My Job
Today I was thinking about my job while perusing the archaeologyfieldwork.com website; no, I'm not thinking of changing jobs, I was just looking at what others were saying about our field.
One thread on the boards was about working for the Forest Service (which caught my eye of course), so I decided to check that out. While it was filled with mostly positive comments, there was one that interested me. The poster described the pros and cons of doing archaeology, and I must say, I had to agree with most of the poster's points.
The Pro's:
~ You get to do things on a level much sooner than you would in the private sector (although I have never done arch in the private sector, I've worked with those who have and can attest to this).
~ The pay's pretty decent. I can't argue there, plus you get bennies if you're permanent or term.
~ You get more responsibilities.
~ You're treated like a professional and not just a 'shovelbum', 'bucketmonkey', 'ditch digger', etc. Although we consider those to be terms of endearment, we still like to be seen as professionals.
The Con's:
~ You sacrifice A LOT in this field; your personal life can be nil, relationships suffer, there's a lot of loneliness. You can be in the middle of nowhere in places considered less than desirable for the 'normal' person. I say this because most archs are not considered normal, lol! I mean, you can be stuck out in the backcountry for days working on a project, and sometimes, you can be out on your own (although this is not preferred, for safety reasons, obviously).
~ You can meet or work with some strange characters. Or, you can work for some people who are completely off their rockers (i.e. delusional).
~ There's red tape that you have to deal with sometimes, but being government, that comes with the territory.
So, I can definately relate. My life is in a constant state of flux; sometimes I wonder if I'm in a relationship IN NAME only. I must be a PINO--Partner In Name Only! I haven't spent any real quality time with the SO, and when we do, we tend to fight. Do we REALLY have anything in common with each other, I wonder? While I'd rather go for a hike in the mountains, he'd rather go to a race, or a car/bike show. Sure, I've followed him, I followed him to Texas. But what did I do? I drove back up to Washington for work, partly because I have no work experience in Texas, and partly because I did NOT want to work in Texas during the summer. I do not want to work in the East or the South (the SO is currently stationed in NY) and my preference is the Pacific Northwest/Plateau/Rockies.
So... I guess I'll suffer in my relationship for the sake of my career. That is my lot in life, so no pity party for me. I chose this.