How To Become An Archaeological Field Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is an archaeological field technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Michael Harrower PhD

An archeological field technician may be involved in a field or lab work depending on the tasks at hand. But more often than not, they are in the field conducting surveys, excavating artifacts, gathering information, and assembling data. Field technicians work in different archeological areas, including historic, prehistoric, and cultural. These professionals may sometimes find jobs on a part-time basis to conduct specific tasks in the field.

Archeology field technicians face significant physical demand during their careers. The job requires physical strength, especially with excavation and collecting and transporting samples. They also often spend weeks in the field, which takes a physical toll.

The professional has a minimal education requirement, although most employers insist that their technicians have completed an accredited field school and possess a bachelor's degree in anthropology-related fields.

What general advice would you give to an Archaeological Field Technician?

Michael Harrower PhD

Associate Professor of Archaeology, Johns Hopkins University

Here are some answers attached, see also

ScoreArchaeological Field TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,352

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.4

Growth Rate 9%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.05%

Asian 8.11%

Black or African American 9.27%

Hispanic or Latino 16.43%

Unknown 6.08%

White 59.06%

Gender

female 49.65%

male 50.35%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress Level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.2

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.8

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an archaeological field technician

Explore archaeological field technician education requirements

Most common archaeological field technician degrees

Bachelor's

79.2 %

Master's

9.6 %

Associate

8.4 %

Start to develop specific archaeological field technician skills

Skills	Percentages
GPS	24.01%
Data Collection	10.91%
Data Recovery	9.05%
GIS	6.99%
Excavations	6.79%

Complete relevant archaeological field technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New archaeological field technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an archaeological field technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real archaeological field technician resumes.

Research archaeological field technician duties and responsibilities

Utilize ARCGIS to keep track of areas cover by survey and manage the project.
Manage network reliability, capacity and performance in conjunction with RF engineering establish guidelines.
Help establish and implement GPS and GIS technologies, replacing outdate survey and mapping methodologies.
Input data and create maps using ArcView 3.2 and ArcGIS 9.0.

Prepare your archaeological field technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your archaeological field technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an archaeological field technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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Apply for archaeological field technician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an archaeological field technician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average archaeological field technician salary

The average Archaeological Field Technician salary in the United States is $41,352 per year or $20 per hour. Archaeological field technician salaries range between $33,000 and $50,000 per year.

Average Archaeological Field Technician Salary

$41,352 Yearly

$19.88 hourly