Archaeology

• Studying: 21%
• Employed in graduate job: 24%
• Employed in non-graduate job: 34%
• Unemployed: 14%

• Average graduate salary: £17,675
• Average non-graduate salary: £13,884

Over the course of your degree you develop a good mix of subject specific and technical skills as well as transferable skills. The range and depth of the skills acquired will vary according to whether your degree is more humanities or science based. Archaeology courses teach a mix of subject-specific and technical skills.

Consider the skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.

View the best universities for archaeology degrees.

Prospects

A 2010 HESA survey of 2009 graduates indicates that six months after graduation, just over 42% of archaeology graduates were in employment either in the UK or overseas. Of these, almost 30% work in catering and retail and just over 10% work in clerical and secretarial positions. Almost 9% work in other professional or technical occupations while 8% work as commercial, industrial and public sector managers.

Where are the jobs?

Employers of archaeologists include archaeological contractors, local government, university archaeology departments, national heritage agencies and independent archaeological consultants. Other organisations employing archaeology graduates include some private museums and charities such as the National Trust, the National Trust for Scotland and the Council for British Archaeology (CBA)

Jobs directly related to your degree

Studying archaeology prepares you for a diverse range of jobs, including:

• Archaeologist
• Historic buildings inspector/conservation officer
• Museum/gallery curator
• Museum education officer

Jobs where your degree would be useful

You will also have the skills and abilities to work successfully as a:

• Higher education lecturer
• Adult education lecturer
• Tourism officer
• Archivist
• Cartographer

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Included with the permission of AGCAS and Graduate Prospects. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk. We would welcome your comments on this section of The Complete University Guide. Please email us at admin@thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.