Work for what you want

I consider myself a pretty positive person, but today I am going to complain, just a little bit.  I have heard on other social media sites, as well just from talking to people, that new graduates have exceedingly high job expectations.  Here is my tidbit of experience with that.

Since January of this year, I have received about 23 resumes by email.  The number of people that have followed up?  Zero.  Zilch.  Zippo.  Oh wait, there were a couple of people that emailed me again, sending me the exact same blurb as the first time.  Doesn’t count.

When I came home in between my travels to Europe, I used to office temp.  I had to call the agency every day just to hear, “Sorry, nothing yet,” until one day, they sent me off on a job.  When I didn’t have any archaeology experience, I went out and volunteered for it – that means I didn’t get paid for it.  When I applied for the job that brought me to Calgary, I flew in on my dime for an “interview” and called the boss multiple times before I got hired.  And now, as the owner of a start-up company, I am not lying down waiting for work to come to me.

If you want something, go out and get it.  Work for it, because it’s not just going to magically get handed to you.

And now… check out diggingthedirt for the Top Ten Funny Archaeology Videos!  This one by Anies Hassan isn’t the funniest (there’s some tough competition) but it does show that all work and no play would just be boring.  Sometimes, you gotta dance!

Simon Davis: Don’t Stop!! from Anies Hassan on Vimeo.

Why the past is important to the present – Part 3

For today’s blog post, I am directing you right to digging the DIRT.  I quite enjoy this blog; they often include posts that make archaeology humerus, I mean, humorous to the general public, as opposed to just super keen nerdy archaeologists like me.  Today they tackled the subject of why archaeology is important, and did so through the ramblings of one comment to their blog.  It struck such a chord that I felt I had to share it here…

“I would like to know why anyone thinks archaeology is of any “useful” value.

What does an archeologist do that makes one bit of difference to the average guy on the street making a daily living?

I question where does any finding resulting from an archeologist work make a difference [to] anything in today’s working world?

Can anyone produce documentation or papers where one can find an actual “Return on Investment” on an archeological site?

Since it appears that no one even reads “written” history (current or otherwise) to apply lessons learned in order not to repeat mistakes why would anyone think that archeological history is of value? Since most archeological work is “educational guess work” any way!

Just asking”

This immediately incites rants from archaeologists on BAJR, which, to the archaeologist can be quite entertaining.  However, I do believe this to be quite an important topic.  I did create a poll on LinkedIn, asking developers what their take on historic resources was, and although it incited quite a limited response, I do think that archaeology as a nuisance is not popular opinion.  No, archaeology does not provide a monetary return and, unfortunately, it is an expense to a number of developers.  I do believe, however, that the value of archaeology is immeasurable, in terms of heritage, pride, identity and human advancement.  We learn from the past; we didn’t just magically get here with planes overhead and cars zooming by. But that’s just my opinion (See also Part 1 and Part 2 of Why the past is important to the present).  What do you think?

I think I found something!

I just found this on diggingthedirt, an often hilarious blog about archaeology by archaeologists (keep up the good work). Even if you aren’t an archaeologist, you need to watch this video. Actually, if you’re not an archaeologist, tell me if it’s actually funny, because I could put it on repeat.