It is difficult for me to pin down exactly
what my dream job would be. Any archaeology position in the western
portion of the United States (and I even include Alaska) could be a dream job.
However, I am not limiting myself to archaeology positions.
A job I recently applied for on USAJobs.gov was with the
Forest Service in the Gila National Forest, Silver City New Mexico. The
official job title is "Interdisciplinary
Soc/Bio/Phy Information Specialist." The job description is to support "managers and resource specialists in the use of Geospatial
Technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for land, natural resources
and ecosystem management." It is the interdisciplinary aspect of the job
that appealled to me; working with a variety of experts from different
disciplines to help solve problems and overcome challenges using GIS. It also
helps that I am familiar with the region; the archaeology field school I
attended for two summers was half an hour from Silver City. It is a region I came
to enjoy and would not mind at all living in.
Because
of its interdisciplinary nature, the job application requirement list consisted
of numerous "or" statements. Essentially, the job required a
Bachelors degree in a hard science, resource managment, or a social science (or
equivalent experience). It further required one year of graduate education,
specialized experience, or "superior academic achievement." I would
qualify under "superior academic achievement," and my graduate coursework
plus my internship would give me some additional points.
The
archaeology-focused courses in the UWF program would likely be the most
beneficial to performing this job. While the projects may be more natural
resource oriented rather than cultural resource, many of the same tools and
techniques would apply. Although remote sensing expertise was not mentioned
specifically, such a skill might also prove useful in the position.
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