobs.
Archaeology Job Sites in the USA
- American Anthropological Association
The job board run by the American Anthropological Association is usually full of jobs that include fieldwork, museum positions, and academic roles. They also have more general anthropology jobs. As a bonus, their search and filter functions are on point.
2. Shovelbums.org
Shovelbums.org is a great place to find fieldwork opportunities. It is one of the go-to sites for a lot of USA based archaeologists.
3. USAJobs.gov
If you’re hoping to get in on government archaeology jobs, this is your place. They have fieldwork, regulatory, and museum opportunities. The hiring time for government jobs can be longer than usual for an archaeology position so you might need to be patient with the process.
4. ArchaeologyFieldwork.com
ArchaeologyFieldwork.com is, despite it’s name, more than just fieldwork roles. You can also find government, museum, and academic roles on the site. They also have an email list so you can get all the newest jobs straight to your inbox.
Final Thoughts
Finding a job is hard. Don’t be discouraged and reach out for help if you need it. It’s also important to remember that the job search is about finding a job and a company that works for you as well. Not all archaeology jobs, and not all archaeology companies, are created equal. Make sure you take the job that works for you.
Lastly, I cannot claim to have worked in all of these regions. I compiled the list above with the help of our listeners and my colleagues around the world. Thank you. If a job board you use is missing from the list, please leave a comment so it can be added.
Hi there – I maintain an archaeology jobs board for my neck of the woods – Southeast Asia, with a list of recently-posted positions, grants and other opportunities here: https://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/jobs/